The End of an Era
Nearly five years after their goodbye in Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland reunite in real life at the Critics Choice Awards, showing how successful both actors' respective careers have been since the iconic Marvel movie. It has been half a decade since the ending of Avengers: Endgame, which marked the conclusion of an era for the MCU timeline and Marvel Studios alike. While The Multiverse Saga is still moving forward, many MCU audience members are reminiscing on some of the most favored elements of The Infinity Saga.
RDJ's Tony Stark and Tom Holland's Peter Parker hug in Avengers: Endgame
One of the highly beloved aspects was the dynamic between Tony Stark and Peter Parker, which played a big part in Phase 3. Spider-Man and Iron Man may not have shared the screen together since 2019, but their actors appear to have kept a close bond since, as evidenced by their reunion at this year's Critics Choice Awards. As captured by Erik Davis, the two MCU stars came together during the ceremony, which can be seen below:
The End of an Era
According to Davis, Holland came over to their table just to hug Downey Jr., calling it a moment that 'warmed my Marvel-loving heart.' This wasn't the only Marvel highlight for Holland, as the Spider-Man star came together with the Spider-Verse team at the same event.
Twitter article posted by Erik Davis
The Impact of Iron Man & Spider-Man's Dynamic
Even though it has been several years since they were seen together in the MCU, Peter and Tony's final moments together in Avengers: Endgame still pull the heartstrings of audiences worldwide to this day. For starters, their reunion was incredibly short, as the two heroes only had a few seconds with each other before they had to resume the showdown against Thanos. However, it's also notable how Tony was the one to initiate the hug between them after seeing Peter come back, which was both a complete flip from their awkward unintentional hug in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and showed how Spider-Man had helped Iron Man evolve as a character.
One of Tony's biggest regrets at the end of Avengers: Infinity War was the loss of a young teenage boy whom he had taken under his wing since Captain America: Civil War. That makes their final scene in Avengers: Endgame even more bittersweet, as Tony was beyond thrilled to see that Peter gets another chance to live. But at the same time, it is tragic that Iron Man would never get to see what becomes of Peter's life as he sacrificed himself for the world.
For the time being, there are no known official plans for Downey Jr. to reprise the role as Iron Man in the MCU.
Even the MCU fans getting emotional over seeing Downey Jr. and Holland reunited speaks volumes to how powerful they were as scene partners in the MCU during their time together. Whether or not Spider-Man will ever get to share the scene again with any version of Tony remains to be seen, especially as the most viable movie to feature the return, Avengers: Secret Wars, is still a few years away. But for now, the world can relive the entire Infinity Saga, including Spider-Man's MCU arc with Iron Man, through Blu-Ray/DVD and streaming.
The Possibility of RDJ's Return to the MCU
For the time being, there are no known official plans for Downey Jr. to reprise the role as Iron Man in the MCU. Even though the possibility of his return remains uncertain, the impact of his character and his dynamic with Spider-Man continues to resonate with fans. The question of whether RDJ will ever return to the MCU remains a topic of great interest among the Marvel fanbase.
