Infinity War’s Thanos/Tony Stark Fight Referenced Iron Man’s First Villain

The battle between Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War included a subtle callback to the Armored Avenger’s very first MCU villain, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). The two clashed over ten years ago in 2008’s Iron Man.

Long before fighting to save the world from threats like Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Ultron (James Spader), and Thanos, Tony Stark battled a villain called Iron Monger. Based on the comic book villain of the same name, Iron Monger aka Obadiah Stane was an old friend of the Stark family and a longtime business associate. He betrayed Stark by trying to orchestrate his murder through the villainous Ten Rings organization. Later, Stane built his own version of the “Iron Man” suit and battled Stark at the end of the movie. Their final collision resulted in Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) showing up to help and Stane falling into a reactor, where he lost his life.

A scene in Avengers: Infinity War seemingly referenced Iron Monger. Toward the end of the showdown with Iron Man’s hybrid team of Avengers and Guardians on Titan, Thanos was positioned to win. After stabbing Stark, Thanos placed his hand on the Avenger’s head and expressed his respect for him. He then let him know that half of Earth’s population would survive his plan for the Infinity Stones. The imagery matches up rather intriguingly with a pivotal moment in Iron Man that involved Obadiah Stane.

In Iron Man, Stark was in his home when Stane, who effortlessly removed the arc reactor from his chest, took him by surprise. While Stark laid there paralyzed, he had no choice but to listen as Stane talked about his goals for the future and Stark’s impending death. The shots in this scene, particularly in regards to how Stane is shown looking down at Stark, mirror what occurred between Iron Man and Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

It’s an interesting Easter egg, but thematically speaking, it’s quite fitting. In Iron Man, Stark is helplessly facing imminent death while his enemy brags about his accomplishments, how impressed he is with the arc creator, and his intention to kill Pepper. What Iron Man was feeling at that moment was likely similar to what he experienced in Infinity War, except it was on a much smaller scale. In Infinity War, Tony Stark was badly wounded and would have died at the hands of Thanos if Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) hadn’t interjected at the last minute.

Here, Iron Man was just as helpless, but this time the stakes were so much bigger, considering that half of the universe was about to be wiped out. Though the Mad Titan makes Obadiah Stane seem like a low-level threat, it felt right for a movie that takes place near the end of Iron Man’s journey to pay homage to what came before (and first).

About The Author