There’s One Thing You Can Never Take Away From Me: I Am Iron Man
Iron Lad or Harley Keener, ‘that kid’ from Iron Man 3 has come of age to take forward Iron Man’s legacy in Marvel Phase 5
Watching actor Ty Simpkins in the Avengers: Endgame sparked speculations about his future with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The unexpected guest at Tony Stark’s funeral signalled the unexpected future events as well. For Marvel fans, it wasn’t a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ the studio will come up with an Iron Man protégée.
The year-long guesswork is finally showing its results. Reportedly, Harley Keener is set to fill in Iron Man’s shoes (or armour, if you like) in the MCU.
Heads Up! Iron Lad aka Harley Keener is set to take on Iron Man’s mantle in the Marvel Phase 5
- Iron Lad, a protégée in making
- The Return of Harley Keener
- MCU Phase 5 Heroes
Iron Lad, a protégée in making
Tony Stark once famously said, “It’s about legacy, the legacy left behind for future generations. It’s not about us!” And he meant every word of it. After a 11-year-long run in the franchise both Iron Man and actor Robert Downey Jr got the much deserved closure.
RDJ’s Iron Man cannot be replaced in the MCU but the legacy continues. It was long in making as well. Harley Keener aka Iron Lad was introduced in 2011 Iron Man 3. Tony’s patience and attitude with kids were first tested in this movie.
Apparently, Harley Keener was Marvel Studios’ backup plan in case the Marvel-Sony Spider-Man didn’t go through. There is a reason why Marvel will give so much screen time to a child with the Iron Man. Actor Ty Simpkins’ has already shown interest in reprising his role.
In the Marvel Comic Universe, Iron Lad is an inventive genius and goes by the name Nathaniel Richards. He has many iterations but Iron Lad is the most prominent arc of the character. He is also the founder of the Young Avengers.
Return of Harley Keener
The kid from the Iron Man 3 Harley Keener reappeared all grown up in 2019, Avengers: Endgame. He mourned Tony Stark along with all the superheroes in the galaxy.
As Tony Stark said, ‘Part of the journey is the end,’ and presence of Harley Keener during Endgame ensured fans that Iron Man’s legacy will continue in the MCU.
WGTC reported that Harley Keener will have an interesting story arc in the MCU. The character will return to take up the Iron Man mantel. Taking forward the story where Iron Man 3 left Harley will build his own Iron Man suit. Aided with Stark tech gifted by Tony at the end of Iron Man 3, Harley will save the day for people again.
He will take up the mantel of Iron Man and ‘act’ more like him. However, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will still take Tony’s position among the Avengers. As reported, Iron Lad can debut sometime in Phase 5.
MCU Phase 5 Heroes
Spider-Man will still be MCU’s biggest, most well-known hero in the world. He will continue to wear Stark made iron suits complete with E.D.I.T.H his personal A.I.
In the other news, Marvel Studios is also developing IronHeart, another iteration of the Iron Man character for Phase 5. In comic, a young girl Riri Williams fills in Iron Man’s shoes when he succumbs to coma during a fight.
Going forward it’ll be interesting to see how fans will respond to the new characters.
After all, it isn’t easy being a billionaire playboy genius philanthropist!
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