Could Loki Resurrect Iron Man With His New Powers? Tom Hiddleston Weighs In
He can, but would he?
While talking to Jimmy Fallon after the release of the explosive Loki Season 2 finale, Tom Hiddleston was asked to address some fan theories about the show.
Of course, among the questions that bother the fandom the most is the return of Tony Stark aka Iron Man to the MCU. And Fallon didn't miss the chance to ask if Loki could bring the fan-favorite superhero back with his new time-slipping powers.
‘I mean… time-slipping technically gives Loki some interesting moves he can make. I suppose, yeah, he can move from past, present, future,’ the actor replied. ‘I know that I can time-slip. I don't know that other characters can time-slip.’
This answer gives an idea of how Loki could resurrect the dead Avenger. But when you look deeper, it's all a lot more complicated than that.
Iron Man's return has been in the rumor mill for months
Ever since the release of Endgame and the tragic loss of three original Avengers, fans have been talking about their return to the superhero universe.
More than that, there have been some media reports about the talks going on in the offices of Marvel Studios about Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role. Although Kevin Feige denied the speculation, he didn't close the door on the actor's return.
And Loki could be just the guy to bring his character back. Given their tumultuous history and charged dynamic, it would be a fun development.
How can Loki resurrect Tony Stark?
Time-slipping means that Loki can move freely between his own past, present, and future, as well as different universes. He could come to Earth-616 during the events of Endgame or earlier and warn Iron Man of the threat, or even physically make the Thanos-killing snap in his place.
Being a god would give him enough power to survive the snap. But does it all really make sense?
Why it will never happen
Even if Loki could save the original Tony Stark, he probably would not. There are a few reasons why.
- Loki is now the God of the multiverse. It doesn't make sense for him to save one Toni Stark when he's holding endless realities with different variants of Iron Man in his hands. Besides, can he really leave the Yggdrasil-shaped multiverse for even a short break?
- Iron Man was supposed to die. That was his destiny. Doctor Strange saw 14,000,605 possible outcomes of Thanos' plan, and only one ended in his defeat. It was the one that ended with Tony dying.
- Even if Loki were to save Tony, it would likely create a Nexus event and a new universe where a new variant of Tony lives. The Earth-616 version would still be dead.
Robert Downey Jr. could still come back
All of this just means that the Earth-616 Tony Stark is unlikely to be resurrected.
As for Robert Downey Jr., the new Loki's multiverse gives him plenty of opportunities to play one of Iron Man's variants, either as a brief cameo or a recurring role, like Zoe Saldaña did with Gamora.
Fortunately, the actor has never closed the door on a return.
Sources: The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Variety, X.