Pepper's Role in 'Avengers: Infinity War' Revealed

The earlier entries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically the Iron Man films, painted Pepper Potts as an important part of Iron Man's life. As the MCU expanded, there became less and less room for the character, with actress Gwyneth Paltrow appearing far more infrequently. With Avengers: Infinity War now in theaters, how does Pepper Potts fit into the narrative? Scroll down to learn more.

***WARNING: Spoilers below for Avengers: Infinity War***

When audiences first see Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in Infinity War, the duo is jogging through New York City with Pepper trying to get him to leave Iron Man behind, again, for good, again. As one of Thanos' ships appears in the sky, Tony leaves Pepper behind to help protect the city alongside Doctor Strange and Spider-Man.

In hopes of thwarting the villain for good Iron Man enters Thanos' ship as it begins its journey to reconnect with the Mad Titan, with Pepper calling Tony in hopes of getting him to come back to earth. In what sounds like Pepper giving him an ultimatum, again, Iron Man extends outside the range of the transmission, with Pepper eventually cutting out, not to be heard from in the film again.

Sadly, this is all we get of Pepper in the film and her entire role feels like what we've seen from the character before. The structure of this scene also feels incredibly similar to her appearance in Marvel's The Avengers, as both scenes takes place roughly 15 minutes into the movie and depict an intimate conversation between her and Tony which is then interrupted by his commitments to the Avengers Initiative.

Earlier this year, Robert Downey Jr. detailed the difficulties of trying to incorporate Pepper into the MCU.

"It was hard to thread Pepper through every story that Tony was in, so we took opportunities to say, 'We're taking a break, and it's my fault," the actor shared Entertainment Weekly. "Now, he and Pepper have kind of locked it up. We were talking about them living in some eco-lodge together, but then we thought, 'Eh, any time they move somewhere [villains] just blow it up, so no one's gonna believe that it'll stay long.'"

Whether Pepper will appear in the fourth Avengers film next May is unclear.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films include Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6th, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, and the fourth Avengers on May 3, 2019. The sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming hits on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lands in 2020.

Do you wish we got to see more Pepper Potts in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!