Thunderbolts* Confirms the MCU’s Real Iron Man Replacement

Thunderbolts* reveals itself to be *The New Avengers, and with that comes the MCU‘s apparent replacement for one original Avenger, Iron Man. Forget Sentry’s dark powers, there’s been a Tony Stark-shaped void in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since the characer’s death in Avengers: Endgame, and it’s not one that can be easily filled. Iron Man was the character who started the MCU, and shaped it more than any other. His influence extends beyond his own movies into characters like Spider-Man and shows such as Ironheart.

Unlike those, there’s no Stark technology at play in Thunderbolts*, but it is a movie that still has some of his DNA in it. What was Stark Tower, before it became Avengers Tower, is now owned by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and called the Watchtower, home of the New Avengers. And with that team comes setup for Avengers: Doomsday, which itself will see Robert Downey Jr. return to the MCU – only as Doctor Doom, not Iron Man. He’ll come face-to-face, or at least mask-to-face, with several of the Thunderbolts* characters, and could find that there’s something of Tony Stark about one of them: Yelena Belova.

The MCU Is Setting Up Yelena Belova As The New Iron Man

Yelena’s more obvious positioning in the MCU, at least as it pertains to the original Avengers, is the new Black Widow. Like her sister, Natasha, she was trained in the Red Room, which means she possesses a very similar set of skills, as have been displayed in both Black Widow and now Thunderbolts*. There’s no power comparison between her and Iron Man, no suit of armor, and no billionaire playboy money to throw around (unless she steals it from Val), but the way Marvel is using the character is quite similar.

In terms of their characterization, it certainly would’ve been fun to watch Yelena and Tony face off. They both have some rough edges, issues with authority, and have to learn how to play well with others. And yet despite that, both have an undeniable sense of heroism, of wanting to do the right thing, and of being willing to put themselves in danger – perhaps even to sacrifice themselves – for the greater good and to protect those they care about.

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What’s more, though, is that Thunderbolts*‘ ending clearly positions Yelena as the leader of the New Avengers. Bucky may be the more tenured MCU hero on the team, but he seems to be in more of a mentor role. It’s Yelena who is at the very forefront of things, who will be the one to call the shots and lead the team into battle, which will likely continue into Avengers: Doomsday. That’s similar to Iron Man’s original role on the Avengers, where he was undeniably the first leader of the team.

Iron Man was a character who provided some connective tissue in the MCU as well: he not only appeared in his own trilogy and the Avengers movies, but Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. Yelena has appeared in multiple different projects already too, one of the few characters introduced post-Endgame to have been in three or more movies and TV shows (Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Thunderbolts*), and is at least a co-lead in two of them. She may even teaming up with Spider-Man, with rumors of Yelena appearing in Brand New Day.

This also speaks to Florence Pugh’s own fast-rising career and talent. She’s now one of the biggest and best stars in the MCU, and like Downey Jr. before her, is becoming one of the faces of the franchise. That should only continue, with talk of an extended role for Yelena in Doomsday. With her growing stature and the character’s popularity, it’s likely we’ll be seeing a lot more of her going forward as one of the most important characters in the MCU and one of its true leaders, solidifying her as at least one of its replacements for Iron Man.

Thunderbolts* is now streaming on Disney+. The MCU’s next movies are Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31st, 2026), Avengers: Doomsday (December 18th, 2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (December 17th, 2027).