Could Tony Stark be trading in his iconic Iron Man armor in favor of donning Doctor Strange’s Cloak of Levitation and becoming Earth’s new Sorcerer Supreme in Avengers 4? The latest Avengers: Infinity War fan theory thinks so, and it has both comic book precedent and on-screen proof to back it up.
Editor’s note: This video contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
After the events of Avengers: Infinity War, there are a lot of shoes to fill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A certain finger snap by Thanos created a ton of job openings in an instant, and one of them comes with a totally sweet cloak, to boot. While the idea of Tony Star, Sorcerer Supreme may sound far-fetched considering how thoroughly the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist has devoted himself to science, it has been established as canon in the comics.
In 2017’s Infamous Iron Man #8, Victor Von Doom is visited by a strange vision–a Doctor Strange vision–of Tony Stark from the far-flung future where he has become Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. This version of Tony later appeared a Marvel Generations story where Stark, the 126-year-old Sorcerer Supreme, helped a time-traveling Riri Williams to battle Morgan Le Fay and, more importantly, learn an important lesson about herself. But a handful of comic book appearances alone isn’t a guarantee of translating to a plot point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What is whipping fans into a speculative frenzy is footage from an Infinity War featurette first posted back in April that showed Robert Downey Jr. wearing Doctor Strange’s Cloak of Levitation while aboard Ebony Maw’s ship.
While this could just be Robert Downey Jr. goofing around on set, it could also be the Russo Brothers shooting something for Avengers 4 while they have access to that particular set. Given the establishment of time vortexes in the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and the Wasp and the theory that Doctor Strange secretly used the Time Stone during the battle with Thanos on Titan, as well as those Avengers 4 set photos featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes wearing suspicious devices at the Battle of New York from the first Avengers film, the likelihood of time travel in Avengers 4 seems incredibly high.
You might be saying, “B-b-but we clearly saw Doctor Strange and the Cloak of Levitation fade to dust at the end of Infinity War!” To that I would say, was that the real Cloak of Levitation or could the Master of the Mystic Arts have concealed his artifact somewhere safe knowing that he would have to sacrifice himself in order for Tony Stark to take up his mantle and save the day? After all, it sounds like wielding the Infinity Stones against Thanos is going to be crucial in winning this fight and undoing the Snapture, so Tony is probably going to have to curse himself with some arcane knowledge too if he wants to save the day. But don’t worry — Tony won’t be the Sorcerer Supreme forever if he does take on the new title. He’ll only hold on to that unique honor until the surviving members of the Avengers can figure out a way to reverse the Snappening.
But what do you think? Do you buy the notion that Tony Stark could become the new Sorcerer Supreme? Was Robert Downey Jr. just jealous of Benedict Cumberbatch’s sweet threads? Let me know in the comments below.
Images: Marvel Comics; Marvel Studios
