The MCU’s scalability raises the possibility of Robert Downey Jr. being alive somewhere in the vast sea of realities.

Ever since the end of Phase Four of the MCU with the events that concluded Avengers: Endgame, fans have been theorizing about how Robert Downey Jr. can return as Iron Man in the MCU. The sheer grief the entire fandom felt after the heroic death of the most iconic Avenger was too much to bear for them, which brings us to the hope of his return in the future.

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in a still from Avengers: Endgame
Ever since the advent of Phase Five, fans have been hoping to see the star as his most iconic character in the Multiverse, which has also been theorized by many to be how he will make his return. But with the release of Secret Invasion, Downey Jr. can make a more substantial return without any multiversal shenanigans as his true self.

Secret Invasion May Hold The Secret To Bring Back Robert Downey Jr. As Iron Man

A still from Marvel’s Secret Invasion
With the growth of the MCU to even greater proportions, we witness just how they raise the bars of the narrative that scales from a universal level to a multiversal level with the introduction of Kang The Conquerer in the cinematic universe. But this scalability also brings in possibility, a possibility that Robert Downey Jr. is alive somewhere in this vast sea of realities.

But what if he was alive all along, and we don’t even have to look that far into space for him either? This possibility comes from the events of MCU’s latest series Secret Invasion.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

As we saw with the first episode of the aforementioned miniseries, the death of Agent Everett Ross revealed that he was one of the Skurll imposters among us, along with many known and unknown identities from the MCU. This means that their invasion of the human world can be traced back to almost the start of the cinematic universe.

Thus, BGR’s Chris Smith has pointed to the possibility that Tony Stark, the one we saw this whole time as the genius playboy in most of the MCU projects was just another Skrull in disguise. Since He is one of the most intellectually gifted individuals, who also happened to be the first superhero in the eyes of the public, it’s a strong possibility that he may have been replaced early on.

As it was pointed out earlier in the series, the outer space invaders can take the form of any human that doesn’t possess a superpower and mimic them down to the last, minute detail. Since Stark’s superpower is his intellect and insane IQ, it’ll practically be a no-brainer for a Skrull to miss the opportunity to become Iron Man.

Why Everyone Would Hate This Scenario?

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in a still from Avengers: Infinity War
If the aforementioned theory happens to be the case, then the MCU will find itself in a whole other multiverse of pain. While the events may have been tragic, the death of RDJ’s character was still a pivotal moment in the franchise.

Thus, the sacrifice would all mean nothing, not to mention, the character development arcs that Stark went through along the way, which were what made Iron Man such an amazing and beloved character to begin with. This possibility, although a theory, may be enough to even infuriate some fans.

Secret Invasion, streaming on Disney+.