Avengers: Infinity War Directors Say Tony Stark Is The Heart And Soul Of The MCU

Shuri (Letitia Wright) might have wrestled away the title of the smartest hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe away from Ton Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), but that doesn't make Iron Man's contributions any less valuable.

Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo recently appeared in a video with Wired to describe the many heroes that appeared in the first installment in Marvel's two-part Avengers movie. When the video gets to Tony's part, the filmmakers don't really hesitate to say that Iron Man is still in many ways, the very center of the Marvel Universe.

"I think, in a lot of ways, he is the heart and soul of the Marvel universe," Joe Russo told the publication in the video. "He's a fascinating character, a character that we love because he is imminently flawed and we like characters that are challenging and express their humanity and I think Tony Stark does that as well as any of the characters. He started off as a narcissistic alcoholic and grew into a hero which, I think, makes him imminently relatable and signifies what the Marvel universe stands for, which is character first and the heroes are defined through the choices that they make."

The director isn't wrong. Tony Stark was at the very beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ten years ago when Iron Man premiered, and the character's become one of the major faces of the MCU and the leader of the Avengers.

Though he doesn't have super powers like the ones that Captain America (Chris Evans) has or the ones that come with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), fans love seeing Stark's intelligence come into play, and most especially his wit. There's a whole lot to love with Tony Stark's sass and his humor.

Now, with Avengers: Infinity War done and gone, the only question left is whether Tony is going to survive Avengers 4. Let's wait and see.

Avengers: Infinity War is currently available on Digital HD and on Blu-Ray.

Read: It's Official – Shuri Is the Smartest Character In The MCU