MCU Phase 4: Marvel's 'What If...?' will reimagine Iron Man and may even pit Tony Stark up against the real Mandarin

That is just one part of it. Ther alternate reality may also see Obadiah Stane become Iron Man instead of Tony Stark.

PUBLISHED SEP 17, 2019

'Marvel's 'What If...?' is set to be the studios' first animated content on Disney+ and it reimagines theories that would have showed the characters and their arcs in a new light. 'What If...?' will be a collection of 23 stories (the same numbers as the movies) told by Uatu the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) who has the ability to see across infinite realities.

Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, has been a pivotal character in the MCU. He kicked off the hugely successful Infinity Saga with the iconic line "I am Iron Man" and since then, there have been as many heroes and villains foraying into the superhero universe. This article is our prediction on how 'What If...?' may change Iron Man's character arc completely.

Iron Man

What if... Stane is Iron Man?

Jeff Bridges played Obadiah Stane, aka The Iron Monger, in the first Iron Man movie. We all know he was responsible for Tony getting kidnapped by The Ten Rings, but what if Tony had never made it out of the cave. Would Stane be Iron Man? Would he be the baddie in the first place? This would have resulted in a new universe which is hard to imagine.

Iron Man 2

What if... Howard Stark was alive?

Then Tony wouldn't have been CEO of Stark industries, nor would it be Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). While Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) would still play Whiplash, Tony would have got a new armor to a face-off by his father Howard. Tony's old man was a tech-genius back in the day anyway. He would have helped in bringing down Whiplash.

Iron Man 3

What if... Iron Man fought the real Mandarin?

Ben Kingsley's Mandarin may not have been the original villain from the comics, but the actor did a stupendous job in playing the terrorist. The Mandarin is all set to play the baddie in 'Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.' And since there's no Stark to battle him then, it would be interesting to see an Iron Man vs Mandarin in 'What If...?'

What are your predictions on 'What If...?'s plotlines for the Iron Man trilogy?

'What If...?' arrives in summer 2021