At the root of the MCU lies the will and spirit of two characters: its foremost hero and its ultimate villain. It only makes sense for the movies that best dive into those two characters meet in the Sweet 16 of the MCU Madness Tournament . Iron Man 3 is a film that gives us a look at who Tony Stark is without all of his toys. And Avengers: Infinity War gives us our much-awaited look inside the soul of Thanos, as he collects his toys. Who will win the matchup of Tony vs Thanos? Vote Down Below
Release: 2018
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Phase: 3
Box Office: $2,048,359,754
Synopsis: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet -- the evil Thanos (Josh Brolin). On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment
Pros: The main focus of the MCU follows the Avengers through the events of Ultron, Civil War and the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. The adventures of heroes like Doctor Strange, Black Panther and the Guardians of the Galaxy have evolved the franchise into a sprawling universe, and it was Avengers: Infinity War that collided all the worlds into something special. At its core, this movie is the story of Thanos, the Mad Titan that certainly lived up to expectations as the biggest of all the bads in the MCU.
Cons: It is incredibly difficult to find too many flaws in a movie that features so many of our favorite heroes. But much like Avengers: Endgame , a movie this big has inherent flaws. Having such a large cast of dynamic and captivating characters does mean that some characters will not get their usual amount of screen time. For example, Captain America is on screen in this movie for less than 20 minutes.
Released: 2013
Director: Shane Black
Phase: 2
Box Office: $1,214,811,252
Synopsis: Plagued with worry and insomnia since saving New York from destruction, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), is now more dependent than ever on the suits that give him his Iron Man persona -- so much so that the suits affect every aspect of his life, including his relationship with Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). After a malevolent enemy known as the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) reduces his personal world to rubble, Tony must rely solely on instinct and ingenuity to avenge his losses and protect the people he loves.
Pros: Following the events of The Avengers, the MCU takes a crack at PTSD with Iron Man 3. This movie dives into what happens to a hero when you take away the suit. For audiences that enjoy character development, this film gives us a look at our favorite hero through a new lense that we never thought we'd see. It's also the MCU's first Christmas Movie.
Cons: This movie faced the challenge of being the first film to follow up on a large-scale team-up. And while it is directly connected to the events of The Avengers, it does not do much to push the ball forward in the overall storyline. Many believe that this film's sense of finality burdens its own storyline, especially when considering how little these events resonate in future films. And while we are introduced to one of the more charming "villains" in the MCU, a large number of fans do not love the sleight of hand trick the movie plays.
