“If tony didn’t exist there would just be less villains die mad about it!!”
ashkgjfkfll you could LITERALLY say that about any superhero they all introduced their own villains that’s the point Susan why didn’t y’all graduate high school
Looking at it from “in-Universe”? If Tony didn’t exist, all the Avengers would be dead or would not exist, and most of the other heroes wouldn’t be around either.
If NYC had happened the same way it did in The Avengers (aside from Tony’s presence, which is now missing), Cap, Nat, Bruce, Clint, and Thor would’ve been vaporized. Maybe Hulk and Thor could’ve survived (because they’re incredibly durable), but Cap, Nat, and Clint certainly wouldn’t have. Neither would Nick Fury or Maria Hill (so basically those are like two of your only “good” SHIELD agents, who were integral to expelling HYDRA).
Peter Parker would’ve died when the nuke went off in Manhattan. So would Stephen Strange. (As both are New York City residents.)
Rhodey would’ve never become War Machine.
Vision would’ve never been created.
Arguably the only heroes that would still be around are the Guardians of the Galaxy, Scott Lang (Ant-Man), Hope Van Dyne (Wasp), Wong, T’Challa (Black Panther) and everyone else from Wakanda (Shuri, Nakia, Okoye, etc.), Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel), and maybe Wanda Maximoff (Scarlett Witch), but she only counts if you’re thinking if Tony died in Afghanistan. If Tony never existed, Scarlet Witch wouldn’t be around either since her parents would’ve never died and she never would’ve sought out fake-HYDRA (and become an experiment). Even with Sam Wilson becoming Falcon, it’s rumored Stark was the creator of the EXO-7 Falcon (because according to set visits, it can’t be seen in the movie, but the EXO-7 Falcon pack as a Stark Industries serial on it); so more than likely he wouldn’t at least be the hero we know today without Stark’s existence.
Looking at it from outside the MCU? Without Tony Stark, without Iron Man, there wouldn’t have even been a damn MCU in the first place. Kevin Feige is on record having said this. It was Iron Man’s incredible success that made the MCU a financially viable enterprise. (It must really eat up antis to have to sit there with the knowledge their own faves would’ve never graced the big screen without Iron Man being loved around the world.)
TL;DR? Tony Stark built the MCU in a cave… with a box of scraps.