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Unlike those, there’s no Stark technology at play in Thunderbolts*, but it is a movie that still has some of his DNA in it. What was Stark Tower, before it became Avengers Tower, is now owned by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and called the Watchtower, home of the New Avengers. And with that team comes setup for Avengers: Doomsday, which itself will see Robert Downey Jr. return to the MCU – only as Doctor Doom, not Iron Man. He’ll come face-to-face, or at least mask-to-face, with several of the Thunderbolts* characters, and could find that there’s something of Tony Stark about one of them: Yelena Belova.
The MCU Is Setting Up Yelena Belova As The New Iron Man
Yelena’s more obvious positioning in the MCU, at least as it pertains to the original Avengers, is the new Black Widow. Like her sister, Natasha, she was trained in the Red Room, which means she possesses a very similar set of skills, as have been displayed in both Black Widow and now Thunderbolts*. There’s no power comparison between her and Iron Man, no suit of armor, and no billionaire playboy money to throw around (unless she steals it from Val), but the way Marvel is using the character is quite similar.
In terms of their characterization, it certainly would’ve been fun to watch Yelena and Tony face off. They both have some rough edges, issues with authority, and have to learn how to play well with others. And yet despite that, both have an undeniable sense of heroism, of wanting to do the right thing, and of being willing to put themselves in danger – perhaps even to sacrifice themselves – for the greater good and to protect those they care about.
