Iron Man and Captain America Continue to Clash in “Infinity War”

Robert Downey Jr. seems to be saying that there is going to be more conflict between Iron Man and Captain America in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Avengers: Infinity War.

The actor made these comments to USA Today when asked about the relationship between the two characters going forward.

“That’s the hardest for me, because I look at [Chris] Evans and I just to want to go over and smell him, or tell him he looks cool in those sunglasses when he’s walking over to have lunch,” Downey said, “And then I’m just staring daggers at him, getting mad. But even that relationship is going to take a turn.”

Downey’s Iron Man/Tony Stark and Evans’ Captain America/Steve Rogers have had a rough relationship throughout the franchise; even in their first meeting during The Avengers they almost came to blows, albeit while their emotions were heightened by the presence of a supernatural object. Their animosity, of course, finally boiled over during the events of Captain America: Civil War, first over the complex political and moral issues of the Sokovia Accords, and then over spoilery issues with more of a personal flavor.

The film ends on on a bittersweet note, with Steve a fugitive, but with some indication that he and Tony will have moved on by the next time we meet. Tony’s subsequent appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming was likewise predicated somewhat on the idea of him wanting to atone for his hasty actions in that film. If we take Downey at his word, however, it sounds as if the two will need to go through a bit more trouble before finally patching things up.

This does make some sense; after all, the personal issues between the two (see re: spoilery things above) haven’t gone away, and Steve’s time on the run can be blamed on Tony’s actions. And the two have always had a basic clash of personality traits, Tony being brilliant but vice-ridden and overconfident, Steve simpler but more decent to his core. New issues could easily emerge, such as how to deal with the incoming threat of Thanos, the Mad Titan.

Nevertheless, the two will need to put those differences aside quickly, because the trailers make it clear that Thanos will not stop and wait on his quest for the Infinity Stones.