Marvel just added a new twist to Iron Man’s MCU origin story by filling in some of the blanks about his past, suggesting some fascinating things about the original Iron Man movie. 16 years later, Iron Man is still a cornerstone of the MCU timeline and its success, and not just because it’s the movie that started it all. With figures like Ironheart, Spider-Man, and War Machine set to serve as successors to Iron Man and his legacy in upcoming MCU movies and shows, it’s safe to say Iron Man’s story remains key even long after the character’s death.

Indeed, the franchise has proved itself adept at having releases retroactively update Iron Man’s story – for example, with Stark’s EDITH glasses in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which Tony left to Peter Parker in the hopes the young hero would be able to use them effectively and in a moral way. With that said, perhaps the most interesting update to Iron Man’s MCU story has come in 2024, with one plot twist suggesting some huge things about Iron Man’s first villain and the full extent of his history with the Stark family.

What If Season 3 Reveals More About The Starks’ Assassination

What If…? season 3, episode 3 sees Red Guardian enter the fray of the events that led to Howard and Maria Stark’s deaths at the hands of the Winter Soldier, preventing him from killing off the Starks and leading to a chain of events that sees both protagonists turn against HYDRA and the Red Room. One of the key events that leads to this point is the pair meeting “The Rook”, who Red Guardian believes to be a high-ranking Soviet operative.

However, it’s quickly revealed “The Rook” is not working on the revolution that Alexei is hoping for, but rather is instead Obadiah Stane in a bathrobe. Stane explains he provided the Red Room information on the Super Soldier Serum Howard Stark had recreated that led to HYDRA killing Howard and his wife Maria, stating: “I traded the Russians some information on Stark’s hunky-dory serum, little tit-for-tat, and in return, I was supposed to be giving a tear-filled eulogy about the fool right now while they scrape his name off Stark Industries.

What If Reveals Tony Stark Always Blamed The Wrong Person For His Parents’ Murder

In the mainline MCU, Tony blames Bucky Barnes for the deaths of his parents – a move that is fair given Bucky did carry out their assassinations, but complicated in the sense that Barnes was a brainwashed HYDRA assassin who had essentially no free will with which to reject his orders. However, if What If…? season 3, episode 3 is to be believed, the person Iron Man should have really been blaming was much closer to home, as HYDRA only knew about the Super Soldier Serum that Howard Stark had in the first place because of Obadiah Stane.

What If…? season 3 debuted on December 22, 2024, with new episodes set to release daily until December 29, 2024.

This concept adds fascinating layers to Iron Man’s MCU story, since in the main universe, it seems Tony remained entirely unaware of his quasi-mentor-turned-first-villain’s involvement in Howard and Maria’s deaths. Not only would this work to help further absolve Bucky of responsibility – since it would even more clearly be the fault of machinations that were outside of his control – but this also makes the original Iron Man movie all the more important, since What If…? suggests Tony may have already gotten revenge on the person who was most directly responsible for the plan to kill his parents – just unknowingly.