Would Tony Stark becoming a dad ruin Avengers 4?

Not that he’s not a father figure already… but would actual parenthood for Tony Stark make Avengers 4 worse or somehow a less interesting movie?

Warning: We’ll be discussing some Avengers: Infinity War plot points here.

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and going into Avengers 4, the current piece of information roiling the fandom comes not only from official sources, but from an actor. Gwyneth Paltrow may have accidentally let it be known that Tony and Pepper will be parents come Avengers 4.

Now, Nerdist, linked above, argues that this would “add another layer of depth to [Tony’s] story.” This isn’t wrong, necessarily. Babies have this weird way of changing a lot of things when they show up. But the idea of a growing affection and responsibility for someone younger than yourself is already something Tony has done.

Need we say more than “Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good” to get our point across?

A huge amount of Tony and Peter Parker’s story in Avengers: Infinity War centers around Tony attempting to protect someone he cares for, in his own Tony Stark way, and still failing. We’ve taken a closer look at it, but that’s the base point. We even point out that they already seem like a father and son.

Sure, a baby Stark would probably help remind Tony of his failure to save Peter (and everyone else who faded away on Titan). But it seems to us that having your protege basically break down and then die in your arms is a pretty strong reminder all on its own.

Nerdist also posits that this confirms that Avengers 4 won’t immediately follow Infinity War. But why can’t it be that Tony’s epilogue, whatever it is, is retiring to just be a genius, billionaire, father and philanthropist?

Avengers 4 doesn’t need to center his story on protecting a child only to see him fail again. That’s not “another layer of depth.” It is revisiting an emotional gut-punch that would probably lose its effectiveness if we see it in two movies just a year apart.

Next: 5 Infinity War stories we almost had if Iron Man and Captain America had reunited

In other words, we hope Paltrow just meant the epilogue — not the entire storyline for Tony in Avengers 4.