**Warning: this article contains heavy spoilers concerning the ending of Marvel's Avengers: Endgame**
In the wake of Endgame, fans find themselves dealing with the loss of the man who started the whole MCU. Such a devastating turn leaves the audience to question whether there are plans for the void left by Iron Man.
At the end of the film, several friends, family members, and fellow heroes come to pay respects to the fallen hero. Among them is one not-so-familiar teenager whose brief appearance left people questioning his identity, as well as his importance to Tony Stark.
BuzzFeed points out that teen was actually an older Harley Keener from the 2013 film Iron Man 3. Played by Ty Simpkins, Harley was the 10-year-old kid who assisted Tony throughout the threequel. He developed a strong relationship with Stark, as he helped him rebuild his suit and aided him during his panic attacks. Before parting ways, Stark gave Harley an impressive workshop to allow him to keep inventing.
Harley's appearance in Endgame has led fans to speculate about his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as that of the Iron Man mantle. It's important to note that though he hasn't appeared in any other MCU movies for the last six years, Simpkins has been at several Marvel premieres since 2013. His cameo in the movie helps wrap up Stark's story, accompanied by people from all of Marvel's movies over the last 11 years, and some moviegoers are speculating about Harley's future in the MCU, possibly as a successor.
If we're sticking to the comics, the true successor is Riri Williams, also known as Ironheart. She debuted in late 2016 and got her first solo series in 2018 via writer Dr. Eve L. Ewing and artists Geoffrey Beaulieu and Luciano Vecchio. After Tony fell into a coma following the Civil War, Williams, a black 15-year-old genius/MIT student from Chicago, reverse-engineered an older model of the Iron Man suit and picked up where Tony left off.
