It’s been almost half a year now since the Russo brothers brought everything together in Avengers: Endgame, somehow finishing a decade’s worth of work not with a whimper, but a snap. It all coalesced well enough (if you don’t stop to think about it): Tony Stark came full circle as Iron Man, saved the universe(s) in a selfless act of true heroism and learned a bit about power. However, one of the earlier drafts of the story had someone else taking that metaphorical bullet.

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Poor tragic Nebula, the cybernetic killing machine, was almost the one to wield the Stark Gauntlet at the end of the massive melee that closed out the film. This idea even made it to the concept art stage of planning within the Marvel hivemind, and while it would have been an interesting direction to take the movie in, it probably would’ve had less impact overall.

Of course, this happened in the original comic book run of the Infinity Saga, as Nebula actually took the Gauntlet from Thanos in the comics and briefly became the most powerful being in the universe, before being defeated by a loose collection of heroes, including Doctors Strange and Doom, along with Thanos himself. It’s…wild, as the comics are wan to be. Nebula getting the Gauntlet in the film would have been a nice nod in a movie already filled with nice nods, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

In the end, Tony snapping himself to death was certainly for the best. Robert Downey Jr., as great as he was in the part, played it ’till he could play it no more. Now we get Dolittle and the world is happier for it. Also, I can’t even imagine how many drafts this script must have had; maybe Howard the Duck finally made up for his movie and died for our sins in one? Ah well, Avengers: Endgame need not be tinkered with any further.