The epic final showdown between Earth's mightiest heroes and Thanos' invading army, Avengers: Endgame culminated in a finger snap to end all finger snaps. Not only did it turn the alien enemies into dust, including the unstoppable Mad Titan himself, it brought to an end the decade-spanning Infinity saga and ended the life of Earth's best defender, Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Sacrificing himself in a selfless, noble act that many had often doubted he was capable of, Iron Man even managed to utter the perfect line before snapping his fingers and bringing the battle to an end. But it has now emerged that Stark's last line was almost very different.

The man behind the iron mask himself, Robert Downey Jr. recently revealed that instead of the pitch perfect phrase that Stark does utter whilst looking Thanos directly in the eye with the kind of defiance the beloved character has become known for, he almost...made a joke.

"Oh, snap!"

Apparently this is the line that the actor wanted to say during Iron Man's final moment in Avengers: Endgame. Whilst kneeling amongst the bodies of fallen enemies and comrades, he wanted to stare-down the mighty Thanos and make one last quippy remark. Though this may sound very on-brand for the constantly quipping Tony Stark, most would no doubt agree that what we ended up with is vastly better.

Of course, knowing what we do about Robert Downey Jr, there is every chance that he was simply making another joke when he revealed this jokey option for Tony Stark's last moments, but it is also no secret that the search for the ideal last line was an arduous one. In fact, the line that ended up in the theatrical release was originally thought up by Avengers: Endgame editor Jeffrey Ford. The search took so long, with the eureka moment not hitting until Ford was on the cutting room floor, that the production had to be reassembled quickly (not unlike the assembling that takes place at the film's finale) so that the line could be added in.

For those who may have forgotten Iron Man's conclusion, he expertly brings us back to the very first Iron Man, and the very first movie in the MCU, by countering Thanos' threatening "I am Inevitable" with the now iconic "I am Iron Man". Before this though the original cut of Avengers: Endgame had Tony saying nothing at all and simply snapping his fingers, a move which would have been even more jarring than a joke considering the hyper-verbal nature of the character.

Thankfully, it was all worth it in the end as the finale caps off Iron Man's story, and the Infinity saga, perfectly with a wonderful mixture of blockbuster scale, nostalgia and intimate character beats. You can relive Tony Stark's satisfyingly unfunny final moments on Blu Ray and DVD now. This news comes from ComicBook.com