Tony Stark's Sweetest Moment Just Became Way Darker (& Could Reveal A Doomsday Connection)

Published Sep 30, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT

Liz Declan is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant, primarily covering movies. She is a massive fan of Star Wars, the MCU, and Supernatural. In addition to writing, Liz loves attending and covering conventions and interviewing actors. Find her on TikTok and Instagram @va.va.vera

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame Encore.Even after Avengers: Endgame Encore, MCU fans continue to have one major Tony Stark question ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, and that's whether Doctor Doom is a Tony variant (or vice versa). Currently, audiences still don't really know why Robert Downey Jr. was the pick for Doctor Doom. Sure, he's a beloved and obviously very talented actor, but for Doom to be played by the same person who portrayed Tony Stark (and, it's worth noting, became an icon in the MCU because of it) definitely suggests there's some deeper connection at work here.

Already, there are plenty of theories regarding what this might mean. In fact, given that all signs currently point towards Steve Rogers' decision to stay in the past being the cause of the events of Doomsday, especially based on the scenes added in Endgame Encore, it seems more likely than ever that something about the Endgame Time Heist caused Doctor Doom and Tony to have some sort of connection—which, in turn, makes Tony's Endgame line, "You mess with time, it tends to mess back; you'll see" a lot more ominous.

Currently, there are very few concrete hints about what this Tony and Doom connection could be, and that's undoubtedly by design. Presumably, this will be among the most significant reveals of Doomsday, next to what are likely several character reveals outside of those that have already been announced (with many hoping that includes the return of Wanda Maximoff, but we'll see). Even with so few details, though, one blink-and-you-miss-it aspect of Endgame Encore may have dropped a major hint, and it makes a key Tony Stark moment much, much darker.

Tony Stark's "I Love You 3000" Moment Is Among The Character's Best

One of the most meaningful moments in Endgame is when Tony's daughter, Morgan, tells him that she loves him "3000." At first, that just seems like an adorable thing for a little kid to say to their parent—and it is—but it becomes so much more profound when it's later repeated by Tony himself in the message he leaves after his death. In fact, this is the last thing that Tony Stark ever says on screen (although they are not technically his last words, as he recorded the message the day before the Time Heist).

Perhaps because of that significance, this line has become deeply connected to Tony's story, even with it appearing rather late in terms of his overall MCU arc. And that, in turn, may be why audiences were quick to see a connection between the now fan-favorite line "I love you 3000" and the fact that Endgame Encore's added scene involving the TVA indicated that 3,000 universes are currently experiencing incursions. While it could be nothing, particularly considering the specificity of the number, the fact that RDJ is playing Doom, and how well-known the line is, it could actually have massive implications.

Could The 3000 Incursions Have A Connection To This Quote?

It's already been heavily hinted by the Russo brothers themselves that Steve's decision to stay in the past caused the events of Doomsday, which suggests that there could be all sorts of connections to Endgame in store that audiences haven't yet anticipated. Perhaps the idea that "I love you 3000" has anything to do with these universes being destroyed seems far-fetched, but there are actually ways that this could work and make sense—and make what was once an adorable scene suddenly a whole lot darker.

It's possible, for example, that this could suggest a link between Doom and Tony after all, wherein Doom may very well be a variant who is destroying universes to find versions of Pepper Potts and Morgan Stark, not unlike what Wanda did in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This is actually related to a theory that has been shared online by the creator scorpiomarsss, who argues that Tony almost certainly would have created a fail-safe when he solved time travel, and this may be connected to that.

It's also possible that Morgan may have simply used an eerily relevant turn of phrase that meant nothing at the time but will now be seen in a new light (or, honestly, maybe she somehow sensed what was coming—she'd be far from the MCU's first super kid). Or perhaps this really is just an odd coincidence, although that somehow seems like the least likely option, for all the reasons previously mentioned. Unfortunately, only Doomsday will reveal the truth behind this Tony Stark story, and we still have a few months to go.

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  Victor von Doom

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  Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic

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  Thor

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  Vanessa Kirby

  Sue Storm / Invisible Woman