While Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts isn’t a hugely important part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s always nice to see her pop up in the movies. That said, her five year absence after Iron Man 3 led some to conclude that Marvel Studios had decided that it simply wasn’t affordable to continue her contract. That’s why it was such a surprise to see Pepper in the final scenes of this summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, having apparently been busy running Stark Industries while its owner runs around endangering and then saving the world.
Potts is also due to turn up in next year’s Avengers: Infinity War and has recently been spending some time with Robert Downey Jr. At least, judging by this Instagram picture she posted earlier today, which came with the caption: Ten years of #pepperony
I can’t deny it, it’s a pretty cute pic. I wonder if you had told them during the production of the original Iron Man, that it’d spawn the biggest movie franchise the world had ever seen and they’d be playing the same characters ten years from now, they’d believe you. It’s easy to forget now, but at the time, Iron Man was considered something of a gamble: a relatively unknown superhero, an actor famous for his history of substance abuse and a director whose biggest hit had been the Christmas comedy Elf.
Anyway, I hope Potts has a decent role in Avengers: Infinity War (it’s rumored we’ll see her suiting up). She’s the emotional core of Tony Stark’s journey as well as being a cool person in her own right. It’s looking as if these films might be the swansong of Downey Jr.’s Stark (and if he’s gone, Potts has to be gone too), with Marvel Studios eager to introduce new blood into the MCU, so let’s hope the Russo Brothers give her the send-off she deserves when Avengers: Infinity War is released on May 4th.
