It turns out there’s an alternate version of the iconic Iron Man post-credits scene that has remained hidden until now thanks to a newly released Infinity Saga boxset. This alternate scene features Samuel L. Jackson’s legendary Nick Fury reference mutants!
Nick Fury made his debut in the MCU in Iron Man and in it, he brought the idea to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) about being part of a “much bigger universe.” This scene set the stage for what would become the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the alternate take offers a slightly different perspective.
In this alternate scene, Nick Fury’s message remains consistent in its overarching theme of a bigger universe. However, in this version, he says: “As if gamma accidents, radioactive bug bites, and assorted mutants weren’t enough, I have to deal with a spoiled brat who doesn’t play well with others and keeps all of his toys to himself.”
Here he references Hulk, Spider-Man, and X-Men, which is pretty cool. Marvel had no idea where any of this was going to lead when Iron Man was first released, but Kevin Feige must have been feeling really ambitious about the future of the MCU when he and Jon Favreau had Jackson deliver these lines.
Back in 2008, Sony held the film rights to Spider-Man, and their working relationship with Marvel Studios was not as seamless as it is today. It would take years of negotiation and collaboration before Spider-Man swung into the MCU, making his debut in Captain America: Civil War.
Fox, on the other hand, had its own X-Men universe to manage. At that time, the X-Men were a separate entity from the MCU, with no plans for them to cross over. It wasn’t until Disney’s acquisition of Fox that the X-Men became a part of the MCU, opening the door for mutant-related stories, which is slowly being integrated into the overarching narrative.
As for the rest of the scene, it plays out in a manner similar to the original, with Tony Stark questioning the Avengers Initiative. “What are we avenging?” Stark asks, to which Fury coolly replies, “Whatever the hell we want…”
