Iron Man and Rocket Raccoon’s first interaction in Avengers: Endgame is yet another MCU moment that looks different years later – this time, thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Rocket and Iron Man are very similar heroes in a lot of ways, thanks to their shared technological know-how.

While very different in many other ways – most notably that Rocket is a genetically mutated space-farer – the pair also mirror one another in terms of both having tragic backstories. In fact, Iron Man’s first meeting with Rocket sees him accidentally reference the Guardians of the Galaxy hero’s origins in brutal fashion, while remaining seemingly completely unaware he has done so.

Rocket & Iron Man Both Have Pretty Rough Journeys To Avengers: Endgame

It’s hard to say who has the rougher time between Rocket and Iron Man when it comes to their road to Avengers: Endgame, and the circumstances we find them in when they first meet in the franchise. Indeed, they’re definitely two of the characters impacted most by Avengers: Infinity War.

Iron Man begins his story in Avengers: Endgame by being trapped on the Benatar ship with Nebula, which had run out of supplies and fuel, resulting in a near-death experience. The fact this happened not long after Iron Man was forced to watch as Spider-Man became a victim of the Snap also manages to make this even worse.

In a similar vein, Rocket being one of the only members of the Guardians of the Galaxy team to survive Avengers: Infinity War – with the Gamora he knew ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, and Star-Lord, Groot, Drax and Mantis all Snapped – also puts him in a dark place at this point in the MCU timeline. However, the two heroes don’t exactly begin their dynamic by sharing commiserations.

Iron Man’s First Line To Rocket In Avengers: Endgame Is Exactly What You’d Expect

Rocket and Iron Man’s first meeting in Avengers: Endgame takes place before the movie’s timeskip, meaning both are still freshly grieving, and Iron Man is recovering from his experience stranded in space. As such, it’s perhaps no surprise Iron Man’s first words to Rocket are an insult.

After Rocket explains that Thor is struggling – thanks to his accidental role in letting Thanos’ plans succeed, and because of his inability to protect the lives of his friends and loved ones once more following Thanos’ attack on his fellow Asgardians at the start of Avengers: Infinity War – Tony reacts with some surprise. To explain, he responds:

“Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear.”

It’s a moment of some characteristic Stark snark, given the hero has some sort of quip or nickname for almost every character he meets in the franchise. However, this is one that is also more striking because it’s not met with a retort from the usually also snarky Rocket.

Instead, the tired hero responds by simply stating “maybe I am.” Ironically, since Iron Man dies in Endgame, this is one of their first and last interactions, though Rocket works with Tony on the Time Heist, and pays his respect at the hero’s funeral.

The scene quickly moves away from this moment, and the fact it’s in the first minutes of Endgame means that by the end of the movie, it’s easy to have forgotten about it. However, it’s far harder to forget after realizing how brutal this snippet of the film is following a watch (or rewatch) of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Rocket’s Backstory Makes The Iron Man Line (& Rocket’s Reaction) Way More Brutal

We already had a rough idea of how awful Rocket’s backstory was thanks to teases he’d put down ever since the first movie in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. However, the third film in the series provides an actual physical look at just how bad things were, adding a useful if deeply tragic spot of context.

Seeing how Rocket was changed and fitted with a kill switch to meet the demands of the High Evolutionary is an undeniably unpleasant experience. However, this is made far worse when it’s revealed the High Evolutionary “made” Rocket while seemingly always intending to destroy him, because he didn’t consider him civilized enough for his “new world”.

As such, the Iron Man joke becomes accidentally far more brutal on Tony’s part. While Stark doesn’t know the intricacies of Rocket’s past, the fact the anthropomorphic hero’s past does involve him being “built” in such a remarkably cruel and callous way certainly makes the zinger feel like it probably cuts a little deeper, even if Rocket likely doesn’t know what a build-a-bear is.

On a similar level, Rocket agreeing to this statement when he’s historically reactive to these kinds of comments prior to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 itself is also a little more painful to see. While it’s likely just that Rocket is too tired and sad to care, this does also seem to speak to his complicated feelings about his origins as well, which we only see him really deal with 9 years into his on-screen story.