RDJ Has This HUGE 'Avengers' Memento

It became clear six years ago that Marvel and Robert Downey Jr. would be blurring the lines between Tony Stark and his leading actor at every possible opportunity. It's a fact both beloved and irksome, and very, very telling re: Marvel's relationship to Downey Jr. during the first few stages of their cultural takeover. The most recent example? Marvel just, like, gave Robert Downey Jr. the Avengers emblem. They are trying their darnedest to complete this transformation.

The emblem, AKA the giant "A" that remained on Stark Tower at the end of The Avengers' climactic battle, was jokingly requested by Downey Jr. for installation at the Venice offices of his production company. Marvel, however, did not take it as a joke — probably because Downey Jr.'s already making $50 million a movie for them, so why not just throw in a little trinket? As Downey Jr. said in an interview with BBC Radio One:

On the last Avengers, there's this scene where there's this 'A' which is probably 30 feet tall, and I'm looking at it, and we're shooting in England, and I go, 'I need that in my office in Venice.' About two weeks ago, a wheeler showed up, I'm like, 'What the heck is this doing here?' " he said. "And they go, 'This is the 'A' you asked for.' And I go, 'They brought it?' So now we have a massive Avengers 'A' that will be prominently placed.

Tony Stark gets what Tony Stark wants, including all the attention and 30 ft. emblems of their superhero status. Makes you wonder what he's gonna get when his contract with Marvel finally lapses.