Marvel Studios
CAUTION: Avengers: Endgame came out over a month ago, but just in case, this post contains spoilers.
In 2013’s Iron Man 3, hardcore Marvel Comics fans were treated to a healthy bit of servicing when Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts briefly donned the Mark 42 armor during a rather explosive scene. It was considering fan service because, in the comics, Tony Stark’s love interest would sometimes wear the Rescue Armor, a suit he specifically designed to protect here in an emergency. With April’s Avengers: Endgame, however, Potts not only got her own suit, but enough weaponry to hold her own in the film’s climactic battle.
The suit didn’t get too much screentime in the end, but thanks to Liz Georgoff, who worked in Endgame‘s art department, we’ve got a behind-the-scenes look at some unused promo art that features it. In particular, the photo Georgoff shared features her wearing the suit for a publicity piece:
Once upon a time, Marvel asked me to wear the Pepper Potts Rescue Suit for a publicity photo shoot. It will always be such an honor to have been one of four women ever to have worn it and to have posed in it with the talented Christopher Swift, my real life Iron Man. Thank you for building these awesome suits with Legacy Effects and for this incredible experience.
You can see Georgoff’s Instagram post below.
It’s just a bit of unused promotional material for the film, of course, but the pose it presents is rather touching in hindsight. After all, Robert Downey Jr.’s Stark dies after sacrificing himself to defeat Thanos and his invading army in the film. As for Paltrow, who played Potts, she too has officially retired from the franchise.