Iron Man's MCU "I Love You 3,000" Line was Also Used By (Spoiler)
When Tony Stark is told by his daughter Morgan "I love you 3000" in Avengers: Endgame, it is one of the most heartwarming and touching scenes in the movie. In the Marvel Comics, another hero used the exact same line, but the context was much more hilarious than the original.
The original scene where the line is first uttered in Endgame occurs before Iron Man is set to suit up again and is having one last moment with Morgan. As Tony tucks her in, he tells her that he loves her tons, to which Morgan responds "I love you 3,000." It's both adorable and heart-wrenching, as Stark's upcoming mission would ultimately lead to his death. In his pre-recorded message to Morgan at his funeral, he repeats the line to her.
While fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are aware of the touching message from Tony, in the comics, there's a much-more hilarious use of "I Love You 3,000." In Gwenpool Strikes Back #2 by Leah Williams, David Baldeon, Jesus Aburtov, and Joe Caramagna, the fourth-wall-breaking hero is on a mission to sell more comics and avoid getting canceled. Her adventures take her to the pages of the Fantastic Four, where she wants to seduce Reed Richards to be a part of a surprising new Marvel romance. However, when Deadpool reminds her she has a boyfriend (Quentin Quire), she quickly breaks up with him via text. It's then you can see she used the line "Love You 3000."
Quentin didn't get the meta-reference. But why would he? He's a comic book character in a universe where Avengers: Endgame probably only exists to characters who are capable of jumping outside the comics, like Gwenpool and Deadpool. However, Gwen's message about breaking up is very clear - so he probably got that one.
Gwenpool's on-again-off-again relationship with Quentin is personified by the text message exchange between the pair. One minute she's telling him "I love you 3000," the next she's telling him it's over. To be fair, in the same panel she admits she's not in the best place for a relationship. That's the cost of dating one of the zaniest Marvel heroes in the entire universe. Gwenpool is anything but predictable, and this hilarious panel showed that she was willing to do what it takes to save her series from the chopping block - even dumping her boyfriend. If readers haven't checked out Gwenpool Strikes Back, it is loaded with references and hilarious moments and definitely worth the time to check out.