People are only just realizing Elon Musk featured in major Marvel movie over a decade ago

Although Elon Musk's persona as a billionaire playboy with a penchant for technology hasn't yet been portrayed on the silver screen, the idea sounds perfect for an Aaron Sorkin biographical drama in the vein of The Social Network or Steve Jobs.

Still, the world's richest man is no stranger to treading the boards, with Elon Musk boasting a packed filmography that includes everything from Machete Kills to Rick and Morty, Young Sheldon to Men in Black: International.

It seems some are only just realizing that Musk has snuck his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We say snuck, but it was a pretty blatant cameo for those who are fans of the world's highest-grossing franchise.

Before you go hunting high and low for some CGI cameo or Musk playing a background Ravager in Guardians of the Galaxy, remember how he's a partial inspiration for Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man.

While Marvel's billionaire playboy predates the birth of Elon Musk by nine years, Iron Man screenwriter Mark Fergus confirmed that the MCU's version of the character was inspired by the tech mogul. In a 2022 interview with New York magazine, Fergus explained how RDJ's Stark was an amalgamation of Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, and Musk: "Steve Jobs was always serious and angry; he never quite had that gift of the bullsh*t, the working the crowd that Musk has a real natural talent for. Musk took the brilliance of Jobs with the showmanship of Trump."

Ironic that Musk appeared in 2010's Iron Man 2, portraying himself in the movie's action-packed Monaco Grand Prix scene.

In the brief cameo, Tony Stark meets Musk and congratulates him on SpaceX's real-life Merlin rocket engines.

Even though some are only just realizing that Musk is in Iron Man 2, Jon Favreau's movie is regarded by many as one of the franchise's 'worst' outings. It seems that a meta cameo from Elon Musk hasn't helped that reputation.

Posting on X, one person said: "I was today years old when I realized Elon Musk was in Iron Man 2."

Another added: "A wink and nod from Jon Favreau back when Hollywood/left were constantly calling him the real-life Tony Stark."

A third said: "These days they would only cast him as Red Skull, obv."

Musk is also mentioned in the short-lived Helstrom series and gets the nod in an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., although it seems unlikely we'll see him again in the MCU. The billionaire has famously called out 'Disney’s DEI Gestapo' over the firing of Gina Carano from The Mandalorian, while Robert Downey Jr. has also made his feelings on Musk clear.

While RDJ is set to play Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, he previously told the On with Kara Swisher podcast what he thinks about Musk: "I've only met him a few times. As an almost 60-year-old recovering white American male, I just wish that he would control his behavior a little more, but that’s not on me.

"I know that this idea of ‘It’s all okay ’cause we’ve gotta get to Mars’ doesn’t really hold water with me. But again, you know, you have to look at all that he’s done that demonstrates why he’s valuable.”

Well, at least we've got Iron Man 2.