Warning: Spoilers for The Avengers #19!Tony Stark’s original addiction doesn’t even topIron Man’salcohol addiction. Tony Stark’s penchant for liquor has been well-documented, most infamously in “Demon in a Bottle” by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, and John Romita Jr., one of thebest Iron Man storiesof all time. However, Marvel has made it a point to remind readers in recent years thatIron Man’s first addiction wasn’t alcohol.
Iron Man’s first addiction was war, andThe Avengers#19 by Jed MacKay, Farid Karami, Federico Blee, and Cory Petit illustrates why he may never overcome that addiction.The new Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Doom, presents a hypothetical, perfect world to the Avengers, and in that vein presents a world where neither Iron Man nor the world have a need for weapons.
But it’s an unrealistic vision of the world that the comic ensures will never come to pass. As such,Iron Man will never rid himself of the addictionthat continues to plague him today.
Iron Man Is Addicted to War, and He Continues to Struggle with That Addiction
Doctor Doom Exposes Tony Stark’s First Addiction
Iron Man and his fellow Avengers found themselves at thecenter of the “Blood Hunt” story arcwhen they faced their biggest challenge yet: a vampire invasion. Pop culture’s oldest vampire,Varnae, made things personal by possessingformer Avengers member, Blade, and turning the planet into a playground for his vicious vampire army once he blotted out the sun. One of the Avengers' biggest assets, Doctor Strange, was neutralized upon being killed by Varnae, leaving Earth’s Mightiest Heroes without a Sorcerer Supreme. The heroes needed to rely on the most unexpected name to save the world: Doctor Doom.
In Doctor Strange’s place, Doctor Doom joined Iron Man and the Avengers in the fight against Varnae by becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. Doom used his position as Sorcerer Supreme to return the sun to its natural place, destroying the global vampire threat while Miles Morales' Spider-Man and Blade’s daughter,Bloodline, killed Varnae. However, against his word, Doctor Doom refused to give up the Sorcerer Supreme mantle. Now, Doctor Doom uses his position to judge Iron Man and the Avengers, questioningwhy they haven’t used their power to eradicate the world’s biggest threatand initiate worldwide peace, as he plans to.
Doctor Doom Explains The Real Reason Captain Marvel Leads The Avengers, Instead of Captain America
For those wondering why Captain Marvel is leading the Avengers right now instead of Captain America, Doctor Doom manages to have the perfect answer.
After expressing howhe doesn’t respect the Avengersfor not utilizing the full extent of their power to force the world to be a better place, he shows them a vision of the world if they were to do just that - asthe Agents of Emperor Doom. In singling out each member’s place in his world,Doom proposes that Iron Man become"finally free of weapons. Cosigning both his and the world’s addiction to war to the scrap heap of history.“In Doom’s world, Iron Man’s life’s work will finally create worldwide peace without a need for war or weaponry.
Iron Man’s Love for War and Weaponry Is Tied to Addiction
Tony Stark Always Longs for War
To best understand Doctor Doom’s words, readers must first understand Iron Man’s addictions. His addiction to drinking and subsequent recovery is one of the more iconic characteristics ofTony Stark. Ignoring a relatively recent relapse,Tony has managed to keep his alcoholism under control. Obviously, he still struggles with it, as alcohol addiction is a lifelong battle, but in layman’s terms, it can be said that he’s overcome his addiction and won’t fall off the wagon again anytime soon. The same cannot be said for his addiction to war.
Without war, there is no Iron Man.
In more recent comics,Marvel has framed war as Iron Man’s first addiction. Even in this series,The Avengers#7 calls war “his first addiction, his first vice … his first love.” Similarly, his adoration for war explains why he spent the better part of a year going to war with the warmonger and Orchis member Feilong,perhaps Iron Man’s darkest villain yet. It makes sense why Tony is so addicted to war. After all, his entry into superheroism was via war, and as a creator of armor and weapons, his mindset is charged by war. Without war, there is no Iron Man.
Can Iron Man Ever Overcome His War Addiction?
At This Point, It’s Not Likely
When Doctor Doom is finished showing the Avengers what an ideal world looks like, Iron Man explains why they don’t use their powers to"set things right"in the world:“I know war. I built war. Was raised on war. And if the Avengers tried to take control of the world, it would be war.“Taking the world by force would not only deprive the world of its free will, but create bigger problems in killing millions to save billions. In short, trying to stop every war will only create more war.
Iron Man is in an awkward paradox, where he needs war just as much as the world does to ensure its safety. There could never be a scenario where Iron Man rids himself of his first addiction, because there is no scenario where the world could be without war. In fact, he needswar to ensure a safer world, and thus, by makinghis endless Iron Man armorand weapons, he must accommodate the world he’s in by constantly building to prepare for the worst. By that logic,Iron Manwill be battling his addiction to war until the day he dies.
The Avengers#19is available now from Marvel Comics.
Iron Man
Anthony “Tony” Edward Stark, AKA Iron Man, is a Marvel Comics superhero who has enjoyed several years of the spotlight and has become a mainstay in several Marvel media franchises. After suffering a critical injury, Tony creates a specialized armored suit powered by an arc reactor, which keeps him alive. Egotistical but good-hearted, Tony utilizes his super intellect and inventions to fight to protect humanity from various threats, eventually becoming a founding member of the Avengers. In 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was kicked off with the film Iron Man, which starred Robert Downey Jr. as the superhero.
