Tony Stark reckons with the reality behind paradise in Iron Man #11. As his Not-Avengers continue toward TAA II after Korvac, Tony and Avro-X try to rebuild Stilt-Man’s colony after the Ultimo attack. But what is Stilt-Man hiding? Written by Christopher Cantwell. Drawn by Angel Unzueta. Colored by Frank D’Armata. Lettered by Joe Caramagna.
Team Iron Man’s current predicaments start to come into starker focus in Iron Man #11. For Patsy Walker and the C-listers still in deep space, it’s the realization that they will have to face Korvac alone. Framed as an “executive decision” the ragtag team has made in the wake of losing Tony, both to wild space and his addiction. “It’s just us,” Hellcat tells the others. They know it won’t be enough, but it won’t stop them trying. It is a noble decision.
For Tony, however, it’s something much baser. It’s the fact that he can’t stop picking at the scabs of his addiction. “I’m sorry…and my answer is…very” comes his answer to Hellcat’s query about whether he is sober. It is a less than noble decision.
But both of these choices in tandem provide Iron Man #11 another neat emotional couching against its armor-based action, showily rendered in neat panel layouts by guest artist Angel Unzueta, whose pencils are given a rusty hue thanks to the plaintive colors of Frank D’Armata. A slightly jarring change from the sheen and cleanliness of CAFU, for sure, but one that adds a tonally sound, wholly different visual flavor to the issue that I appreciated.
Though I am still not very crazy about Tony having another relapse, the creative team continue to show a willingness to make all this stuff matter, reverberating his state of mind throughout the whole of this issue. Sure, Tony might be right to suspect that Stilt-Man doesn’t have the purest of intentions. He’s a themed villain, after all. You don’t go into that line of work to be considered trustworthy.
At the same time, however, Cantwell continues to hold Tony’s feet to the fire. For his recklessness, for his turn back to being not sober, all of it! Admirably in fact, and with two co-stars this round: Patsy Walker and fellow armored swashbuckler Avro-X. Having Tony be this self-aware about it also helps. Tony is a character that tries always to justify his actions as the “greater good” or “bigger picture”. But Cantwell has him basically admit that he’s tilting at windmills, trying to find a way to hide out there. Now even more so because of his blissed out state. It’s a novel bit of growth and accountability I like to see in my founding Avengers.
Cantwell also explicitly frames this relapse as a choice Tony is making. One that started out as pain management, but then evolved to a sort of lazy escapism upon being stranded on the planetoid. If you’ll remember, last issue, Tony admitted to tampering with the morphine regulator in his suit; a sort of acknowledgement of the drugs being available in his damaged armor and keeping him somewhat aloft mentally during this whole narrative left-turn. But in the same issue, and here again in #11, Cantwell through Tony reveals further that he has the skill to fix it whenever he wants. He just won’t yet. Even when Patsy calls him out on it. Obviously this isn’t something we can deal with in a single issue (and will likely serve as a whole story’s basis soon), but framing this latest turn as one Tony is making at least semi-consciously, knowing full well his own history with addiction, is one I am anxious to see the creative team wrestle with in coming issues.
Now, I want to be very clear. I do not believe that addiction is a choice. Nor do I believe that Chris Cantwell believes it is either. Addiction, obviously, is a very serious issue and one supported by a whole host of factors, both mentally and physically, and one doesn’t just glibly choose to be an addict simply because those factors exist.
However, I feel as if the choices Tony is making here, through the pen of Cantwell, provide us a new, possibly recognizable reason for this latest relapse. Yes, his circumstances are dire but he has actively done at least two things (breaking the regulator and not fixing said regulator) that he KNOWS will be unhealthy for him. Despite the wealth of knowledge he has about his own sobriety and work he’s done to maintain it. That, I feel, is the more interesting element that we should focus on. Not that Tony has backslid, but that he’s justified and aided it because he’s “stranded”, and shaken loose a bit of his personal responsibility. It is a complicated moral quandary Cantwell has introduced into this arc, and I am so curious to see how he and Tony try to deal with it. Especially knowing the active part Tony has played in it.
This same engaging accountability even extends to the space-faring section of characters as well. Having all agreed in tandem, knowing what they know about Tony and their odds on making it back, to stick it out no matter what. I have been a little frustrated to have Patsy and the rest of the gang so sequestered for much of this arc. Mainly because a lot of the spark of this volume lies in Tony’s sparring with Patsy and the rest of the ensemble. But I am willing to forgive this issue thanks to the strength of their scant inclusion alongside the cameo from one of the weirdest of the Marvel Cosmic pantheon.
All told, Iron Man #11 is another issue filled with great down-to-earth Stark-led storytelling. Peppered with wry dialogue, Marvel Cosmic weirdness, and sturdily constructed and colored visuals. Now if we could just get Ol’ Shellhead back to his friends and Hell-powered GF we would REALLY be cookin’ with Power Cosmic gas! Until then, I’ll settle for the solid Iron Man #11.
Zachary Jenkins runs ComicsXF and is a co-host on the podcast “Battle of the Atom.” Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside of all this.
