Warning: spoilers for I Am Iron Man #4! One of Iron Man’s closest MCU allies gives a harsh reading on his fellow Avenger, but it’s not a wrong one based on Tony Starks’ actions. I Am Iron Man is a series where each issue tells a never-been-seen story from Iron Man’s past. Every issue focuses on a different era of Iron Man history to celebrate the character’s 60th anniversary, as well as further analyze his life.
I Am Iron Man #4 by Murewa Ayodele, Adedotun Akande, and Joe Caramagna takes place shortly after the events of Civil War. During the issue, Tony Stark starts seeing gigantic monsters that no one else can see. To understand what’s going on through Tony’s eyes, he and Strange take sanctuary aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier. There, the then-Director of SHIELD shows Strange his ‘Level Unhinged,’ a lab housing his many armor inventions, including those specifically made to fend off other Avengers. Strange is disturbed and criticizes Stark for making more contingency plans for his teammates than enemies like Thanos.
“How many Thanosbusters Have You Built?”
Iron Man is no stranger to planning for worst-case scenarios regarding his friends, nor is he a stranger to fighting heroes. Especially during Civil War, where Tony led a charge against Captain America’s Secret Avengers. In the same vein, Iron Man has built armor like the Hulkbuster that is made specifically to take down members of his team in the case that they become adversaries – armors he always ends up finding an excuse to unleash.
Iron Man’s Paranoia Is an Addiction
Doctor Strange admits that he understands the need for contingencies, but he thinks they’ve forced Stark to see everyone as an enemy. Strange isn’t necessarily wrong. Again, this is right after Civil War. Iron Man is fresh off planning to fight and imprison Captain America, along with anyone else who opposed the Superhuman Registration Act. Prior to and even after that, Stark still finds ways to not only butt heads with his teammates but build tech made specifically to destroy them. Perhaps all of this wouldn’t be as concerning if Tony made similar precautionary measures for villains. However, he seldom has. Maybe, as Strange implies, Tony only sees monsters, and focuses on his allies because they’re more prominent in his life than real villains.
As a series, I Am Iron Man has gone far in analyzing the root of Tony Stark’s character to its most critical attributes. This is the most damning critique of the character that the series has to offer. Strange compares these inventions to “finding the alcohol stash of your supposedly sober friend.” Strange obviously makes a callback to Tony’s alcoholism, but it also speaks to Tony’s deeper addiction: solving every problem he can think of with a new suit of armor. Tony admits so himself. “It’s what I do. I build. I can’t help myself.” His obsession with invention has blended into his obsession with keeping tabs on everyone (especially his friends), and it’s done more harm than good. After all, there are vanishingly few stories where Tony’s hero-focused armors actually make a bad situation better.
Iron Man and Doctor Strange are close friends, but in this issue fans see Tony Stark at the height of his paranoia, and the Sorcerer Supreme spends the issue calling out his flaws. It’s a harsh dressing down that perfectly speaks to who Iron Man is at his worst, without ignoring what he’s capable of at his best.
I Am Iron Man #4 is available now from Marvel Comics.
