Iron Man: Demon In A Bottle TPB

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While flying home, Iron Man's armor begins to malfunction, sending him flying uncontrollably through the sky and crash landing. He regains control and later tests the armor in his lab, and finds nothing apparently wrong. Stark is visiting a casino with Bethany Cabe when Blizzard, the Melter, and Whiplash arrive and attempt to rob the casino's vault. Stark slips away, dons his armor, and battles and defeats the villains. During the fight, he overhears a comment from Blizzard about "Hammer" wanting Iron Man kept alive. Stark later receives and agrees to a request for Iron Man to represent his company, Stark International, at a public ceremony and meet with a foreign ambassador. At the ceremony, Iron Man's armor again malfunctions, striking the ambassador with a repulsor blast, killing him. Iron Man tells the police about the malfunction, claiming he did not intentionally kill the ambassador. Doubtful, but knowing they can't fight him, the police let him go but demand that Stark turn over his armor for inspection, and Stark complies. During this time, Stark's drinking increases significantly. Demon in a Bottle" is a nine-issue story arc from the comic book series The Invincible Iron Man (vol. 1), published in issues 120 through 128 in 1979 by Marvel Comics. It was written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton and illustrated by John Romita, Jr., Bob Layton, and Carmine Infantino. "Demon in a Bottle" is concerned with Tony Stark's alcoholism. The storyline ran in Iron Man #120–128 (March–Nov. 1979), plotted by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, with script by Michelinie. John Romita, Jr. pencilled the breakdown sketches, with Layton providing finished art. Issue #122 (May 1979) was both plotted and scripted by Michelinie, penciled by Carmine Infantino and inked by Layton. [1] D.K. Latta of Pulp and Dagger praised Michelinie for "deliver[ing] smart writing and plausible, grown up characters that are a pleasure to read and a rich tapestry of plot threads" and "avoid[ing] the preachy, holier-than-thou route, and instead just tell[ing] a story that happens to concern a costumed super-hero getting a little...lost." Latta found Romita's pencil art "problematic" but added that "Bob Layton's inks help a lot." [7] Win Wiacek of Now Read This! said, "The fall and rise of a hero is a classic plot, and it’s seldom been better used in the graphic narrative medium and never bettered in the super-hero field. An adult and very mature tale for kids of all ages, it is an unforgettable instance of triumph and tragedy perfectly told." [4]

Demon in a Bottle is a piece of comic canon that depicts a significant event in Tony Stark's life: his battle with alcoholism. Stark then tries to escape the complex, only to learn that it is a moving, floating, houseboat. Stark is put in a cell, but then he escapes again, destroys the transmitter and changes into his Iron Man armor. Hammer sends his minions after Iron Man, who dispatches them easily, and then Hammer attempts to escape to international waters by powering up jet powered lift pods on the bottom of his floating Villa. Knowing that Tony Stark battles "obsession" how does that affect your reading of the "Civil War" story arc?)

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With that in mind this collection is quite an achievement, and even more important to think about critically. While the issue seemed resolved, Tony’s struggle with alcoholism became a reoccurring problem, which gave it a layer of veracity the original storyline didn’t quite have. He doesn’t stop being an alcoholic. He instead learns to live sober. Tony's continuing battles with his addiction issues, including alcoholism, would persist throughout the character's history for decades following. In many ways, Tony has always been haunted by his own personal demons, including his past as an arms dealer, but his alcoholism was a harsh reminder of his deep flaws even after becoming a superhero. This is a sort of last hurrah of sorts for the original incarnations of Blizzard and Melter, as both would only make a few more appearances after this storyline before being unceremoniously killed off. While the second Blizzard would become a mainstay in Iron Man's rogues gallery, the Melter would rarely reappear in any incarnation. At the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark was immediately established as a heavy drinker, indulging in alcoholic beverages in the morning and in business meetings in the 2008 original Iron Man film. By Iron Man 2, the pressures of being a superhero and facing his own impending mortality due to blood poisoning had led to Tony to significantly increase his alcohol consumption to Pepper Potts and James Rhodes' visible concern, leading to an armored altercation between Tony and Rhodey when an intoxicated Tony goes out of control at his birthday party.

Coming after two years of hardship, O’Neil and McDonnell would end their first major arc having completely revolutionized Iron Man, passing the mantle to a new generation while sending Tony Stark on a new path of his own. This, however, would only be the first of many changes to come. HEAVY IS THE HEAD For generations, superheroes have been held up as an inspirational ideal, symbols of our own ability to transcend our limitations and realize our fullest potential. But for every moment of hope, there is one of doubt; a personal crisis that tears our self-image away and leaves us to face our own inner darkness. For many, this struggle is unending. It may break us. But it also gives us the opportunity to rise up, stronger than ever before. The first time I read this I really enjoyed it, reading it again I'm not sure why I liked it. There are some parts that are good but overall it just feels like a bloated mess, Tony isn't really an alcoholic throughout the whole thing. Which I thought was the whole point of the story, he just has a few drinks at the beginning then about 3/4 digs a little deeper in the bottle. Even when he does that it doesn't really focus on the alcoholism, which would of been nice to explore.Iron Man steps down as Chairman of the Avengers, placing Captain America in charge. From this point forward, the dominant image of the team is Cap as the leader. Much like the never-ending, serialized nature of comics, Tony Stark will always continue to battle his personal demons. And while he may stumble or fall, sometimes harder than ever, it’s his ability to endure, to rise above these struggles, that makes him truly invincible. Sources: I've been wanting to read the comic where Tony Stark has a drinking problem for quite some time. Ok, that sounds kind of weird, but it's true. This is the volume that includes the classic "Demon in a Bottle" comic. Storywise, there's a lot going on here. Tony's struggling with the possible hostile takeover of Stark Industries by SHIELD, as well as troubles with his armor. And though the story doesn't specifically mention it, I felt like he's also dealing with the strain of lying to some of his best friends (Rhodey and Bethany) about his dual identity. There's a murder and also a near-death at the hands of Namor. Finally, some goofy villains seems to be teaming up, making his life much more hellish than they normally would. So the b-plot is that Tony seems to be drinking a lot more than normal, and it causes trouble. (see some great scenes with Jarvis on this subject)

Later, Hammer gets Whiplash, the Melter and the Blizzard out of custody. Soon Stark and Jim Rhodes land in Monaco, then Stark is captured by Hammer's henchmen and brought to his headquarters via an amphibious craft. Stark learns that although Hammer is not as public a figure as Stark, Hammer's wealth and power is second only to that of Stark's influence. Stark International had been Hammer's business rival for a long time but the Carnelian contract was the most recent competition between the two. Stark also learns that losing the Carnelian contract to him was the main reason that Hammer discredited him. With both leads reaching a turning point in their arcs, O’Neil catalyzes another shake-up, having Rhodes, supporting members Morely and Cly Erwin, and a newly-sober Stark move across the country to forge a new company in California. Initially set up as a return to form for the title, the story steadily begins to play with readers’ expectations, using both leads’ journeys to inform a new sense of rivalry between Stark and Rhodes.What really still impresses are the decent cliff-hangers. When you read a collection of issues like this, it is easy to forget the impact a cliff-hanger can have, especially when you have to wait a month to find out the resolution. The ending of issue 124, when Iron Man goes wrong with fatal consequences, is a brilliant piece of story telling. A previously unknown adversary reveals himself when an act of sabotage implicates Iron Man in a murder... but the true threat comes from within. Writer/artist Bob Layton said of the story: "I'm gonna quote David Michelinie here, that it was never our intention to do anything relevant. We were paid to, basically, do the next episode of Iron Man. [It's] just [that in] that particular issue, alcoholism was the bad guy. Instead of Doctor Doom or somebody like that, it was the bottle. That was our villain of the month. And that's really the way we treated it. We built everything up to that. But the point of it is, it was never... we never attempted to be relevant. It just... in the corporate world, what gets to guys? What causes the downfall? Usually it's greed, or it's sex and drugs, right? Well, we couldn't do the sex part, right? Alcohol wasn't talked about all that much, really, to be honest with you. Especially with kids, you know, in that particular era. But, you know, we treated it as we intended to, as the bad guy." [2] Reception and legacy [ edit ] Michelinie and Layton make a real good job here, they are still the most iconic and classic team on Iron Man, and Romita Jr in his beginnings was a far better artist than he is now.