Warning: contains spoilers for The Death of Doctor Strange: The Avengers #1!
Marvel's Iron Man has a long history with battling his alcohol addiction, and while it largely disappeared from the comics in the 70s and 80s, a recent story proves that Tony Stark's problems have never truly gone away. Addiction can cripple those who are both physically and emotionally strong, and superheroes are unfortunately no different. In The Death of Doctor Strange: The Avengers #1, written by Alex Paknadel with art by Ryan Bodenheim and colors by Rachelle Rosenberg, readers witness the never-ending effects an addiction has on a person's daily life.
In The Death of Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme is dead, having been murdered by an unknown assailant. With his death, the barrier preventing magical threats from entering the world falls. As the Avengers - Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Captain Marvel - scramble to Strange's sanctum, they find a new threat awaits them: the Three Mothers. These magical foes make very short work of the Avengers, and all four retreat. For his part, Iron Man returns to his brownstone apartment in New York.
With his armor off, Tony takes a shower, frantically scrubbing off the painful memories of exactly how the Three Mothers defeated him. His thoughts are dominated by alcohol. "Drink drink drink drink..." he thinks, even as he realizes he's clean and the suit has suffered no lasting damage. No xenobiological material is detected, but Tony, wracked with paranoia and gripped with fear, demands the suit's computer, B.O.S.S, check again.
As seen in the famous Demon in a Bottle story, Tony has gone to great lengths for a drink, especially when his troubles as both Iron Man and Tony Stark increase. Indeed, during Deliverance, he once walked the streets of New York during a blizzard and sold the coat off his back for a bottle (he was in dire straits at the time and the coat was one of his few possessions left). The famous cover proclaimed "In the morning, Tony Stark will be sober...or dead." It was the moment in which Tony had hit absolute rock bottom. He has, however, since realized his problem and sought the help he desperately needed, even attending AA meetings and later sponsoring Captain Marvel for her own addiction to alcohol.
Tony's alcohol issues weren't covered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they're frequently discussed in the comics. Even now, over 40 years after his initial struggle, the symptoms of addiction still plague his thoughts. Iron Man may still have the instinctual need to find a drink in incredibly stressful times, but his years of sobriety and professional help prevents him from going back to the bottle.
If you are struggling with alcohol addiction, call the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Hotline at 1-800-662-HELP.