Warning! This article contains spoilers for Devil's Reign #6
After suffering years of humiliating losses to one surprising Marvel Comics villain, Iron Man finally redeems himself in the final chapter of Marvel Comics’ latest crossover event. Ever since Iron Man crossed paths with Doctor Octopus while trying to amp-up security at Ryker's Island, he hasn’t been able to catch a break whenever he goes up against the Spider-Man villain, both physically and psychologically. But now, Iron Man has finally given it right back to Otto in a way that makes up for every defeat he ever endured in the past.
The first stage of their relationship came about in Marvel Fanfare #22-23 by Roger McKenzie and Ken Steacy in which Iron Man finds himself at Ryker's Island upgrading their prison security when he is attacked by Doc Ock who absolutely manhandles Iron Man, completely dismantling his suit and proving his physical superiority. A later encounter shows Doc Ock humiliating Iron Man intellectually by actually getting the Avenger to admit that Octavius is smarter than he is, a huge blow to Iron Man’s ego that takes place in Invincible Iron Man #503 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. In that issue, Doc Ock says he’ll blow up a populated area unless Iron Man can either figure out how to defuse the bombs or admit that Doc Ock is smarter. Iron Man eventually submits, at which point Otto reveals there were no bombs in the first place, humiliating Iron Man even further.
In Devil’s Reign #6 by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto, Iron Man is able to make up for those previously suffered defeats by taking Doc Ock down with little to no effort, all while taking a jab at his intelligence in the process as well. In the issue, the heroes and villains are having their final showdown on the streets of New York City after the Kingpin’s evil plot crumbles all around him. During the brawl, Doc Ock is trying to corral his variants that he pulled in from other universes to use this time to seize control of the situation instead of participating in the violence. Doc Ock screams at the other versions of himself who had fallen victim to Killgrave’s mind-control powers, “Use your perfect mind to break free, Otto!” Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Iron Man blasts Doc Ock into the side of a building and completely neutralizes him without breaking a sweat. During his attack, Iron Man addresses what Doc Ock screamed as his variants with an insult, saying, “Perfect mind like yours – and you never considered inventing armor?”.
Iron Man’s swift and brutal defeat of Doc Ock in this issue is something that was a long time coming, and something that couldn’t have happened soon enough. Earlier during the crossover event in Devil’s Reign: Superior Four #1 by Zac Thompson and Davide Tinto, Doc Ock and his variants traveled to another reality where they encountered and quickly killed an Iron Man variant, proving that Doc Ock’s victories over Iron Man were a multiversal phenomenon.
Doctor Octopus is perhaps the last villain one would expect to give a world-class hero and renowned super genius like Iron Man such a hard time, but time and again that weird fact proves itself even more true. However, in Iron Man’s latest feat of redemption, he pays Doc Ock back in one fell swoop. Iron Man proves his physical superiority over Doc Ock with the single debilitating blast, making up for his loss in Marvel Fanfare, then insults his intelligence by basically calling hims stupid for never developing a full-body suit. This saves his intellectual pride after being forced to regard Doc Ock as the smarter of the two in Invincible Iron Man. Because of how fast he took him down and the jab he delivered upon that take-down, Iron Man finally redeems his most humiliating defeats.