Spoilers ahead for A.X.E.: Avengers Iron Man is perhaps Marvel Comics' most notorious playboy, but there's a similarity between some of his most passionate paramours that, once pointed out, is very difficult to ignore. The recent A.X.E.: Avengers proves that he's aware of it, and there are no limits to who he'll flirt with—or when he'll do it.
As the Earth's heroes ally themselves against the Progenitor, a Celestial determined to judge all of humanity, Tony leads a unit of mutants and Eternals into the beings cosmic belly to find a way to shut it down. It's a machine, after all, and he is an engineer. As a skirmish breaks out with the Celestial's alien immune system, a quick exchange between Iron Man and Jean Grey leads to the first of many revelations Stark has over the course of the issue.
In the midst of the battle in A.X.E. Avengers by Kieron Gillen and Federico Vincenti, Jean makes a jab at Tony that it's her understanding most geniuses say stupid things "to show off." Iron Man replies, "You know, I have a bad habit of being attracted to redheads who are mean to me, Ms. Grey. Be careful with what you're unleashing." Leave it to Tony to flirt with another man's wife in the middle of an honest-to-Uatu Armageddon, but maybe he heard through the grapevine that Jean's arrangement with Cyclops is a bit more open these days. Ill timing aside, the joke has more than a grain of truth in it.
The Gentleman Prefers Gingers
Tony's most commonly associated love interest is Virginia "Pepper" Potts, who started in the '60s as his blindly enamored secretary but over the decades became a more fully realized character; even working with Iron Man for a time in her own suit of armor as "Rescue." The two have been on and off again for years, and a large part of Tony's attraction to her is how she challenges him; not only in banter, but her actual desire to see him develop as a person. Sometimes that manifests as her being callous to him, but Tony can't get enough.
His predilection for strawberry-headed ladies has carried across several eras, including his obvious (and largely unrequited) attraction to Natasha Romanoff, his brief infatuation with Mary Jane, and most recently his relationship with Trish Walker aka Hellcat. A tough-talking, slightly acerbic redhead is almost always going to get Tony's attention. The issue goes deeper than color, however; as a Patsy-shaped hallucination whispers into his ear while the Progenitor offers its judgment that he's attracted to parental figures with a strong moral compass. In other words: Tony likes to be disciplined. Do with that information what you will.
Jean Grey isn't generally depicted with this kind of personality, but that doesn't mean she lacks the capacity. Maybe Tony's timing is off, but there is something to be said for the lack of notable relationship—romantic or otherwise—between these two iconic characters. Depending on how the aftermath of Judgment Day will change the Marvel Universe, perhaps there's room for Iron Man to add more red to his armor.