Warning: SPOILERS for Invincible Iron Man #1Marvel's Iron Man finally explains why the rent in New York City is so outrageously high - and why the same isn't the case within the Marvel Universe. New York City appears to be the most important location within Marvel comics; many superheroes operate from within city limits (and even more writers call the city home). But Invincible Iron Man #1 reveals why so many can afford to live in the troublesome NYC - even someone as down-on-his-luck as Spider-Man.
Almost every major Avenger calls New York home. Captain America, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men were all born in, lived in, or operate within the city. Perhaps because of this, numerous villains are based out of New York as well, chief among them Norman Osborn, the former Green Goblin. New Your also appears to be the center of the MCU, as The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange are all set in or around the massive city.
In Invincible Iron Man #1, written by Gerry Duggan with art by Juan Frigeri, Tony Stark decides to write his memoirs and make them publicly available. His funds have run completely dry after defeating the weapons-dealing Source Control company by simply buying up every single weapon in their inventory. As such, he has lost his billionaires status, and reminisces about his past residences. "Former Avengers Tower, formerly Stark Tower. I dunno what it is now. Rent was cheap 'cause it used to get attacked. Point is, I don't own that either." says Stark, while at the same time explaining the difference between NYC in the real world and in the Marvel Universe.
NYC Rent Is Cheap Because The City Keeps Getting Attacked
New York is indeed a magnet for world-ending conquerors, space aliens and godlike robotic beings in the Marvel Universe. In 2022 alone, Devil's Reign sparked a war against superheroes in the city limits, Judgment Day destroyed and rebuilt Manhattan, Fantastic Four: Reckoning War began with pieces of the moon raining on Midtown, and Dark Web brought inanimate objects to life with homicidal tendencies. It is no small wonder, then, that the price of a New York apartment (or a skyscraper) plummets in the aftermath of every major Marvel event.
Currently, Iron Man can no longer afford an apartment in New York City (at least, one with a skylight - a feature that he absolutely requires). That being said, rent is apparently quite cheap in the Marvel Universe's version of the Big Apple, considering the fact that Ultron of Doctor Doom could attempt to take over the city at any time. Thanks to Iron Man, readers now know that for all the threats in the Marvel Universe's version of New York City, at least the rent is cheap.