The What If? Festival, Part III: What If the Avengers Defeated Everybody?

In this issue, the Scarlet Centurion mind-whammies the Avengers into believing they can usher in peace on Earth by defeating and disabling all the world's super-beings. Once this mission is completed, they then hang up their costumes themselves:

But if you think Tony settles well into his retirement, you obviously haven't been following this blog for very long:

Tony is simply not suited for the dissolute playboy lifestyle (reputation notwithstanding). But more importantly, he eventually learns that the Scarlet Centurion has played them all, leading to the inevitable reaction: 

Following Tony's lead, the other Avengers arrive to foil the Scarlet Centurion's plot. Cue Tony being his usual emotional, protective self:

In the end, the Avengers are successful in protecting the Earth. But of course, the final panels feature Tony excoriating himself over his foolishness:

There are better What If? issues than this one, to be sure, but this is still an interesting read.