From Ultimate Armor Wars.

Meanwhile, Ults!Tony just can't help flirting with the women he rescues -- or pretending he's not actually a pretty good guy deep down. (Ultimate Armor Wars)

That's the spirit, Ults!Tony! (From Ultimate Armor Wars)

Ults!Tony on taking responsibility. (From Ultimate Comics Iron Man)

We interrupt our focus on Demon in a Bottle to...

... celebrate another Ultimates Day! In this capture (from Ultimate Comics: Iron Man), Tony finally decides to abandon his pride and admit he needs some help.

From Ultimate Comics: Iron Man. Happy Ultimates Day!

The defining characteristics of Tony Stark that seem to hold constant across the multiverse: 1.) a pride that causes him to resist asking for help; 2.) inner demons that privately torment him; and 3.) good friends who genuinely want to back him up if only he would ask. (This and the Ultimates post from last month are both from Ultimate Comics: Iron Man)  

The What If? Festival, Part X: What If? Fallen Son.

Or: What if Iron Man died at the end of Civil War instead of Captain America?

Click below to see the letter Tony leaves behind for Steve!

The What If? Festival, Part IX: What If? Annihilation.

Or: What if the Annihilation Wave reached Earth in the middle of Civil War?

Or: What if Civil War ended the way it was supposed to?

The What If? Festival, Part VII: What If? Iron Man: Demon in an Armor.

Or: What If Tony Stark Became Victor Von Doom?

Doom body-swaps with Tony to seize control of the latter's name and extensive resources:

Welcome, readers, to my personal What If? Festival!

Because Marvel is currently airing their What If? animated series on Disney+, I think it's time I share the captures in my What If? folder. Unless otherwise indicated, these are generally available to read on Marvel Unlimited.

Let's begin first with this:

Click to embiggen!

This is how What If? Age of Ultron #2 opens. Here, Tony is mysteriously yeeted out of the universe right at the moment Obadiah Stane has successfully driven him back into drinking. Consequently, Stane seizes full control of Tony's armor technology and ushers in a full-on dystopian hellscape powered by the fruits of the missing Tony's genius. Needless to say, this issue is basically one of Tony's worst nightmares made manifest -- because he's just not there to stop it!

(And by the way, ICYMI: here's my write-up covering What If? Civil War.)

Ults!Tony and 616 Tony are different characters, but their capital-F Foibles definitely overlap.

Ults!Tony has trust issues too.

This, from Gail Simone's fill-in story in Tony Stark: Iron Man #13, elicits a genuine giggle.

That's a lot of dysfunction to pack into just three panels, Tony. (From Tony Stark: Iron Man #12)

I'd be worried too, Rhodey. (From Tony Stark: Iron Man #12)

Dan Slott's run on Iron Man is, for the most part, an absolute mess -- but it does have a few shining moments. This, from Tony Stark: Iron Man #11, is one such scene.

The Tony Stark Thing that made me happy today: "Brainchild," from Indomitable Iron Man: Black & White. Basically, Tony isolates himself in a tower for decades because he feels he can do more for the world if he's alone and not distracted. pic.twitter.com/ayB0f8DwAf

— The Right Geek (@TheRightGeek) April 20, 2021

Click above to see the full thread!

The final page of Iron Man: Season One, an excellent alternate take on Tony's superheroic origin story that focuses on his alcoholism in particular. (Click to embiggen!)

Iron Man Sales Through the Ages!