"I gotta go pretend I'm tough."

Time for an Avengers Forever photo dump featuring Earth-818 Tony Stark, aka Ant Man!

FYI, I haven't been this in love with an alternate version of Tony Stark since 1872. My God, I want to squish this adorable man. And then I want him to shrink down to ant size so I can carry him around in my pocket for all time.

 

From Avengers Forever #2.

Another reason to like Tony Stark, Ant Man? It appears Aaron is setting him up for a classic redemption arc. I really, really hope he manages to stick the landing!

Quick Note: This is my last post for 2021. Updates will resume after the holidays. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

One reason to really like Tony Stark, Ant Man? He's an alcoholic with a killer case of the usual Stark-brand self-loathing. The fact that he could temporarily wield Mjolnir "freaks" him out because he doesn't believe he's worthy of the honor in the first place. Ah, yes: that's the good stuff! And it's more quintessentially Tony than, say, a Cosmic Iron Man who declares himself one of the world's preeminent minds. (Ahem. Not that I have a grudge against another Iron Man writer who shall be left unnamed or anything...)

I'm not a big fan of Jason Aaron's Avengers run. But this opening to the new event, Avengers Forever, actually did manage to win me over. I sincerely want to learn more about this version of Tony Stark. And I really hope he turns out to be precisely the hero this first issue suggests he is. (Click the above to embiggen!)