Iron Man by Denny O’Neil: Self-Destruction and Rebirth

WARNING: References to addiction. If you are struggling with addiction, call the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Hotline at 1-800-662-HELP.

For generations, superheroes have been held up as an inspirational ideal, symbols of our own ability to transcend our limitations and realize our fullest potential. But for every moment of hope, there is one of doubt; a personal crisis that tears our self-image away and leaves us to face our own inner darkness. For many, this struggle is unending. It may break us. But it also gives us the opportunity to rise up, stronger than ever before.

In 1980, legendary writer Dennis “Denny” O’Neil returned to Marvel comics after a decade of revitalizing characters likeBatmanandGreen Arrow直流。The author would take on a number of assignments while at Marvel, including work on theAmazing Spider-Manand picking up Frank Miller’sDaredevil, but one of his most impactful works for the company would be his four-year stint onThe Invincible Iron Manalongside artist Luke McDonnell. Drawing from his experiences with addiction and recovery, O’Neil’s run would fundamentally transform the armored avenger, having the hero wage his greatest battle yet, and turn his inner resilience into his greatest strength.

THE EMPTY SHELL

By the ‘80’s, Iron Man was at a crossroads. Created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Larry Lieber in 1963, the character was primarily a vehicle to explore the role of technology and industry in the Cold War. As a result, Iron Man would spend most of the ‘60’s battling Vietnamese and Russian agents (a lot of whom were mired in racist stereotypes). Creators like David Michelinie would push the character into the broader field of science fiction through stories likeDoomquest, but Iron Man’s Cold War ties would persist well into the 80’s, something the politically conscious O’Neil took notice of when he arrived on the title.

“My problem with Tony Stark…I hated the bastard,” recounted the writer. “There was a lot not to like about ol’ shellhead…He was an arms dealer…he was a capitalist…he was a technologist and, like a lot of hippie-types, I did not trust technology. (He was) everything I think is rotten with this country.”

To a staunch anti-war activist like O’Neil Tony Stark was practically alien, steeped in pro-war arrogance and aside from an injury that was removed in his earlier years, completely insulated by his privilege and status. There was, however, one link that the writer and the character shared: Stark, like O’Neil, was a recovering alcoholic.

This facet of the character had been established a year prior through David Michelinie and Bob Layton’sDemon in a Bottle, which saw Stark fall into addiction under the weight of mounting pressure in his life. The story-line was critically praised, and even won an Eagle Award in 1980 for bringing some much-needed humanity to the character, but it was also criticized by many for its open-and-shut approach, treating alcoholism as an inconvenience to be swatted away over 22 pages. O’Neil, who had entered recovery himself a decade earlier, saw this as the opportunity to catalyze an all-new journey for the armored avenger, having Stark confront his own humanity and face the reality of his addiction. But before doing that, the writer had to tear down the resilient image of Iron Man, piece by piece.

O’Neil’s run begins in a fairly episodic fashion, with five issues following Iron Man as he teams up with his fellow heroes, fights villains like the Serpent Society, and solves hi-tech problems with his trademark wits and ingenuity. While these initial stories may seem completely unrelated, the writer uses each to build and enhance a through-line for the character: While “The Iron Man” is merely a tool, Stark has slowly made it into a crutch, becoming dependent on the feeling of invincibility it’s given him. O’Neil would further this unraveling of the character through a new arch-nemesis: the brilliant criminal mastermind, Obadiah Stane. A ruthless manipulator driven by conquest, Stane spends most of the run’s first arc orchestrating the destruction of Stark’s life, exhausting him with a gauntlet of supervillains, undermining his business, and destroying his relationships, all in a bid to take over Stark International. And while the stoic will shown inDemon in a Bottlecarries the hero through most of these challenges, Stane’s gauntlet leaves Stark completely disillusioned in himself. The Invincible Iron Man…is no more.(From Iron Man #167 By Dennis O’Neil and Luke McDonnell)

From this initial relapse, O’Neil would spend the next year furthering Stark’s descent into addiction as he drove away his friends, lost his money, and eventually ended up homeless on the streets of New York. In place ofDemon in a Bottle’s brief fall and return to normal, O’Neil’s slow-burn story would take Stark to a dark place, plunging the hero into an ugly, indifferent world brought forth through Luke McDonnell’s expressive artwork. In place of the more classically heroic imagery of series mainstay Bob Layton, McDonnell usedIron Manto pioneer an approach that would become famous in his later tenure working on DC’sSuicide Squad:大胆，沉重的阴影，过度紧张的表情和最小的背景来强调人物，并给英雄的可怕处境带来一场发人深省的戏剧。

To the book’s ongoing readers, this approach was a breath of fresh air, finally giving a lasting sense of vulnerability and humanity to a fairly stagnant character. Marvel’s executives, however, weren’t happy, and demanded a more traditional version of the hero for events like the upcomingSecret Wars．O’Neil and editor Mark Gruenwald would find a compromise between these visions through an all-new Iron Man, moving longtime supporting characterJim Rhodes并将他作为英雄的崛起与斯塔克痛苦的回归之路并行。这两条路最终在第182期相遇，斯塔克的朋友、正在康复的瘾君子格雷特·安德斯(Gretl Anders)在分娩时去世，斯塔克终于鼓起勇气开始了他的康复之旅。

(From Iron Man #182 By Dennis O’Neil and Luke McDonnell)

Coming after two years of hardship, O’Neil and McDonnell would end their first major arc having completely revolutionizedIron Man他将这个重任传给了新一代，同时也让托尼·斯塔克走上了一条属于自己的新道路。然而，这只是即将到来的许多变化中的第一个。

HEAVY IS THE HEAD

Since arriving in the pages ofTales of Suspense, Tony Stark and the Iron Man have shared an unbreakable bond, with the armored avenger serving as Stark’s idealized vision of what he’d like to become: selfless, resilient, and impervious to harm. But following Stark’s self-destruction and recovery, O’Neil quickly began developing a new take on the hero through a new Iron Man: Jim Rhodes. First appearing inIron Man#118, Rhodey was usually seen as part of the larger ensemble of Stark Industries: a collection of employees that helped show Stark’s more human side. However, with the hero distancing himself from the armor to aid his recovery, O’Neil and Gruenwald took the opportunity to elevate Rhodes to co-lead, retitling the book as “The All-New Iron Man．” In sharp contrast to Stark’s swaggering, carefree (even privileged) demeanor, Rhodes brought a more grounded sense of wonder to Iron Man’s massive adventures, fighting Stark’s deadliest enemies while trying to cover his rent and grow into his new role, all while bringing a snarkier, more pointed energy to the hero’s encounters. Rhodes even took part in Marvel’s publisher-wide crossoverSecret Wars, where the newcomer was put on the cosmic stage alongside all of Marvel’s big-name heroes. It should be said that for an industry plagued by resistance to substantial changes, fans were quick to embrace Rhodey as Iron Man, with many relaying their excitement in the book’s letter pages. However, O’Neil had also begun seeding an arc for Rhodes afterSecret Wars早期的大胆科幻冒险让位于更接地气的故事。

With both leads reaching a turning point in their arcs, O’Neil catalyzes another shake-up, having Rhodes, supporting members Morely and Cly Erwin, and a newly-sober Stark move across the country to forge a new company in California. Initially set up as a return to form for the title, the story steadily begins to play with readers’ expectations, using both leads’ journeys to inform a new sense of rivalry between Stark and Rhodes.

(From Iron Man #190 by Dennis O’Neil and Luke McDonnell)

While (admittedly) a bit melodramatic, this tension is all in the service of O’Neil’s through-line for the series: how addiction (whether literal or metaphorical) can isolate you from the people trying to help you. Much like Stark’s fall at the start of the run, the writer uses the episodic nature of the series to give Rhodey a fall of his own, as the mounting stress of hero life enables his own dependence on his alter ego, until a minor loss sends Rhodey on a rampage. Having run out of options, O’Neil finally has Stark suit up as Iron Man again, confronting the root of his own addiction to save his friend from a similar fate. But instead of a standard superhero brawl, O’Neil delivers a moment more reminiscent of an intervention between friends, with both heroes admitting their faults and coming together to shoulder the burden of Iron Man.

(From Iron Man #192 by Dennis O’Neil and Luke McDonnell)

REFORGED IN SILVER

如果说奥尼尔任期的大部分时间都在探索沉迷和自我毁灭，那么他的第三幕则是一场对过去的胜利的喜悦，他看到斯塔克和罗兹摆脱了最黑暗的冲动，以前所未有的强大回归。但对作者来说，战胜上瘾并不是一件容易的事。相反，它是通过自我实现而获得和维持的。几乎立刻，奥尼尔让他的两个主角展开了平行的自我发现之旅，斯塔克在复仇者联盟中与队友重聚，罗兹则通过与神秘英雄萨满一起的视觉探索来对抗他的不安全感。虽然每个角色都有自己的顿悟，但都建立在奥尼尔标题的中心论点上:这两个英雄都不只是他们所穿的盔甲。罗兹终于摆脱了斯塔克的阴影，带着新发现的乐观主义回到了这个角色，而斯塔克意识到，就像他的毒瘾一样，钢铁侠的负担是他可以继续生活的。

It’s this realization that O’Neil uses to catalyze the run’s deadly climax, heralded by the return of Obadiah Stane, now hell-bent on his mission to destroy Stark and his allies. Enraged that the hero survived his destruction, issues #197-199 see Stane use everything at his disposal to tear Stark back down, kidnapping his friends, discrediting his image, and attacking the team’s headquarters in a bombing that leaves Morely dead and Stark guilt-ridden. In a way, O’Neil even uses Stane’s backstory to frame him as a mirror to Stark and Rhodes, establishing Stane as a man wholly consumed with an addiction to dominating others, shown through his own twisted inversion of the Iron Man: the deadly Iron Monger. But instead of another fall from grace, the arc’s climax in issue #200 sees Stark return as Iron Man more determined than ever to right the wrongs of the past, given a more classically heroic look through Mark Bright’s pencils, and clad in a look that would become synonyms with the character’s rebirth. What follows is almost page after page of pure catharsis, with Stark dismantling Stane’s plans, tearing through the Iron Monger with ease, and standing firm against his addiction while Stane ultimately gives in to his own self-destruction.

(From Iron Man #200 by Dennis O’Neil and Mark Bright)

奥尼尔将继续工作Iron Man丹尼·芬格罗斯接替了斯塔克，他立即开始努力让这个角色恢复原状，恢复了斯塔克的首席执行官地位，并放弃了更接地气的方式，让Michelinie和Layton冒险，他们很快就会回到书中。Still, despite its lack of recognition over the years, O’Neil’s tenure would leave a lasting legacy onIron Man, making Stark’s struggles with addiction and recovery as integral as his desire to build a better future.

“有些人认为英雄不应该有严重的缺点，”奥尼尔回忆道。“我不认为他们应该是混蛋，“英雄”这个词来自希腊语“服务和保护”，我认为这必须是其中的一个元素。但是，在我看来，让一个人克服毒瘾或严重的缺陷之类的事情，似乎可以增强他的英雄主义……归根结底，这是一个问题，西装里面的人到底是谁，这与西装来自地下实验室还是布鲁克斯兄弟公司(Brooks Brothers)无关。”

Much like the never-ending, serialized nature of comics, Tony Stark will always continue to battle his personal demons. And while he may stumble or fall, sometimes harder than ever, it’s his ability to endure, to rise above these struggles, that makes him truly invincible.

Sources:

Question of the Week: Can You Do an Iron Man Reading Order?

King Arthur, Iron Man, and Brooks Brothers, by Dennis O’Neil

Dennis O’Neil: Iron Man Grows Up

A Denny O’Neil and Matt Fraction Conversation