WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Iron Man #4, by Christopher Cantwell, Cafu, Frank D'Armata and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Tony Stark has seen major changes to his life since the crossover event Iron Man 2020, ditching the drive to constantly push the limits of technology in favor of taking a more old-school approach to his superhero career. Moving into a brownstone in New York City's Lower East Side, Tony quickly linked up with Patsy Walker, Hellcat, who notably played a major role on Netflix's Jessica Jones. And while the two superheroes formed a friendship informed by playful banter and Patsy frequently poking holes in Tony's privileged outlook, the pair have decided to take things to another level by embarking on a whirlwind romance.
Initially coming back into Tony's life at his housewarming party after he moved back to Manhattan with a new lease on life, Patsy saved the Armored Avenger from being swarmed by socialites and entrepreneurs that want a piece of his fortune and legacy. Taking every opportunity to skewer Tony's numerous preconceptions about himself and his vaunted perspective on life, the two engaged in an impromptu team-up to stop a heist at the New York Public Library that placed them directly in the ire of the reborn cosmic supervillain Korvac. This feud would escalate with particularly haunting consequences for Hellcat as it expanded beyond New York.
Tony tracked down Korvac and his associates to Oklahoma where they had set up an energy field to gather the raw power from lightning to make himself a living god. Iron Man and Hellcat were quickly ambushed by the assembled villains, with Korvac channeling the lightning's powers to immobilize them both. While Tony was protected inside of his Iron Man armor and defibrillated by its automatic medical system, Hellcat bore the brunt of Korvac's attack head-on and appeared to have been mortally wounded in the confrontation. Fortunately, Tony was able to get Patsy to medical assistance in time, saving her life but leaving her face with a grotesque electrical scar.
As Patsy angrily confronts Tony over recklessly charging in to face Korvac without the rest of the Avengers to provide much-needed back-up causing their defeat and her facial scar, Tony asks why she has stayed with him ever since he moved back to New York and has persisted to accompany with him even after their disastrous rout. The question is swiftly answered by the Patsy as she kisses Tony and the two fall into bed together to knock armored boots before developing their strategy to resume their hunt for Korvac across the United States as Patsy realizes that the scar may go more than skin deep as the newly minted couple attempts to anticipate the supervillain's next move after Korvac kidnaps War Machine.
While Tony may be known best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for being romantically linked to Pepper Potts, his love life in the comic books is far more complicated. From fellow superheroes like Emma Frost to personal bodyguards like Bethany Cabe, the Armored Avenger has a long list of paramours and dangerous liaisons. Recently, Tony was romantically linked with fellow Avenger Janet van Dyne for a time, before the tumultuous events leading into Iron Man 2020 ended their relationship prematurely. With both Tony and Patsy single, the two have taken their friendship and working relationship into a romantic one. But with Korvac leaving more than his mark on the hero, this bad romance might come to a tragic end.