Iron Man is one of Marvel's staple characters, thanks largely to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Robert Downey Jr's perfect Tony Stark performance. The character has been a huge part of some of Marvel's biggest storylines, but he's also got some fairly seminal storylines from his main comic as well.

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Demon in a Bottle is one such story, where Tony Stark gradually starts to realize that he has an alcohol problem. While things in his life begin to go terribly wrong for him, Stark turns more and more to drinking, not realizing the effect it's having on his life. Though the story is decades old, it still introduces a key part of the character's personality that matters even today.

10 The Writer Wanted Tony's Alcoholism To Be A Super Drug

Tony Stark Drinking Problem

An older rumor about this storyline was that its creator wanted Tony Stark to become a cocaine addict. This turned out to be an odd game of telephone where legendary Iron Man scribe David Michelinie had actually talked about wanting Tony Stark to become addicted to chasing greater and greater highs. It would have started out with cocaine before he eventually invented his own super drug. This theme was explored in its own way by Denny O’Neil later, as Tony was forced to confront the idea that he was purely a superhero because of how invincible it made him feel.

9 Began When Stark Started Losing Control Of His Company

Tony Stark Shield Nick Fury

The beginning of Demon in a Bottle comes when Tony Stark learns that nearly half of his company has been bought by SHIELD. After years of trying to divest himself from designing dangerous weapons for SHIELD, Tony learns that SHIELD has been quietly buying shares of the company until they nearly have a controlling interest. With complete control of his company in danger, the lack of control Tony has starts pushing him to drink.

8 Has The First Appearance Of Justin Hammer

An image of comic art depicting Justin Hammer speaking to his captive

The Demon in a Bottle storyline contains the very first appearance of long-time Iron Man villain, Justin Hammer. Justin made his first appearance in Iron Man #120, where he was still a shadowy figure Tony had no knowledge of, but was about to make major problems in his life. Justin was noteworthy for being the first threat that was a problem more for Tony than Iron Man, as he was a business rival occupying some of the same industries. Jealousy caused him to move against Tony in the hopes of making it easier for him to do business deals.

7 Contains A Retelling Of Iron Man's Origin

Tony Stark Iron Man Armor

In the middle of this landmark storyline, David Michelinie, Carmine Infantino, and Bob Layton provide readers with a faithful retelling of Iron Man’s origin. There aren’t very many changes to it at all — in fact, many scenes are actual shot for shot recreations of the original Tales of Suspense #39.

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It still takes place in the early 1960’s in Vietnam, and the only real changes are some minor dialogue updates to fit the 1979 storytelling style. Still, it helped readers understand where Iron Man came from so they could understand where he was going.

6 Kills A Foreign Dignitary In The Armor

Iron Man Kills Foreign Dignitary of Carnelia

Justin Hammer turned out to be more than only a threat to Tony Stark’s business interests. Eventually, he figured out a way to hack into Stark’s armor, making it through the protective coating that shielded it from being interfered with. Relying on his own genius scientists, several issues feature Stark’s armor malfunctioning in... largely harmless ways. Hammer’s plan went into full action after Iron Man met with the ambassador to Carnelia, a country Stark Industries was hoping to expand into. Their ambassador was a huge Iron Man fan, and during a very public meeting, Hammer hacked into Stark’s armor again and caused his repulsor to go off, killing the ambassador. Stark would eventually prove the Iron Man armor had been hacked, but Iron Man’s reputation would be shot for some time.

5 Trained By Captain America

Tony Trains With Captain America

With Iron Man having murdered someone, Stark’s only excuse to get out of it was talking about how his armor had malfunctioned. Somehow, he was able to hand over the armor with most of its circuits removed, and keep the “pilot” of the Iron Man armor out of jail at the same time. In the meantime, Stark tried to go undercover to figure out who had hacked his armor, but before he did, he wound up getting training from Captain America himself in basic martial arts to defend himself. These basics are condensed down to a single afternoon of training, since even montage scenes had to be compressed to fit into one issue back then.

Iron Man Beats His Rogues Gallery

Surprisingly, Stark actually winds up with quite a few wins in this story arc. After tracking down Hammer, he manages to suit up just in time to face off against his entire rogues gallery and then some. One of the going themes now is Iron Man’s too powerful for his rogues gallery — an impression that comes from story arcs like these. Not only does Tony manage to defeat all of his rogues, but he takes on Hammer’s guards as well, getting everyone locked up except Hammer himself.

Tony Stark Is A Jerk To Jarvis

Comics these days rarely talk about the Avengers’ stalwart butler Jarvis, as the character in the MCU has been reduced to nothing more than AI. But he was a major support character for decades, working out of the Avengers Mansion which once belonged to Stark.

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But after running into a drunken Stark, Jarvis’ attempt to help features perhaps one Stark’s meanest outbursts, denigrating one of his oldest friends and employees... and costing him his company when Jarvis loses his remaining shares to a loan company – who then sells them to SHIELD.

2 It All Comes Down To One Issue

Tony Stark Asks Bethany Cabe To Help

Ultimately, Demon in a Bottle’s major storyline happens inside of one issue. Iron Man #128 features Tony finally being forced to confront his addiction by his friend and girlfriend Bethany Cabe. It’s a shockingly human issue, where Cabe talks about losing her ex-husband to a pill addiction and Tony realizes he needs help. It’s a bit unrealistic in that he manages to break the habit after a single issue... but then that’s not entirely true, either.

1 Not His Darkest Storyline

Tony Stark Talks To Captain America About His Drinking Problem

Surprisingly, this wouldn’t be the only time Tony Stark would have a bout with alcoholism. And arguably, this isn’t even his darkest storyline. Almost a decade later, Stark would have a much greater fall. Obadiah Stane would engage in a systematic effort to not only take Stark Industries, but completely destroy Tony Stark — sending a woman to break his heart and gradually reintroduce alcohol into his life until he was a homeless man on the street, while Rhodey took over the job of Iron Man.

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