WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Iron Man #3, by Christopher Cantwell, Cafu, Frank D'Armata and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Since reclaiming the mantle of Iron Man from his villainous brother Arno, Tony Stark's life hasn't been much easier. The Armored Avenger's return has been marked by many of his oldest, most obscure foes resurfacing to make life living hell for the superhero. And as a familiar cosmic enemy rises to reshape the Marvel Universe in his image, Tony quickly discovers that many of his one-note villains have banded together to finally attain their revenge.
Things came to a head in Iron Man #3, where several villains from Stark's life remerged in what amounts to a multi-pronged attack on his life.
Melter
The first antagonist on this list proved to be more a nuisance than a genuine threat. After enduring a grueling series of missions while earning the scorn and ire of an ungrateful general public, Tony was at his wit's end. Returning to his personal garage, Tony discovered it had been broken into his old foe Melter, with one his prized cars completely melted down.
Melter was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1963's Tales of Suspense #47 as a rival industrialist and arms dealer who repurposed one of his weapons to melt virtually any substance, including Iron Man's armor. Frustrated by Melter's attack on his car collection, Tony knocks out his longtime foe with a single punch and nearly kills him by dropping him from a great height only to catch him at the last possible second.
Korvac
Ever since the start of the Iron Man's latest solo comic book series, he has been menaced by a reborn Korvac. Created by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin in 1975's Giant-Size Defenders #3, Korvac fought the Guardians of the Galaxy from an alternate future before fleeing to the main Marvel Universe and facing the Avengers, including Iron Man, during "The Korvac Saga."
Resurrected through cybernetics, Korvac took on a civilian guise and approached Tony with a business proposition, only to be rebuffed. Infuriated, Korvac went to Oklahoma where he had established a field of receptacles that would channel the pure energy from lightning bolts to boost his power where he confronted Iron Man and Hellcat with his assembled supervillains.
Unicorn
The first villain Tony faced after reclaiming the Iron Man mantle was his old enemy Unicorn, in a tense showdown at the New York Public Library. The original Unicorn was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck in 1964's Tales of Suspense #56. True to his supervillain moniker, Unicorn can project powerful energy blasts from a prominent, horn-shaped part of his helmet.
A flashback prologue shows a desperate Unicorn approaching Korvac pleading for an upgrade and a chance to prove himself as one of the cosmic figure's first disciples. After eluding Tony in Manhattan, the supervillain resurfaces at Korvac's side in Oklahoma.
Blizzard
One of the background villains seen among Korvac's disciples in Oklahoma is Blizzard. The antagonist was originally introduced under the moniker Jack Frost in 1963's Tales of Suspense #45, who is fired from Stark Industries after trying to steal proprietary technology. Using his background in cryonics, the villain created the mantle of Jack Frost with a suit that could generate cold fields. Bill Mantlo and George Tuska rebranded the villain as Blizzard in 1976's Iron Man #86, with his new alter ego sticking ever since.
Controller
The most hulking of the antagonists coming for Tony is Controller, just as grotesque as ever while serving as one of Korvac's disciples. Created by Archie Goodwin and George Tuska in 1969's Iron Man #12, Controller was fitted with an experimental suit that significantly augmented his strength while using obedience discs to control those affected in the energy fields connected to him. Like all of these villains, he's primarily associated with Iron Man, although he hasn't been active much in recent years.