Marvel is putting Iron Man in rehab for a "nasty" drug addiction this spring

Iron Man #19 cover (Image credit: Alex Ross (Marvel Comics))

Tony Stark has been through a lot, both as Iron Man and as just a regular person like you and I. One of his most powerful stories was 1979's 'Demon in a Bottle' which saw him grapple with alcoholism - a disease that he's carried with him in the decades since, even taking part in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Iron Man #20 main cover by Alex Ross (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

According to Marvel's description of May's Iron Man #20, a recent storyline - that has him wielding the awesome power that is the Power Cosmic while also fighting the cosmic villain known as Korvac - will result in him dealing with a "nasty" morphine addiction that will ultimately send him to rehab.

It's good to show that anyone - even someone like Tony Stark - can falter, and ask for help. And from what we know about Iron Man #20, he'll complete a stint at rehab and emerge with some better coping skills to deal with what he's going through.

Oh yeah, and he's still going to ask Patsy Walker to marry him in this issue as well.

Iron Man will feature all that, plus see Stark facing off against an "angry hyper-intelligent gorilla" because… well, superhero comics.

Iron Man #20 will be written by Christopher Cantwell, creator of AMC's Halt & Catch Fire, which dealt with addiction issues. He also co-created a drama set in a rehab center called Rainy Day People for AMC, although sadly it wasn't picked up.

Iron Man #20 is drawn by Angel Unzueta.

Alex Ross has drawn the main cover to Iron Man #20, with variants coming from Betsy Cola and Pasqual Ferry (A Skrull variant). Check out the variants here:

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Iron Man #20 variant covers

Iron Man #20 goes on sale on May 11.

Make sure you've read the best Iron Man stories of all time.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)