OK, OK, so the official title for this Marvel moment is “Long Way Down”, but apparently, Iron Man quits his job, and we’ll be interested to see what Fraction does with this chestnut of a plotline.
Most superheroes decide their self-appointed role as protector of the innocent sucks at some point and chucks it all. Iron Man actually quit, as opposed to drinking himself out of the job, at least once that we can recall. It’s a tempting plotline for any writer because, well, being a superhero is expensive, inevitably painful, often degrading, and usually costs you at least one personal relationship either by ruining your dating life or by some supervillian killing your significant other.
That said, this plotline doesn’t have as much power because the hero almost always comes back. The one notable exception was Jack Knight, the ’90s Starman, who decided to quit and…well…that was the end of the series. We’ve seen Jack at a couple of funerals since then, but that’s pretty much it. James Robinson wants him gone but not dead, and DC editorial, shockingly, has actually respected his position.
Somehow we doubt Tony will retire to a life of running a consignment shop and grinding Pepper like he should have decades ago, but we have to admit, if anybody can breathe new life into this plot, it’s Fraction. We’ll see one way or the other May 16th.