Synopsis / Summary / Plot
When Iron Man and Korvac were both turned into gods by the Power Cosmic, the Golden Avenger defeated his foe who was then taken away by the Living Tribunal and other cosmic beings. Tony Stark tried to use his god-powers to improve the Earth, but when Patsy Walker and other friends pointed out how out of control he was he killed them all except Patsy. Filled with remorse he restored them to life and then relinquished the Cosmic Power. But earlier in the series Tony had become addicted to morphine while his broken neck mended(!). Now he's hit by withdrawal symptoms. And at this point an escaped still Cosmic Powered Korvac comes for revenge.
Korvac tries to get collapsed Stark to respond to him while he relates he escaped from the LT and the In-Betweener. Now he'll kill Tony and then destroy the universe, thus achieving the universal harmony and peace that he always claimed was his goal. Tony pukes and then admits it's an elegantly simple plan.
Then he asks Korvac if he can remember being a normal human, before he became a cyborg, then an android and then a cosmic god. Michael Korvac casts his mind back (or forward) to the 31st Century where the Solar System has been occupied by the Badoon. They slaughtered billions but not *him*. Tony asks what deal Michael made to survive, but that of course angers the god and he starts to strangle his foe.
But he stops when Stark gasps out that this is the only way Korvac could beat him. Now he diagnoses that Michael was smart but always needed an edge to win - protective alien masters, an android body, all the electricity in the world, the Power Cosmic (the last 3 all in this series). And he's always been scared to lose. Tony says he's similar. He needs Iron Man's armour to feel OK, but it was never enough. Then he got the cosmic power and went on a crusade just like Korvac. And it still didn't fix himself. He suggests Michael stop hiding behind props and be a man for once.
Amazingly it works. Korvac gives himself a human body and throws away the Power Cosmic. Then he beats up wasted Stark with his human fists. He seems to derive some satisfaction from it. But then he finally realises Stark can't fight back. Tony admits that the drugs he'd been taking lately to keep going were now taking their toll and he's dying. Michael considers everything he's learned in his life. And then he picks up the now unconscious Tony and carries him to a hospital. Then he climbs to the top of a tall building and jumps off.
A week later Patsy picks Tony up from his brownstone and drives him to Sagehen Shore Rehabilitation Centre. He can get booked in for 28 days at a time, but he's going to stay for as long as it takes to get clean. He declines her offer to accompany him in, because he's long been familiar with rehab. But he asks her to come fetch him when he's done. They hug goodbye. In his room he finds a short note from 1 of his recent allies Eugene Patillio/Frog-Man.