Iron Man Vol. 1 #172

This volume corresponds to Iron Man #172, "Firebrand's Revenge!" from Iron Man (1968), published in April 1983, from writer Dennis O'Neil, penciler Luke McDonnell, and inker Steven Mitchell, and belongs to the middle stretch of the classic "Tony Stark hits rock bottom" arc. In the story, Tony Stark has sunk deep into alcoholism and repeatedly broken his commitments, leaving his company's ownership in jeopardy; James Rhodes (Rhodey) is forced to shoulder the mantle of Iron Man and hold things together while trying to pull Tony back from self-destruction. Tony's lawyer Yvette Avril tells Rhodey that if Tony does not resurface, Stark International will fall into the hands of Obadiah Stane. Rhodey can only turn to Avengers Mansion for help, asking Captain America, Steve Rogers, to find Tony. Steve finds a drunken Tony in an old building in a run-down neighborhood but fails to persuade him to return; meanwhile Gary Gilbert, the retired vigilante Firebrand, misreads the two as conspiring, dons his gear again, attacks the building, and starts a fire. Steve rescues Tony, and Rhodey arrives in the Iron Man armor to extinguish the flames and subdue Firebrand by plunging him into the river. In the end, however, Tony still tricks Steve and Rhodey and slips away to keep drinking, misses the final deadline, and control of Stark International passes to Obadiah Stane. The volume interweaves two threads — Rhodey gritting his teeth and figuring out how to use Tony's armor, and Tony's downward spiral out of control — making friendship, addiction, and responsibility weigh heavily, and giving Captain America's guest appearance real force.