Invincible Iron Man #14 (2016)

While Tony Stark is sitting in his lab at Stark Headquarters, dozens of news reports on recent events are shown in multiple screens, which revolve around Bruce Banner's death, Hawkeye's acquittal, Jim Rhodes receiving a posthumous medal of freedom, the fall of the Stark Tower, and others. Mary Jane Watson walks up to Tony and he comments he needs to go to a meeting. MJ is initially baffled, and Tony clarifies he means an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting; however, he fears if he attends one at his regular meeting site he could cross paths with Carol Danvers, who's also an alcoholic, and was even sponsored by Tony, so he decides to find elsewhere to go. After barely catching up with his unanswered calls, Tony suits up and flies away. At a church, Tony's attending a meeting while keeping a low profile. The attendee talking at the moment is a man who explains he motivates himself to stop drinking to look after his family in this age of social turmoil, and also focuses on the positives aspects of the world. The man finishes talking, and another participant takes the floor, Carol Danvers, whose presence surprises Tony. As she talks about her fear for the uncertainty of the world's safety, Tony stands up and walks away. When he reaches the door, they exchange glances. Carol abruptly finishes her speech and follows Tony outside. After clearing up the misunderstanding of their coincidental encounter, both stating that they wanted to avoid each other out of respect, Tony and Carol open up and both admit that they're not feeling fine, but Carol positively remarks that at least they're both sober. When she mentions Rhodey's death, Tony tries to shut her down. She continues, explaining death is an eventual consequence in the lives of superheroes. Carol subsequently rebukes Tony's claims that he's not a soldier, stating that actively fighting for what he believes in makes him a soldier. She proceeds to reproach Tony for acting like he works on a higher level than everyone else. She concedes his claim that he does work on a higher level intellectually, but doubts he does so on an emotional level. Tony's armor appears behind him, and Carol tells him off for that, but he clarifies he had already called it down before they had started talking. Carol questions Tony's unwillingness to trust her on the matters with the Inhumans, and he clarifies he does trust her, but this conflict isn't about trust, but rather the fatal consequences of using Ulysses' powers, like Rhodey's and Banner's deaths. Carol clears up she didn't have anything to do with Banner's death, but Tony remarks it still happened because of her actions. Carol demands Tony to go back to the meeting, but he asks her to sit down on the sidewalk. Tony recalls the moments he and Carol used to flirt, and explains that flirting is his usual defense mechanism when he finds women who intimidate him. He reaches his point, commenting that he respects Carol immensely and finds it extremely strenuous to oppose her. She questions why doesn't he simply stop, and Tony can't help but simply tell her that he can't because she's wrong. Carol stands up to leave, commenting that Tony should call her when he realizes she's right, and Tony presents the other option, that she could realize she's wrong. Carol defends her position, stating that ever since she started using Ulysses, she has managed to save lives and even the entire planet, something Rhodey would supposedly agree on, and clarifies that Banner himself had ordered Hawkeye to take him out. Tony warns Carol that the next time they face each other, he would stop pulling his punches, and so does Carol. He questions if Carol would be willing to kill him to defend her stance, and she vaguely answers, stating that she has sworn to defend the Earth against anything and anyone who would pose a threat. Carol tries to appeal to Tony's previous claims that he respects her, and tells him to stand down, focus on rebuilding his life, and leaving the rest to her. Tony looks at her sternly and she flies away without saying a word. Tony stands up and the armor comes to him, but he pushes it away and opts to go back to the meeting instead. He sits down while a young girl is narrating her experience. The meeting continues, and Tony begins to cry silently. Two weeks later, Amanda Armstrong enters the offices of Stark Industries and is greeted by Friday. She asks for her son, but Friday informs her that there has been a development. Amanda asks whether Tony is okay or not, but Friday queries whether she has seen the news. Amanda replies she hasn't, and worriedly asks what has happened.