WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Iron Man #11, available now from Marvel Comics.
Luck hasn't been in Tony Stark's favor lately. After being seriously injured in a fight against Korvac and his followers, Iron Man was transported to a mysterious planet known as Meggido, where he helped a rag-tag assortment of heroes battle a group of Ultimos, struggled to find a way back to Earth, and developed an addiction to his pain medication. To top it all off, the Living Tribunal just signed him up for an almost impossible challenge in Iron Man #11 by Christopher Cantwell, Angel Unzueta, Frank D'Armata and VC's Joe Caramagna.
After Avro-X and Iron Man defeat the Stilt-Man on Meggido, they are contacted by the Living Tribunal who warns them that "the universe is on the verge of catastrophic imbalance" and that Iron Man is the only one who can fix things. Marvel's cosmic god is clearly referring to the danger Korvac and his nefarious compatriots pose to the universe, so Tony agrees to be transported to the "Worldship of Galactus" to fight his enemy, and Avro-X volunteers to help.
As always, Iron Man's bravery is admirable, but he's in no condition to take on Korvac, the Controller, Unicorn, Blizzard and the original Human Torch all at once. Avro-X's assistance is better than nothing, but the armored Canadian hero has been stranded on Meggido for a long time and has little experience fighting villains of Korvac's caliber. Even worse, Iron Man's injuries are bound to slow him down, as he is still recovering from his recent run-ins with Ultimo and Stilt-Man. Making matters worse, Tony has shown signs of an addiction to the morphine he has been using to control his pain, and his conversation with Hellcat suggests that he has been for quite some time. Tony is heading into one of the most difficult fights of his career severely outnumbered, and he isn't even sober.
Hellcat, Scarlet Spider and the rest of Tony's team are preparing to launch an attack on Korvac, so they may be able to come to Iron Man and Avro-X's rescue, even though they still think he is stranded on Meggido. Iron Man asks the Living Tribunal if the guardian of the multiverse's presence means that he is destined to defeat Korvac by himself. The Tribunal's response was that Tony had gravely misunderstood what he had been told. This cryptic response implies that while Iron Man needs to show up to the fight to restore the balance of the universe, he doesn't necessarily need to win it.
All signs seem to be pointing towards a painful defeat for Earth's mightiest hero. Iron Man #11 ends with Stark and Avro-X arriving on the Galactus Worldship already in harm's way as their presence triggers the Worldship's built-in defense mechanisms.
There is little doubt that Iron Man is heading into the fight of his life. Even if he is able to reunite with Hellcat and his other allies, the Armored Avenger is heading into a painful and challenging future.
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