Carol and Tony Stark's alcoholism...

[CTTT]

which of these characters have more trouble staying away from the bottle? Or is it about equal?

[leokearon]

which of these characters have more trouble staying away from the bottle? Or is it about equal?

Tony given he had a massive relapse and is still brought up. Carol (as far as I remember) was dealt with quite quickly and it is rarely mentioned these days.

[ChrisIII]

I think there was a lot of talk about it during Busiek's run on both Avengers and Iron Man. Think it started being an issue after she lost most of her extra Binary powers.

[leokearon]

I think there was a lot of talk about it during Busiek's run on both Avengers and Iron Man. Think it started being an issue after she lost most of her extra Binary powers.

She developed her drinking problem after the Morgan Quest but it seemed she largely got over it by the time she rejoined the Avengers around Vol 3 #26 and it was never really brought up much since

[dreyga2000]

Fun Fact: Tony is Carol’s AA sponsor. They actually went to a meeting together during CW II

[The Man With The Stick]

Carol (as far as I remember) was dealt with quite quickly and it is rarely mentioned these days.

They have been referring to it again lately, it was talked about in her current series and when she guest starred in Iron Man a few months ago.

[Tony Stark]

Yes they talked about their relationship. Tony felt like he relapsed in eScape. Tony is usually the one they show more on edge with it, but they still show Carol's struggle as well. With everything she deals with and this proves why she is the definition of a warrior.

[Seren]

Kelly Thompson also touched on it in Jessica Jones - Carol met Jess at a bar and ordered Seltzer. I think it kind of floored a lot of people because they didn't know Carol was an alcoholic. I'm glad Thompson isn't shying away from it.

[Triniking1234]

I think Carol's was brought up in the Life of Captain Marvel and Tony almost relapsed in Slott's series.

[Flash Gordon]

I wish AA/staying sober was a much bigger part of Iron Man's stories.

[Tony Stark]

I wish AA/staying sober was a much bigger part of Iron Man's stories.

I wish that and his battles with depression would be as well.

[Tony Stark]

I think Carol's was brought up in the Life of Captain Marvel and Tony almost relapsed in Slott's series.

It was. It was also brought up in #14 of Tony Stark/Iron Man.

[CTTT]

I wish AA/staying sober was a much bigger part of Iron Man's stories.

That is a shame that his alcoholism is only brought up sparingly though. That's one of the reasons that I enjoy reading Iron Man is his struggle with alcoholism. With all that he goes through trying to keep his heart running and people stealing his tech, it's amazing that it isn't brought up more.

[Ichijinijisanji]

Alcoholism is a disease, but it's also a secondary disease, a symptom of something else underlying.

tony's much more than his alcoholism... yes he did struggle with it, but alcoholism is a symptom of something deeper, like him struggling with losing his company, trying to shield himself with it by separating iron man/tony stark in his mind to rationalize it, civil war and various other stresses of life... currently I think it's a form of DP/DR... but the question is if he's drinking because of the stress or because he wants to feel like tony stark again.

similarly for carol it was honestly a host of different traumas... things like depersonalization/derealization where she didn't feel like carol anymore because all her memories felt like someone else's, all her issues with losing control (from rape, rogue's mind wipe, power loss, torture at the hands of the brood, power loss again), her struggling with relying on help from others which made the problem worse (because of her upbringing of a distant, discouraging parent, and how when she needed help the most during her rape, she was let down). She basically got comboed by all these things at once (her previous escape was roaming in space and exploring stars)

Alcoholism is more dramatic, but dramatic can be overpowering for all the subtleties and I always feel like the underlying issues could garner much richer stories. Like I was reading Tony's recent struggles, and wouldn't it have been nice if they could relate it with carol on one of their underlying issues (DP/DR)? Sure at first carols underlying issues were different than tony's (and he acknowledged that), but they related on the alcoholism their secondary disease.... but now they could do it something more causal, more fundamental. Sometimes fixing that can take away the urge to drink, or seek other escapes as well.

[MichaelC]

Alcoholism is a disease, but it's also a secondary disease, a symptom of something else underlying.

tony's much more than his alcoholism... yes he did struggle with it, but alcoholism is a symptom of something deeper, like him struggling with losing his company, trying to shield himself with it by separating iron man/tony stark in his mind to rationalize it, civil war and various other stresses of life... currently I think it's a form of DP/DR... but the question is if he's drinking because of the stress or because he wants to feel like tony stark again.

similarly for carol it was honestly a host of different traumas... things like depersonalization/derealization where she didn't feel like carol anymore because all her memories felt like someone else's, all her issues with losing control (from rape, rogue's mind wipe, power loss, torture at the hands of the brood, power loss again), her struggling with relying on help from others which made the problem worse (because of her upbringing of a distant, discouraging parent, and how when she needed help the most during her rape, she was let down)

Alcoholism is more dramatic, but dramatic can be overpowering for all the subtleties and I always feel like the underlying issues could garner much richer stories. Like I was reading Tony's recent struggles, and wouldn't it have been nice if they could relate it with carol on one of their underlying issues (DP/DR)? Sure at first carols underlying issues were different than tony's (and he acknowledged that), but they related on the alcoholism their secondary disease.... but now they could do it something more causal, more fundamental. Sometimes fixing that can take away the urge to drink, or seek other escapes as well.

Agreed. The movies made him compelling by focusing on the PSTD over losing his parents, and fearing that his failure to act would cost the lives of his friends and loved ones. It was never actually confirmed that he was an alcoholic, and the movies moved away from even hinting at it after the first couple of movies. The problem with alcoholism is it is too unsubtle and unnuanced and screen-time-consuming a problem. Not only is it inherently unnuanced in an action story, it gobbles up so much screen-time that there really isn't even room to give character more nuanced problems. That's why the movies dumped it in favor of PSTD, a problem that can be given more nuance because it can flow into so many more plot-points.