Originally published What If? Special #1 (1988) The obligatory and unwinnable DC vs. Marvel argument usually commandeers the comments section of an article like this, but the fact is that DC's Elseworlds series and Marvel's What If? line are quite different in their approach to alternative versions of their heroes. What If? draws mainly from existing storylines within the regular Marvel continuity, removing or introducing single elements that change the entire course and outcome of the original story. A perfect example of this is "What If Iron Man Had Been a Traitor?", which diverges from Iron Man's first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39. Instead of defeating his captors in Indochina with a newly-designed Iron Man suit, Tony Stark fails to charge the suit in time and the captors return. The origin of the hero deviates, and the evil Chen Lu (who becomes Radioactive Man in the regular continuity) forces Stark to use the Iron Man armor to betray his country. Art by the legendary Steve Ditko (who, fittingly, was penciller for the debut of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense) lends an authentically vintage feel to the issue, but the writing by Peter Gillis drives home the essence of this particular What If? story and highlights the worth of such stories in the first place. Tony Stark can still be heroic without the Iron Man suit, but a minuscule alteration to the origin of the hero can be enough to send him spiraling in the other direction.
