Warning: contains spoilers for Mech Strike: Monster Hunters #1!
Just a few short months ago, inner demons like his alcohol addiction, and these demons often prevent him from learning his lessons. But there is no discernible reason for the event that take place in Mech Strike: Monster Hunters #1 - other than Tony Stark regressing as a character.
This is the third series in which Tony Stark has created suits of armor for his team. Avengers: Mech Strike revolved around the Avengers taking on Kang the Conqueror with Stark-crafted massive mechs (and eventually, even Thanos received his own suit of armor). In 2021's Avengers: Tech-On, the team lost their powers and Stark was forced to create smaller suits that replicate and even enhance the abilities of his team. Unfortunately, the power source on which the Tech-On armor depended was highly volatile - and Iron Man never bothered to tell his fellow Avengers the weaknesses of his suits.
Eventually, Stark was humbled and learned to open up to his fellow superheroes at the end of Avengers Tech-On. But in the first issue of Mech Strike: Monster Hunters, written by Christos Gage with art by Paco Diaz, Tony installs a remote pilot technology in every suit of armor. He subsequently takes control of the Hulk's armor when the latter refuses to retreat, essentially robbing the Hulk of making a decision on his own. Iron Man can take over the armor of every Avengers - and he neglected to inform a single one.
This is the exact lesson Iron Man ostensibly learned in Avengers: Tech-On - so why has he forgotten it here? Iron Man's desire to control his world now extends to his own team. While characters in comics frequently never learn their lessons (see the ending of Spider-Man: One More Day for an example), this is quite blatant. In short, Tony Stark's ego is blocking him from progressing as a character and changing as a person.
The Mech Strike: Monster Hunters series has only just begun and it's likely that Tony Stark's antics will continue in future issues. Will the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers confront Stark after his took control of the former's armor without permission or notice? Perhaps, but in the meantime, it appears that Iron Man must learn his most important lesson once again - and hope that Marvel does not retcon his progress out of existence.
