#what if? fallen son

[dirigibleplumbing]

If you're like me, sometimes you need the full text of Civil-War-era Tony's letter to Steve in the event of his death from "What If? Fallen Son" (2009). So here it is in its entirety!

If you notice any typos on my part, please let me know.

I put line breaks wherever the text was broken up, either by being in different sections of a panel or different panels/pages. I preserved the ellipses, though I didn't double them (in many cases a section of text would end in "..." and then the next section would also begin with "..."). I also didn't double up line breaks and ellipses.

Steve, I hope you never have to read this, old friend, because if you do, it means something terrible has happened. It means I'm dead. I suppose it shouldn't come as much of a surprise, really. During my years as Iron Man, I've racked up hundreds of enemies who wanted to do me in… and after recent events, probably a few old friends who feel the same. It's funny, though. I always prided myself on being a futurist--constantly thinking a leap ahead of everyone else. Apparently, that leap wasn't nearly far enough. But this letter is about looking forward--not back. It doesn't matter what killed me. All that matters is what happens next… and the legacy I've left behind. I'm not talking about Iron Man, either. The suit is nothing without the right man inside… and there aren't many I'd trust to pilot. Rhodey. Pepper. Happy. Maybe Jarvis… though he was never really the hero-type. And you, Steve. Whether you believe it or not, I always trusted you. Even during the darkest days--during the war--I never stopped believing in you. No one did. But like I said, this isn't about choosing a new Iron Man. There was a world before him, and there will be one after. This is about my ideas--the plans and inventions that I hoped would make the world a better place. This is about making sure those things don't fall into the wrong hands. I don't even want to imagine the suffering that could cause… That's where you come in it. I need your help, Steve. I need you to keep an eye on things now that I can't anymore--which is a lot to ask, I know, after what I've put you through. Still you're the only one I trust to make certain everything I was working for doesn't fall apart without me… and to ensure that the threats that I wasn't around to predict… don't end up blindsiding us in my absence. Our war may be over, Steve, but we both know that it won't be the last one. When the time comes, the world will still need heroes. And when the fighting is over and history is written… I can only hope that we will be remembered as more than just heroes. I hope that we will be remembered as I will always remember us… As friends.

And the typeface used in the comic is--or is very close to--Lucida Handwriting Light, which used to come free with a lot of Microsoft products.

I also have a rough mock-up of the entire letter.

[violent138]

If you read The Art of War, there are so many elements regarding deception and preparation that very neatly tie in (along with some of Machiavelli's warnings) with the actions Jason ended up taking when he returned to Gotham.

But I've always wondered if Jason was amused when he found the line: "Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death."

[whaalless]

I’ve fallen into the inevitable Destiny brainrot so here's my goofy little titan guy I forgot to post earlier on here

[fictionadventurer]

The worst part about reading in a genre where you have low expectations (in this case, Christian historical fiction) is that when a book impresses you, you have no idea if it's actually good or if you're just overly impressed because it was a fraction of a degree better than the usual garbage.

[asleepinawell]

[hacksawboy]

fuck it .heres my edgy sniper oc. this is tumblr im not gonna get shamed for this

ft my spy oc theyre so in hate 🩷

[brw]

Slott did a lot of lame boring things but it is funny how little of an impact those two damn kids he gave Ben and Alicia have made. I've read almost every issue of his damn run and I cannot remember their names. One is a blue boy the other is a green girl but other than that they have the same fucking personality. I can't believe he killed the moloids for this.

[ianthedebonair]

The (rare) smile that has the entire Los Diablos Rangers on an absolute chokehold (and he has no idea about it 😩)

[allurascastle]

Omg, wait. Keiran would be ~20 in Veilguard.

Daylen and Keiran are fucking up Darkspawn hordes together.

[groan-taire]

still trying to figure out this character design, he doesn't look like the same person in any of those, I swear he'll get a hearcut in the next game

[unknownarmageddon]

hozierr

hozier!!!

[kindlythevoid]

New Like Dropped:

Me, obsessed with Cal Kestis and the Mantis crew.

[lyriumheart]

i wanted to show off my home and then got distracted by cannibal neighbours before remembering what i was doing

[nullthevoidsheep]

Wow, this weasel sure is, something. I haven't seen my stats so low since I got myself a talkative rat right at the start of the game.

[bumblingbabooshka]

The Pathways Novel is the holy grail of young Tuvok characterization because I can just sense so clearly through the page how insufferable he would be to talk to

[sinterblackwell]

to get a good idea of how much i love sons of the fallen, the review im currently writing for its recently released companion novel, beyond the storm, is *squints at laptop screen* …..six pages long.

and i’m not even finished.