Iron Man never really was one of my favorite characters which was mainly due to his somewhat lackluster rogue's list., and despite the Armor Wars and Demon in the Bottle stories he still never ranked high on my list. However, after getting to see another side of his personality in both World War Hulk and Civil War. My interest in him has grown a little.
In my opinion, Marvel has always been just a little bit ahead of DC and other comic publishers when it comes to social issues and personal conflict. Tony Stark is the perfect example of that, particularly his struggles with alcoholism.