Random Happenstance

It always strikes me as weird that "Choose Your Own Adventure" is like, a trademarked brand, since I remember reading a bunch of...well, I guess they'd be knock-offs, then. Although, some were with licensed characters: I know there were a couple Star Trek ones I'm sorry aren't in my collection now. In comics, I know they had a Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way recently, but I'm surprised Marvel didn't go to this well more often: from 1994, What If? #63, "What If War Machine had Not Destroyed the Living Laser?" Written by Dan Slott, pencils by Manny Galan, "ink battalion" Jim Amash, Kata Kane, and Mark Stegbauer.

This tied into one of my favorite Iron Man runs, the all-too-brief second Jim Rhodes term, which would lead to him taking the mantle War Machine. Tony Stark was believed dead but actually cryogenically frozen, which was known only to a few scientists; and he had left Rhodey in charge of Stark International and Iron Man. Still, inexplicably Tony Stark kept appearing around the facility; but that was really the Living Laser! All of this came to a head in Iron Man #289 but is largely the B-plot: after it was resolved, the real Tony was revived, but furious that Tony had lied to him, Rhodey quits. (Despite my usual tag for Tony, I don't think his dickery was intentional that time: Tony thought the cryo thing was a longshot, and he would probably not ever be revived.)

The Laser had intended revenge on Stark, but with him 'dead,' Rhodey instead offers the Laser a job: he was a brilliant scientist, after all. That was just a ruse, though, for Rhodey to lure him into a trap and beam the Laser to the Andromeda galaxy; which the Laser thought was a bit much. This issue, we see three other ways this could've gone down: instead, Rhodey relents, and actually does put the Laser to work. While undeniably great in his field, the Laser has trouble working within business confines, his fellow employees aren't comfortable around him, and he knows Iron Man doesn't completely trust him, either. Overhearing a message asking for Rhodey, the Laser holographically takes his form to answer the call, and is shown the frozen Tony Stark! In shock, he reverts back to his Laser form, and Rhodey arrives as Iron Man, equally surprised. How will it play out? 

Three different endings are offered: surprisingly for this title, not a one of them is "and everybody died!" I'm thinking of a recent issue, which was largely 'what if Cyclops was a stand-up guy' that of course ends with the earth exploding. I don't know why I expected anything else there...