| Iron Monger | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Obadiah Stane: Iron Man #163 (Oct. 1982) Iron Monger: Iron Man #200 (Nov. 1985) |
| Created by | Dennis O'Neil (writer) Luke McDonnell (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Obadiah Stane |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Earth-616 |
| Team affiliations | The Chessmen Stane International Stark Industries |
| Partnerships | Madame Masque |
| Notable aliases | Iron Man, King |
| Abilities | Genius-level intellect Experienced businessman Masterstrategist Armored suit grants: Superhuman strength Superhuman durability Flight Repulsors Chest laser Computer control |
Iron Monger is an alias used by multiple fictional characters, supervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The most well-known version,Obadiah Stane, first appeared inIron Man #163 (Oct. 1982),[1] while the Iron Monger armor first appeared inIron Man #200 (Nov. 1985).
Jeff Bridges portrayed Obadiah Stane in the 2008Marvel Cinematic Universe filmIron Man, andKiff VandenHeuvel voiced him in the animated seriesWhat If...?.
Created by writerDennis O'Neil and artistLuke McDonnell, Obadiah Stane debuted inIron Man #163 (Oct. 1982). The original Iron Monger armor makes its first appearance inIron Man #200 (Nov. 1985), created by O'Neil and artistMark Bright.
Obadiah Stane was the first Iron Monger. When he was a child, his fatherZebediah Stane was a degenerate gambler and Obadiah's mother had already died. One day, his father considered himself on a "lucky streak", played a game ofRussian roulette, and shot himself in the head, which young Obadiah witnessed. This trauma caused Obadiah to go bald, and shaped his outlook on life. From then on, Stane was a ruthless manipulator who studied his adversaries to find weaknesses to exploit. Stane enjoys chess, and lives his life with the same kind of methodical logic that he uses in the game.
In adulthood, Obadiah ascends to the position of President and CEO of his own enterprise, Stane International, establishing himself as a prominent distributor of munitions. He also goes into business withHoward Stark. After Howard Stark's death in a car accident, Stane turns his sights on acquiring control ofStark International, now owned byTony Stark.[2]
Stark eventually learns that Stane is the mastermind behind a series of attacks on him, but is unable to confront him. Stane's assaults on Stark's business and friends push Stark to the edge, relapsing into alcoholism.[3] WithS.H.I.E.L.D.'s help, Stane buys out Stark International which he renames Stane International. Stark relinquishesIron Man's armor toJim Rhodes and disappears, becoming a homeless vagrant. Rhodes begins operating as Iron Man and ignores Stane's demands to relinquish Iron Man's armor. Rhodes eventually thwarts Stane in his attempt to take over Iron Man's battle suits.[4]
Looking through Stark Enterprises' records, Stane discovers Stark's notes on Iron Man's armor. The notes are incomplete and highly advanced, but Stane assigns a team of scientists to decipher them. They eventually create the Iron Monger armor, which Stane considers "far superior to Stark's Iron Man armor".
While living on the streets, Stark befriends pregnant homeless woman Gertl Anders, who dies in childbirth. He promises to protect Anders' child and later overcomes his alcoholism. Stark joins Rhodes and the Erwin twins (Morley and Clytemnestra) in starting a new company inSilicon Valley, which is dubbed Circuits Maximus.[5][6] Stark builds a new prototype armor resembling his original gray suit to test new designs.
Realizing that Stark is once again a potential threat, Stane orders the abduction ofBethany Cabe, and plans an attack to take out Iron Man. He sends an attack drone known as the Circuits Breaker to destroy Iron Man, which Rhodes and Stark are able to defeat. Stane further plots against Stark by switching the minds of Cabe andMadame Masque and Cabe, and by abducting Stark's old friends (Happy Hogan,Pepper Potts and Bambi Arbogast). Stane eventually detonates a bomb planted inside the Circuits Maximusdome, killing Morley and wounding Rhodes and Clytemnestra.[7]
Iron Man collects the newly completed Silver Centurion armor and flies toLong Island. Iron Man confronts Stane on Stane International's property and defeats Stane's agents. Stane dons the Iron Monger armor and confronts Iron Man personally. The Iron Monger is more powerful than Iron Man's previous armor, but is unable to overpower the Silver Centurion model, which is able to absorb the heat it generates. Stane tries to defeat Iron Man by tricking him into entering a room where Hogan, Potts, and Arbogast are being held in suspended animation and will be electrocuted if Iron Man moves. Refusing to give in, Iron Man uses his armor's sensors to find the power source of Stane's trap and destroys it with his uni-beam, which requires no movement to fire.[8]
With Stark's friends freed, Iron Man confronts Stane, who realizes that he cannot win. Stane takes out Gertl Anders's infant son, whom he had abducted from an orphanage, and threatens to kill the baby unless Iron Man removes his helmet. Having detected interfering frequencies in the armor systems throughout the battle, Iron Man deduces that Stane is not experienced enough to pilot the Iron Monger armor without assistance from an external computer. Stark uses the Iron Man armor's pulse bolts to destroy the building containing the computer, causing Stane's Iron Monger armor to seize up. Refusing to be arrested and humiliated, Stane kills himself by firing his repulsor ray beam into his head, disintegrating it.[8]
Since his death, Stane has made sporadic appearances as a spirit. During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Stane appears as a member ofPluto's jury of the damned to decide the fate ofZeus.[9] During the "Chaos War" storyline, Stane is among the residents of the underworld who defend it fromAmatsu-Mikaboshi.[10]
Industrialist Simon Steele constructs a second version of the Iron Monger armor and has an employee wear the Iron Monger in battle againstDominic Fortune.[11]
The original Iron Monger armor was obtained by theUnited States government after Stane's death. General Lewis Haywerth has one of theGuardsmen use the Iron Monger to testU.S. Agent's combat skills.[12]
Joey Cosmatos, Tony Stark's former college classmate, builds a third version of the Iron Monger suit from Obadiah's plans. The Iron Monger battlesuit is worn by the criminal Slagmire, an operative of underworld boss Mr. Desmond.[13]
TheRed Skull has one of his own agents use an Iron Monger suit in an assassination attempt against theViper, but the Iron Monger battlesuit wearer is apparently killed by the Viper's men.[14]
A group of renegadeNew York City Police Department officers calling themselves "the Cabal" commissions Stane International to design a suit of combat armor so they can hunt down and kill criminals like thePunisher. Various members of the Cabal wear the Savage Steel armor at different times, coming into conflict with Iron Man andDarkhawk.
Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane, Obadiah's son,[15] gradually adapts his body to be acyborg who regenerates injuries quickly, no longer needs to breathe, and generates as much energy as the Iron Man armor before constructing his ownexoskeleton to help with excess heat and utilize more usable energy.[16][17]
Justine Hammer utilized her own Iron Monger armor while working withRoxxon andA.I.M. in a conspiracy to take over Stark Unlimited.[18]
Obadiah Stane was a genius with an M.B.A. He was a master of psychological warfare, a cunning business strategist, and a champion chess player. However, he had a classic narcissistic complex; his ego was his greatest vulnerability. As Iron Monger, he also used the Circuits Breaker, a flying robotic weapon that fires air-to-surface missiles.[volume & issue needed] He also used a device created by Dr. Theron Atlanta for exchanging the consciousness of two human subjects.
The Iron Monger armor, manufactured by Stane International and code-named I-M Mark One, is an armored battle-suit of "omnium steel" (a fictional alloy), containing various offensive weaponry including a powered exoskeleton that amplifies the user's strength, repulsor rays fired from the gauntlets, and an intense laser beam housed in the battle-suit's chest unit. The suit provides the user with the ability of subsonic flight, thanks to magnetically powered turbine boot jets. Since the Iron Monger armor was based on a modified version of Tony Stark's Iron Man design, the Iron Monger's abilities are very similar to the original red and gold armor, but with increased power. The repulsors are more powerful and the Iron Monger is also larger than Iron Man's armor. It is presumably proportionally stronger as well. The Iron Monger (unlike the Iron Man armor) is also externally computer controlled. Stane attempted to use the remote control to compensate for his lack of experience in using the Iron Monger armor – a vulnerability Iron Man exploited in disabling.[volume & issue needed]
An alternate universe version of Obadiah Stane appears in theUltimate Marvel imprint. This version is the son ofLoni Stane andZebediah Stane, who divorced when he was young. As a teenager, Obadiah is enrolled ina special school at his mother's personal request. Shortly after their arrival, Obadiah murders a pair of students (Link and Dodge) and made it look like an accident, which hardensTony Stark's resolve to punish Obadiah. Obadiah later attempts to murder Stark, but decides not to after Stark saves his life during a terrorist attack.[19]
An alternate universe version of Obadiah Stane appears in theUltimate Universe imprint. This version is an African-American man who is the business partner of Howard Stark, running Stark/Stane, one of the North American Union's main corporations, alongside him. Both of them attend an international event of world leaders in The City atLatveria. When a clone army from the future attacks, Stane dons his armor to fight them until he is killed by a clone ofVision.[20]
Stane is later revealed to have been a member of theMaker's Council, serving as the ruler of thetechnocratic Union. After Stane's death, Howard Stark is appointed in his place.[21]
Obadiah Stane appears in a flashback inIron Man: Rise of Technovore, voiced byTakaya Hashi in the Japanese version,[citation needed] andJB Blanc in the English dub.[23]
Jeff Bridges portrays Obadiah Stane in media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU):
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An original incarnation of Iron Monger appears in the novelSpider-Man: Venom's Wrath. This version isDaniel, a teenager who is dressed in a "cheesy exoskeleton" and wields a laser weapon he calls a "hydrogel blast".
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