The Next Iron Monger Has Arrived In The MCU

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Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Marvel’s Ironheart

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the character Ironheart brought forth several new antagonists. Among them, Ezekiel Stane stands out as a potential major villain, possibly stepping into the shoes of the Iron Monger in future storylines. Initially planned for the MCU much earlier, Ezekiel Stane has now entered the larger cinematic universe and is poised to make his mark (and we hope this is only the beginning).

In the series Ironheart, the character Zeke Stane, portrayed by Alden Ehrenreich, is initially presented as “Joe”, a tech ethicist and black market tech dealer who crosses paths with Riri Williams during her efforts to reconstruct her armor. However, it’s later disclosed that Zeke is actually the son of Obadiah Stane, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first villain, also known as “The Iron Monger” from Iron Man (2008). This suggests that Zeke may follow in his father’s footsteps and embrace a sinister role in the upcoming episodes of Ironheart.

Ironheart’s Final Episodes Saw Zeke Stane Mirroring The Comics In A Big Way

Upgrading Himself With Various Bionic Augmentations

In the original comics, Ezekiel Stane takes Tony Stark’s technology, which he adapts into cybernetic enhancements and bionic modifications. Driven by revenge against Iron Man for his father’s fate, Ezekiel searches underground markets for Stark Tech and conducts self-experimentation to carry on his family’s work. It’s easy to spot the influences in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ironheart.

In this version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Zeke Stane was aware of the true circumstances surrounding his father’s death and the attempt on Tony Stark’s life. Despite this, he doesn’t appear to hold any grudge against Iron Man, who has already passed away in the MCU. Similarly, Zeke and his stockpile of black market technology weren’t motivated by vengeance, but only after his identity was revealed did such feelings potentially emerge.

After being implicated in assisting Riri with her armor and subsequently imprisoned, Zeke was freed by Parker Robbins, also known as the Hood. Enhancing his own physique with biological enhancements, Zeke initially consented to kill Riri on Parker’s behalf. However, using his new cybernetic abilities, Zeke managed to defeat Riri. Despite this, he couldn’t bring himself to carry out the act, leading to Parker employing a hidden override that controlled Zeke instead.

In the end, Riri managed to assist Zeke in reclaiming his bodily autonomy, thus liberating him from Williams’ control. Despite this resolution, it is evident that the storyline of Ironheart leaves no doubt that Zeke hasn’t yet forgiven Williams for her actions against him. This situation strongly hints at the possibility that Zeke may transition into an antagonist in the MCU in the future, possibly even adopting his father’s Iron Monger persona as part of his new role.

Will Zeke Stane Finally Become The MCU’s New Iron Monger?

Finally Following In His Father’s Footsteps

One intriguing aspect of Zeke Stane is that he’s made a much-anticipated appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), given that he was initially set to collaborate with Loki in the 2012 Avengers script, aiding the God of Mischief during his invasion. In this scenario, Zeke would have been promised retaliation against Iron Man.

It has been disclosed that initially, Zeke would have started the Serpent Society when Ironheart was supposed to debut before Captain America: Brave New World. At that time, the criminal organization was thought to consist of cyborgs. However, due to delays and reshoots for the fourth Captain America film, these plans were altered.

Through the years, Zeke Stane has long been absent from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but thanks to Ironheart, he’s finally made his debut. We can only hope that this is just the beginning for Zeke, and we’ll be seeing more of him soon as a new version of the Iron Monger. If the MCU’s Armor Wars project remains in development with War Machine safeguarding Iron Man’s tech and legacy, it wouldn’t be surprising to envision Zeke as a crucial adversary in this storyline.

All episodes of Marvel’s Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+.

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2025-07-06 05:19