The Legacy of the Iron Monger
Learn how Obadiah Stane became the Iron Monger and created a legacy upheld by many, from his son Ezekiel Stane, to Justine Hammer, and more.
Obadiah Stane always liked breaking things. From billion-dollar businesses to people and their reputations, the ruthless tycoon bulldozed his way through his competition. In many ways, Stane was a dark reflection of Tony Stark: an inventor and builder who always tried to innovate through technology. When he exploited Stark’s flaws and took over his company, Stane weaponized Iron Man’s technology as the Iron Monger, a battlesuit designed to dominate and destroy. Although Stane’s brief time in that armor ended with his death, his imposing legacy still haunts Iron Man and his allies to this day.
Now, let’s take a closer look at Iron Monger and his lasting impact on the Marvel Universe. While Obadiah Stane may be dead, his legacy inspired several villains to follow in his footsteps and turn the chinks in Iron Man’s armor into fatal flaws.
WHO IS OBaDIAH STANE?
Obadiah Stane debuted in IRON MAN (1968) #163 by Dennis O'Neil and Luke McDonnell. After witnessing his father's death, Stane grew obsessed with chess and the concept of winning, especially by exploiting his opponents’ weaknesses. Through psychological manipulation, Stane made himself a successful business mogul and targeted Stark International. Stane initially attacked Stark with a formidable gang of chess-themed villains called the Chessmen. However, his subsequent attacks on Stark hit much closer to home.
Since Stane knew Stark struggled with alcoholism, he pushed the Armored Avenger into despair and drove him to relapse. Stane cut Stark out of lucrative business deals, he attacked James Rhodes, and had Indries Moomji romance Tony only to completely reject him. Even though Stark knew Stane was behind his troubles, he relapsed, and Stane took over his company with the backing of S.H.I.E.L.D.
During this turbulent period, Rhodes took on the Iron Man mantle to keep Stark’s secrets safe, while Stane led Stark’s company back into the weapons-manufacturing business. As Stark recovered and started a new company called Circuits Maximus, Stane abducted several of his friends and killed his colleague, Morley Erwin. Stane soon uncovered some of Stark’s partial notes and instructed his scientists to develop a new armored battlesuit.
THE DEATH OF THE IRON MONGER
Obadiah Stane’s dark plans culminated in the Iron Monger armor in IRON MAN (1968) #200. Built on Stark’s incomplete work, the Iron Monger suit took a much larger and bulkier form than Iron Man’s armor. Stane dreamed of mass-producing the suit or using it to conquer a small country, but he settled for taking on Stark. However, with his new Silver Centurion armor, Iron Man easily absorbed Stane’s initial attacks. Stane subsequently threatened to activate a deathtrap that would kill Stark’s captured friends, but the hero neutralized the trap with a single blast from his uni-beam.
Iron Man quickly realized that Stane piloted the Iron Monger armor using a computer located at his company’s headquarters. To stop him, Stark destroyed the empty building containing the computer, causing Stane to lose control of his Iron Monger armor. As he struggled to accept defeat, Stane died from a repulsor blast from his own armor.
THE OTHER IRON MONGERS
With Stane dead, several people tried to carry on the legacy of the Iron Monger. In order to use the remaining resources of Stane International, S.H.I.E.L.D. briefly created an Obadiah Stane Life Model Decoy, a near-perfect robotic version of the late tycoon. A group of vigilante police officers called the Cabal also commissioned Stane’s company to create the Savage Steel armor to punish criminals without going through the legal system. However, the Punisher and the young hero Darkhawk defeated them.
In IRON MAN (1968) #212 by Danny Fingeroth and Dwayne Turner, a man named Yiorgos Krallis used the Iron Monger armor. Although Yiorgos killed the mercenary Dominic Fortune, Iron Man defeated him with his Silver Centurion armor. The government then used the Iron Monger armor to train John Walker as the U.S. Agent, while a criminal known as Slagmire also briefly wore the armor to help a small-time crime boss. When the Red Skull got hold of the Iron Monger armor, he gave it to an assassin as part of a failed plot to kill his rival, Viper.
WHO IS ZEKE STANE?
Obadiah Stane’s true successor was his son, Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane, who stepped out of the shadows in THE ORDER (2007) #8 by Matt Fraction and Barry Kitson. Raised to hate Tony Stark and seek revenge for his father’s death, Stane began developing weapons and turned himself into a cyborg with cybernetic upgrades such as repulsor rays and force fields. As part of his larger assault against Iron Man, Zeke targeted the Order, a group of California-based celebrity heroes in Stark’s Fifty-State Initiative.
The younger Stane attacked Iron Man directly in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2008) #1 by Fraction and Salvador Larroca. Zeke outfitted villains with lethal upgrades and helped them conduct deadly attacks on Stark’s interests around the world. With help from his assistant, Sasha Hammer, and his henchmen, Stane tried to launch simultaneous attacks on Stark Industries buildings around the world. In response, Iron Man remotely piloted several suits of armor to stop most of Stane’s attacks. While fighting Stane directly, Iron Man activated a failsafe EMP that shut down Stark technology, including the Stark tech inside Stane’s cybernetics. With Stane utterly defeated, Stark rubbed salt in the wound and told the young Iron Monger that his father was both smarter and tougher than him.
ZEKE STANE AND THE MANDARIN
The Mandarin freed Ezekiel Stane from custody in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2008) #33, inadvertently setting him up for an unlikely partnership with Iron Man. As Iron Man’s longtime nemesis and Sasha Hammer’s father, the Mandarin needed Zeke for his larger plans against the Armored Avenger. The pair worked together to upgrade several Iron Man villains, but the Mandarin soon turned against Obadiah Stane’s son. As Zeke struggled to build the robotic Dreadnoughts and Titanomechs, powerful weapons designed by Tony Stark, he tried to free himself from the Mandarin’s clutches. However, the crime lord used his mind-control ring to brainwash Stane, seriously injuring his brain in the process.
Once the Mandarin abducted Iron Man and brainwashed him, he forced Stane and Stark to build the Titanomechs together. Despite their previous rivalry, Stark performed life-saving brain surgery on Stane while they were captive. Together, they recruited some of the Mandarin’s other prisoners and rebelled against their captor, destroying the Titanomechs in the process.
In retaliation for his brutal treatment, Zeke killed Justine Hammer, the Mandarin’s partner. Since then, Zeke and Sasha built back their fortunes, becoming some of the most well-financed villains in the Marvel Universe. They even joined Hydra to launch an unsuccessful coup in Wakanda.
THE NEW IRON MONGER
Justine Hammer has taken on her fair share of identities since she debuted as the Crimson Cowl in THUNDERBOLTS (1997) #3 by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. As the daughter of Justin Hammer, Justine continued her father’s villainous legacy by reassembling the Masters of Evil and revitalizing Hammer Industries to take on his old foe, Iron Man.
More recently, A.I.M. and Roxxon Energy tried to take over Stark Unlimited. They approached the demon Belasco to resurrect Justine to serve as the new Iron Monger in order to close the deal. When Iron Man interfered, Justine unleashed a mystical virus on Stark’s armor that left him hospitalized. She also took parts of his magic-resistant mysterium suit to forge her Iron Monger armor in IRON MAN (2024) #1 by Spencer Ackerman and Julius Ohta.
Iron Man only defeated Iron Monger with a massive weapon called the Repulsword. After the brutal battle, Stark forced Belasco and the dark forces behind him to consider A.I.M. and Roxxon’s losing track record against the Avengers. When they realized they were making a bad investment, Belasco and the company’s board members scrapped the deal. Iron Man regained control over Stark Unlimited, but not without suffering any losses. Justine warned Tony that Stark Unlimited was so deep in the weapons business that he would now become the Iron Monger.
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