Obadiah Stane, who would become the first Iron Monger, debuted in Iron Man #163 (October 1982). He dons the Iron Monger armor in issue #200 (November 1985), and commits suicide in the same issue.
Fictional character biography
Obadiah Stane
Early years
Obadiah Stane is a ruthless manipulator who studies 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 addition, he is a strong believer in using psychological manipulation to his advantage. For instance, in a childhood chess match against another boy whose skill at least equaled his own, he killed the boy's dog so that the other would be distracted from the game. His father, Zebediah, was a degenerate gambler who considered himself on a "lucky streak"; as a child, Obadiah saw his father shoot himself in the head while playing a game of Russian roulette. This trauma shaped Obadiah Stane for years to come.
Hostile takeover
In adulthood, as a wealthy financier, Obadiah Stane becomes the president and CEO of his own company, Stane International, as a munitions dealer. He also goes into business with Howard Stark. When Stark and his wife die in a car accident, Stane turns his sights on acquiring control of Stark International, the industrial corporation he had worked with, now owned by Stark's son, Tony. Stane has his agents, the Chessmen, attack Stark Industries and assault Stark's confidant, James Rhodes.[1] He also confronts Tony Stark in person.[2] Stane also sets up Indries Moomji as Stark's lover without Stark knowing that Moomji is actually the Chessmen's Queen. Meanwhile, Stane and his associates conspire to lock Stark International out of various business deals. Stark eventually learns that Stane is the mastermind behind these attacks, but is unable to confront him. The assaults on Stark, his business, and his friend push Stark to the edge, and he catastrophically relapsed into alcoholism.[3] With the help of S.H.I.E.L.D., Stane buys out Stark International, which he then renames Stane International. Stark, having fallen off the wagon, relinquishes his armor to Jim Rhodes and disappears to be a homeless vagrant. Rhodes becomes the new Iron Man while ignoring Stane's demands to relinquish the armor. Rhodes, as the new Iron Man, eventually thwarts Stane in his attempt to take over the Iron Man battle-suits.[4]
Stane proceeds in manufacturing and supplying munitions and weapons to S.H.I.E.L.D. and others who could pay for them. When Tony Stark left, he left behind notes and information on the Iron Man armor. These notes are incomplete and hard to analyze, but Stane assigns a team of scientists to decipher them; they eventually create the Iron Monger armor which, according to Stane, is "far superior to Stark's Iron Man armor". He even considers selling them to the highest bidder or creating an army of Iron Mongers, using them to "take over any country he wanted".
Stane assigns the Termite to sabotage another business rival.[5] He also forms an alliance with Madame Masque.[6]
Retaliation
While living on the streets, Stark befriends a pregnant homeless woman. She dies in childbirth, whereupon Stark promises to protect the child. This vow helps Stark overcome his alcoholism. When Stark recovers, he builds a new suit of Iron Man armor, creating the then-pinnacle of armor design, the Silver Centurion armor; he also founds a new, successful computer company, Circuits Maximus. Stane orders the abduction of Bethany Cabe, and is revealed as Madame Masque's lover. He sends the Circuits Breaker to attack Circuits Maximus, and realizes that the "new" Iron Man is in fact Tony Stark. Upon learning of his rival's recovery, Stane decides to kill him off once and for all. Stane exchanges the minds of Madame Masque and Bethany Cabe, has Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, and Bambi Arbogast kidnapped, and then kills Morley Erwin by blowing up Circuits Maximus.[7] Stane believes that these losses would drive Stark back into alcoholism, but a confrontation with Erwin's sister at the hospital instead inspires Stark to use the new 'Silver Centurion' armor and take the fight to Stane once again.
Stark confronts Stane on the property of Stane International and defeats Stane's agents, including the Chessmen, who had proven a match for his previous armor. Stane dons the Iron Monger armor and confronts Stark personally. The Iron Monger is more powerful than the previous Iron Man armor, but not the Silver Centurion model, which includes such features as the ability to absorb the heat from the Iron Monger's thermal rays and channel it into the armor's own energy supplies. Stane tries to defeat Stark by tricking him into entering a room where Happy, Pepper, and Bambi are being held in suspended animation tanks that could sustain them for months; the walls of the room were covered with photo-electric cells that would trigger a circuit sending 200,000 volts into their bodies if Stark moved, leaving him with no choice but to stand in the room and starve to death to keep them alive. Fortunately, however, Stark is standing directly opposite the room's power source, allowing him to use the weapons in his chest-plate to destroy it.
Having freed his friends, Stark then confronts Stane, who is holding his last card: the baby of the woman whom Stark had befriended while on skid row. Stane tells Stark to remove his helmet or he would crush the baby between his palms. Stark, having detected interfering frequencies in his armor's systems throughout the battle, deduces that Stane isn't experienced enough to pilot the armor without some help in the form of an external computer. He uses his armor's pulse bolts to destroy the nearby building containing that computer, causing Stane's Iron Monger armor to seize up and fall to the ground as Stark swoops in to catch the baby; since Stane based the armor on Stark's old designs, Stark knew that the armor would freeze if it lost the control of an outside source. Stane then removes his helmet and confronts Stark. Stane says defiantly that he has one thing left; the ability to deprive Stark of the enjoyment he'd receive in his enemy's humiliation and defeat. Refusing to be arrested and humiliated, he then raises his hand to the side of his head and, using the repulsor ray beam, disintegrates his skull.[8] Stark later obtains complete control over his own company, which he renames Stark Enterprises.
Dark Reign
Obadiah Stane, in his Iron Monger armour, was chosen as a member of Pluto's jury of the damned to decide the fate of Zeus.[9] When the lord of Hades power was undone, it was Iron Monger who laid the first blow upon him, accompanied by the sound effect 'SHTAAANNE'.[10]
Obadiah's son, Ezekiel, is introduced in The Order #8, as the brains and financial backing of a secret conspiracy to destroy the titular group, which has close ties to Stark. He would return in The Invincible Iron Man #1 to continue his vendetta against Stark in his father's name.[11] He gradually adapts his body to become a complete cyborg to the extent he, for instance, regenerates injuries very quickly, no longer needs to breathe, and generates at least as much energy as Iron Man. He constructs a special exoskeleton to help him deal with excess heat (and turn it into even more usable energy).
Powers and abilities
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 amplified 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 armor's abilities are very similar to the original red and gold armor, but with increased power. The repulsors were more powerful and the armor was also larger than the armor of Iron Man. It was presumably proportionally stronger as well. The armor was also partially computer controlled, a vulnerability Stark exploited to disable the suit.
Stane also used the Circuits Breaker, a flying robotic weapon that fires air-to-surface missiles. He also used a device created by Dr. Theron Atlanta for exchanging the consciousness of two human subjects.
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.
Other versions
Industrialist Simon Steele constructs another Iron Monger suit, and has an employee wear it in battle against Dominic Fortune.[12]
After Stane's death, the original Iron Monger armor was obtained by the United States government. General Lewis Haywerth has one of the Guardsmen use it to test the combat skills of a U.S. Agent.[13]
Stark's former college classmate Joey Cosmatos build a third Ironmonger suit, working from Stane's plans. This suit is worn by the criminal Slagmire, an operative of underworld boss Mr. Desmond.[14]
The Red Skull later has one of his own agents use a suit of Iron Monger armor in an assassination attempt against the Viper, but the suit's wearer is apparently killed by the Viper's men.[15]
A group of renegade New York City Police Department officers calling themselves 'the Cabal' commissions Stane International to design a suit of combat armor that they would use to hunt down and kill criminals as their own personal Punisher agent. Various members of the Cabal wear the resulting Savage Steel armor at different times, coming into conflict with Iron Man and Darkhawk.
In other media
Television
Obadiah Stane appears in Iron Man: Armored Adventures voiced by Mackenzie Gray.[16] In this version, he is one of Howard Stark's associates. Unlike Howard, Obadiah wants to use the company to create weapons in order to make more profit without considering the deaths it will cause. Though he has not become the Iron Monger yet, he is one of the two main antagonists of the show, the other being the Mandarin. After Howard Stark rejects Stane's plans to upgrade the "Earth Mover" project, he causes the aircraft that the Starks ride to explode, killing Howard and Maria, but leaving Tony a survivor. After this, Stane becomes the new CEO of Stark Industries, as Tony is too young to assume the post, and ignores the boy's request to be involved. When Tony Stark becomes Iron Man for the first time, Obadiah (who is unaware that Iron Man is actually Tony Stark) immediatly becomes strongly interested by his armor and tries to get Iron Man to his side. In "Iron, Forged From Fire" Pt. 2, Obadiah tests out the modified Earth Movers on Iron Man only for the Mandarin to attack and target one of his rings that Obadiah is wearing. Obadiah quickly surrenders the ring to Mandarin. After a brief fight between Mandarin and Iron Man, Obadiah tried a last time to convince Iron Man to join him in vain. In "Cold War," it is revealed that Obadiah was responsible for the disfiguration of the scientist who became Blizzard in an attempt to create a new weapon. Blizzard and Iron Man make an alliance against him, but Iron Man (understanding Blizzard has no consideration in killing innocents in order to get Stane) eventually turns against his ally and reluctantly saves Stane from the freezing villain. Instead of thanking him, Stane expresses his disappointment that Iron Man was safe, and vows to find out who he is and take the armor from him. Losing patience with this threats, Iron Man just answers "Your time is coming Stane" before shooting Stane's camera. In "Field Trip," Stane is revealed to have a daughter named Whitney. He has no serious interest for his daughter except for her homework and she apparently dislikes him. This later causes her to become the show's incarnation of Madame Masque in "Masquerade" and impersonate him. In Seeing Red, he makes a deal Project Pegasus scientist Anton Harkov to sponsor the research that Anton is working on. Obadiah has the Crimson Dynamo armor upgraded before sending it with O'Brian (Obadiah's head of security) to get Iron Man. Though the Crimson Dynamo succeeds in capturing the hero, Iron Man is able to escape before they can open the armor thanks to a diversion caused by Pepper. After the Crimson Dynamo has been defeated by Iron Man in his own Dynamo Armor and the Technovore virus eliminating the data on the Iron Man and Crimson Dynamo armors, Obadiah Stane had his secretary tell Anton that the offer is rescinded. In "Best Served Cold," Madame Masque makes one of her attempts on her father's life which is when Obadiah learns of her true identity upon being subdued. When Whitney falls ill from the effects of her mask, Obadiah calls in Tony to tell him about the mask. In order to obtain a cure for Whitney, Tony takes the Iron Man armor to an arctic base where an unrefined ore is located to help cure Whitney. Obadiah thaws out Blizzard and places an explosive on his costume in order to get him to obtain the ore first. When Blizzard goes back on the deal and freezes the explosive, he attacks Obadiah only to end up fighting Iron Man and Madame Masque. After Blizzard is defeated, Iron Man knocks out Obadiah so that Madame Masque couldn't kill him. After Whitney is cured, Obadiah thanks Tony for curing his daughter.
Film
File:Ironmonger 2008film.jpgThe Iron Monger armor in the 2008 film, Iron Man
Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane in the 2008 film Iron Man. At first he works for Tony Stark always trying to make more money. When Tony comes back after being captured he shuts down his weapon company which makes Obadiah very concerned about his future there. Obadiah tells Tony "we're iron mongers" which is the only time his villian name is said. Later on he steals the plans for the Iron Man armor to create the Iron Monger armor. He and Iron Man have a battle which leads to Obadiah's apparent death.
Potts will replace Stane as CEO of Stark Industries in Iron Man 2.[17]
Video games
Iron Monger is featured in the 2008 video game Iron Man voiced by Fred Tatasciore. As in the movie, he persistently objects to Tony's new decision not to sell weapons any more. However, unlike in the movie, his resistance to this new strategy goes beyond developing the Iron Monger suit, contacting A.I.M. to offer his services in helping them to develop weapons. With Stane's assistance, A.I.M. is able to create the Titanium Man armor, but their inability to perfect the power source means that the armor must periodically recharge during a fight, and the Titanium Man is thus defeated by Iron Man. With Tony distracted by dealing with A.I.M., Stane is able to complete the Iron Monger armor, subsequently facing Tony in a final confrontation before he is apparently destroyed as the arc reactor overloads.[18]
Action figures
Three Iron Monger figures are featured in the initial Iron Man film toy line by Hasbro, one of which features an "opening cockpit" that reveals Jeff Bridges' character inside. The second has a smashing fist action, with less movie accurate red lights. The third figure has since been repainted and released to appear more like the comic version's blue armor.[19][20] A repaint of the Fist Smash Attack Iron Monger mold called Battle Monger in the colors of Iron Man, is an upgraded model according to its bio. A Minimates version of movie armor appeared in Iron Movie themed 21st wave of Marvel Minimates, [21], with a battle damaged version also available as a retailer exclusive.
