Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Marvel’s Ironheart
Marvel’sIronheartintroduced a handful of new villains to theMCU. However, one in particular has the potential to become a key legacy villain as the next Iron Monger. Although he was originally meant to debut in the MCU years ago, Ezekiel Stane has finally made his way to the greater cinematic universe (and he’s hopefully just getting started).
Played by Alden Ehrenreich, Zeke Stane is first introduced as “Joe”, a tech ethicist/black market tech dealer whom Riri Williams encounters while trying to rebuild her armor. However, the truth is eventually revealed thatZeke is the son of Obidiah Stane, the MCU’s very first villain, aka “The Iron Monger” from 2008’sIron Man.As such,Ironheart’sfinal episodes seemingly set up Zeke’s darker future, one where he fully inherits his father’s legacy.
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 reverse engineers Tony Stark’s technology in the form of cybernetic augments and bionic upgrades. Seeking revenge on Iron Man for what happened to his father, Ezekiel scoured the black market for Stark Tech before experimenting on himself, continuing his father’s legacy. As such, it’s not hard to see the inspirations in the MCU’sIronheart.
The MCU’s Zeke Stane knew the truth about how his father actually died and how he tried to kill Stark. As such, he doesn’t seem to harbor any kind of ill will toward Iron Man (who’s already deceased in the MCU).Likewise, Zeke and his collection of black market tech weren’t fueled by vengeance, at least not until his identity was exposed.
Following his incrimination after helping Riri with her armor, Zeke was broken out of prison byParker Robbins' Hood. Upgrading his own body with bio-augments, Zeke initially agreed to kill Riri for Parker. Using his new cybernetic powers, Zeke successfully beat Riri, though he couldn’t bring himself to actually kill her, resulting in Parker using a secret override that turned Zeke into his puppet.
Eventually, Riri helped Zeke regain control of his own body, freeing him from Hood’s control. That said,Ironheart’sfinalemakes it clear that Zeke’s still not done with Williams for what she did to him.As such, a strong implication is made that Zeke is primed to become a new MCU villain in the future, potentially even inheriting his father’s Iron Monger legacy.
Will Zeke Stane Finally Become The MCU’s New Iron Monger?
Finally Following In His Father’s Footsteps
What’s most fascinating about Zeke Stane is that his MCU debut has been a long time coming.In the original drafts of 2012’sAvengers, Zeke Stane was going to be an ally to Loki. Helping the God of Mischief in his invasion, Zeke would have been promised his revenge on Iron Man.
Likewise, it’s recently been revealed that back whenIronheartwas set to release beforeCaptain America: Brave New World, Zeke would have reportedly been the Serpent Society’s founder. However, this was back when the criminal organization was envisioned as a group of cyborgs. Following various delays for both projects and subsequent reshoots for the fourthCaptain Americamovie, the plan was changed.
Even with changes over the years, Zeke Stane is finally in the MCU thanks toIronheart.With any luck, Zeke’s just getting started, and we’ll be seeing him again soon as a next-gen Iron Monger. Assumingthe MCU’sArmor Warsproject is still in the workswith War Machine protecting Iron Man’s technology and legacy, one could easily imagine Zeke as a key antagonist.
