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Marvel Officially Names MCU's First Main Villain in Ironheart
Despite Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams spending a lot of time distancing herself from Tony Stark's legacy in the recently released series, the Disney+ show ultimately revealed an lore easter egg by name-dropping its villain, 'Iron Monger.' As such, it was the first time that the MCU referred to Obadiah Stane by his comic-accurate title on the live-action front. The character was portrayed by Jeff Bridges in the 2008 flick.
17 years after the release of Jon Favreau's Iron Man, the MCU has officially named the movie's villain, Obadiah Stane. In Ironheart Episode 3, Alden Ehrenreich's character alludes to the name Iron Monger while talking with Riri Williams. This marks the first time the designation has been used to refer to MCU's iconic supervillain.
Playing a techie who procures black market upgrades for Williams' Ironheart suits, Alden Ehrenreich is originally introduced as Joe McGillicuddy. However, in Episode 3 of the series, he reveals that he is actually Ezekiel Stane, the son of Obadiah Stane. Joe learns that Williams' motivation to successfully build an Iron suit stems from her stepfather, Gary. He then says that she should consider herself lucky for having found such an ideal role model. Joe further says he 'had an Iron Monger' for a father.
The said Ironheart easter egg is the first time that the MCU has used the Iron Monger moniker. However, 2008's Iron Man saw Jeff Bridges make a subtle hint at what his character would eventually become. After Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark shuts down the weapons manufacturing unit of his company, Obadiah Stane attempts to reason with him. This is to silently further his own nefarious agenda. While trying to convince Stark about why they should continue making weapons, Stane says, 'That's what we do. We're iron mongers, we make weapons.'
With Alden Ehrenreich's character officially using the title Iron Monger to refer to his father, Ironheart manages to establish a seamless continuity with its predecessor in an innovative way. Regardless, it remains to be seen if Ezekiel Stane will play a bigger role in the upcoming Marvel projects, despite his deep connection to Iron Man's story.
