Marvel Television’s Ironheart series just introduced a new villain to the Marvel Cinematic Universe 13 years after he was originally planned to appear in Phase 1’s The Avengers. Ironheart brought Phase 5 to a close by pitting Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) against Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), who was gifted his powerful and mysterious cloak by one of Marvel’s most exciting new supervillains. However, it wasn’t just one or two villains that Marvel debuted in Ironheart, but there was another who has connections to Iron Man’s MCU history. Be warned: MAJOR SPOILERS for Ironheart are ahead.
Along with the Hood and Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen), Ironheart also debuted Alden Ehrenreich as Joe McGillicuddy – an alias used by Ezekiel Stane, the son of original Iron Man villain Obadiah Stane. Surprisingly, Joss Whedon originally planned for Ezekiel Stane to show up during The Avengers. “I wrote a huge draft with Ezekiel Stane,” Whedon noted during a 2018 interview with Thrillist. “Kevin [Feige] looked at it and said, ‘Yeah, no.’ Louis D’Esposito actually at that point said, ‘Yeah, Kevin, it’s all wrong, but look how good it is. Like this is really good wrong.’ That was a nice boost.”
Had Ezekiel Stane appeared in The Avengers, it would have been only four years since his father’s death at the hands of Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man. Obadiah Stane became the Iron Monger in Iron Man, and was seemingly killed by Stark after their battle at Stark Industries HQ. Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane made his Marvel Comics debut in 2008’s The Order #8, and he sought revenge on Tony Stark for the death of his father. The Avengers’ original plan presumably would have followed this story, but it’s good that Marvel Studios waited to introduce Zeke until Ironheart.
Instead of being an outright villain in Ironheart, Ezekiel was aware of his father’s twisted actions, and made conscious choices to try and avoid becoming like him or even seeking retribution. After Riri Williams’ mistake with Stane’s biomesh led to him being outed to the world, however, Stane fell under the control of Parker Robbins’ Hood, but Williams soon helped him break free from the Hood’s influence. Zeke Stane has been set up to be a powerful ally to Riri Williams in the MCU’s future, despite not yet being confirmed to return.
Ezekiel Stane’s debut in Ironheart stresses just how directly Riri Williams is continuing Tony Stark’s legacy in the MCU. Not only is she sporting an iron suit as Ironheart, but she’s also taking on the offspring of Stark’s own antagonists, harking back to the very early days of the MCU. It’s exciting to think about where Zeke Stane could be taken after Ironheart – he’s got incredible power thanks to his bionic enhancements, so he could easily become a formidable hero alongside Riri Williams and many more.
What did you make of Ezekiel Stane’s Ironheart debut? Would you have wanted to see him in The Avengers? Let us know in the comments!
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