Obadiah Stane
Obadiah Stane was the first Iron Monger. When he was a child, his father Zebediah Stane was a degenerate gambler and Obadiah's mother had already died. One day, his father considered himself on a "lucky streak", played a game of Russian roulette, and shot himself in the head, which young Obadiah witnessed. This trauma caused Obadiah to go bald, and shaped his outlook on life. From then on, Stane was a ruthless manipulator who studied 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 adulthood, Obadiah ascends to the position of President and CEO of his own enterprise, Stane International, establishing himself as a prominent distributor of munitions. He also goes into business with Howard Stark. After Howard Stark's death in a car accident, Stane turns his sights on acquiring control of Stark International, now owned by Tony Stark. [2]
Stark eventually learns that Stane is the mastermind behind a series of attacks on him, but is unable to confront him. Stane's assaults on Stark's business and friends push Stark to the edge, relapsing into alcoholism. [3] With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help, Stane buys out Stark International which he renames Stane International. Stark relinquishes Iron Man's armor to Jim Rhodes and disappears, becoming a homeless vagrant. Rhodes begins operating as Iron Man and ignores Stane's demands to relinquish Iron Man's armor. Rhodes eventually thwarts Stane in his attempt to take over Iron Man's battle suits. [4]
Looking through Stark Enterprises' records, Stane discovers Stark's notes on Iron Man's armor. The notes are incomplete and highly advanced, but Stane assigns a team of scientists to decipher them. They eventually create the Iron Monger armor, which Stane considers "far superior to Stark's Iron Man armor".
While living on the streets, Stark befriends pregnant homeless woman Gertl Anders, who dies in childbirth. He promises to protect Anders' child and later overcomes his alcoholism. Stark joins Rhodes and the Erwin twins (Morley and Clytemnestra) in starting a new company in Silicon Valley, which is dubbed Circuits Maximus. [5] [6] Stark builds a new prototype armor resembling his original gray suit to test new designs.
Realizing that Stark is once again a potential threat, Stane orders the abduction of Bethany Cabe, and plans an attack to take out Iron Man. He sends an attack drone known as the Circuits Breaker to destroy Iron Man, which Rhodes and Stark are able to defeat. Stane further plots against Stark by switching the minds of Cabe and Madame Masque and Cabe, and by abducting Stark's old friends (Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts and Bambi Arbogast). Stane eventually detonates a bomb planted inside the Circuits Maximus dome, killing Morley and wounding Rhodes and Clytemnestra. [7]
Iron Man collects the newly completed Silver Centurion armor and flies to Long Island. Iron Man confronts Stane on Stane International's property and defeats Stane's agents. Stane dons the Iron Monger armor and confronts Iron Man personally. The Iron Monger is more powerful than Iron Man's previous armor, but is unable to overpower the Silver Centurion model, which is able to absorb the heat it generates. Stane tries to defeat Iron Man by tricking him into entering a room where Hogan, Potts, and Arbogast are being held in suspended animation and will be electrocuted if Iron Man moves. Refusing to give in, Iron Man uses his armor's sensors to find the power source of Stane's trap and destroys it with his uni-beam, which requires no movement to fire. [8]
With Stark's friends freed, Iron Man confronts Stane, who realizes that he cannot win. Stane takes out Gertl Anders's infant son, whom he had abducted from an orphanage, and threatens to kill the baby unless Iron Man removes his helmet. Having detected interfering frequencies in the armor systems throughout the battle, Iron Man deduces that Stane is not experienced enough to pilot the Iron Monger armor without assistance from an external computer. Stark uses the Iron Man armor's pulse bolts to destroy the building containing the computer, causing Stane's Iron Monger armor to seize up. Refusing to be arrested and humiliated, Stane kills himself by firing his repulsor ray beam into his head, disintegrating it. [8]
Since his death, Stane has made sporadic appearances as a spirit. During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Stane appears as a member of Pluto's jury of the damned to decide the fate of Zeus. [9] During the "Chaos War" storyline, Stane is among the residents of the underworld who defend it from Amatsu-Mikaboshi. [10]
