Next character I would talk about is the main villain of the film, Obadiah Stane aka Iron Monger.
The Iron Monger is an identity used by several fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe, most of whom have been supervillains. The first and most notable person to use that identity was billionaire industrialist Obadiah Stane, who used the Iron Monger armor in the climax of a long-running conflict with his nemesis, Iron Man. Stane first appeared in Iron Man #163, and first appeared as the Iron Monger in Iron Man #200. Four-time Academy-Award nominated actor Jeff Bridges will portray him in the upcoming 2008 film Iron Man.
Early years
Obadiah Stane was a ruthless individual who studied his adversaries to find weaknesses that he could exploit. Ever since he was a child, Stane enjoyed chess, and handled his life with the same kind of methodical logic that he used in the game. In addition, he was 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 his mind wasn't on the game. He won easily, and he continued to use similar forms of manipulation through his life. As a child he saw his father Zebediah, a degenerate gambler who at that time was on a "lucky streak", accidentally shoot himself in the head playing a game of Russian roulette. This event shaped Obadiah Stane for years to come.
Hostile takeover
In adulthood, as a wealthy financier, Obadiah Stane became the president and CEO of Stane International, as a munitions dealer. Stane turned his sights on acquiring Stark International, the industrial corporation owned by Tony Stark (Iron Man). Stane had his agents, the Chessmen, attack Stark Industries and assault Stark's confidant, James Rhodes. He also confronted Tony Stark in person. Stane also set up Indries Moomji as Stark's lover without Stark knowing that Moomji was actually the Chessmen's Queen. While all of this was occurring, Stane and his associates conspired to lock Stark International out of various business deals. Stark eventually learned that Stane was the mastermind behind these attacks, but was unable to confront him. The assaults on Stark, his business, and his friend pushed Stark to the edge, and when Stark was scorned by Stane and then spurned by Moomji, he catastrophically relapsed into alcoholism. With the help of S.H.I.E.L.D., Stane succeeded in buying out Stark International, which he then renamed to Stane International. Stark, having fallen off the wagon, relinquished his armor to Jim Rhodes and disappeared to be a homeless vagrant. Rhodes became the new Iron Man while ignoring Stane's demands to relinquish the armor. Stane was thwarted by Rhodes, as the new Iron Man, in his attempt to take over the Iron Man battle-suits.
Stane proceeded in manufacturing and supplying munitions and weapons to S.H.I.E.L.D. and others who could pay for them. But, when Tony Stark left, he left behind notes and information on the Iron Man armor. These notes were far from complete and without Stark's mind, they were hard to analyze, but Stane assigned a team of scientists to these notes and working from this, they created the Iron Monger armor which, according to Stane, was "far superior to Stark's Iron Man armor". He even thought of either selling them to the highest bidder or creating an army of them and using them to "take over any country he wanted". He said that this last idea was particularly interesting.
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 immediately 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 suffered from a psychological instability which eventually led to his suicide, as he was unable to ever accept defeat as it would give his enemies the satisfaction of enjoying his humiliation.
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 suffered from a psychological instability which eventually led to his suicide, as he was unable to ever accept defeat as it would give his enemies the satisfaction of enjoying his humiliation.
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