Ezekiel Stane
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Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane is a
supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. The character is usually depicted as the son of
Obadiah Stane Iron Monger is an alias used by multiple fictional characters, supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The most well-known version, Obadiah Stane, first appeared in ''Iron Man'' #163 (Oct. 1982), and the Iron ...
and an enemy of
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
. Created by writer
Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' FF'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', '' Uncanny X-Men'', an ...
and artist
Barry Kitson Barry Kitson is a British comic book artist. Biography Kitson's first professional work was ''Spider-Man'' for Marvel UK. He also drew many stories for '' 2000 AD'', beginning with a "Future Shocks" tale written by Peter Milligan as well as o ...
, he first appeared in '' The Order'' #10 (April 2008).


Characterization

Zeke Stane is the son of
Obadiah Stane Iron Monger is an alias used by multiple fictional characters, supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The most well-known version, Obadiah Stane, first appeared in ''Iron Man'' #163 (Oct. 1982), and the Iron ...
, and has been building
bioweapon Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kin ...
ry and manufacturing next-generation weapons for terrorists and supervillains since he was nine. Though he is the son of Obadiah, as well as a supervillain rather than a hero, Ezekiel Stane's creator,
Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' FF'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', '' Uncanny X-Men'', an ...
, considers Zeke to be the next generation of Tony Stark/Iron Man rather than of Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger: often referring to the character as "Tony Stark/Iron Man 2.0".Matt Fraction On Invincible Iron Man – Newsarama
/ref> Fraction states the similarities between the pair's characteristics with Ezekiel being evolution of Tony Stark's character: a younger, smarter, sharper
futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
of a post-national supercorporate world moving into a future that Stark has no control over. Overtaking Stark and his Iron Man technology by not taking the route of armored suits but upgrading the human body itself. Fraction often describes the contrast between the two characters using
software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
terms, due to the character's technological basis.


Publication history

Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane first appeared in Matt Fraction's critically acclaimed book '' The Order'' #8 (April 2008) where he was drawn by
Barry Kitson Barry Kitson is a British comic book artist. Biography Kitson's first professional work was ''Spider-Man'' for Marvel UK. He also drew many stories for '' 2000 AD'', beginning with a "Future Shocks" tale written by Peter Milligan as well as o ...
.''The Order'' Vol. 2 #8 (April 2008). Marvel Comics.


Fictional character biography

Zeke Stane is the son of
Obadiah Stane Iron Monger is an alias used by multiple fictional characters, supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The most well-known version, Obadiah Stane, first appeared in ''Iron Man'' #163 (Oct. 1982), and the Iron ...
who was revealed to be the behind-the-scenes manipulator pulling the strings of other villains, including Black Dahlias, Maul and M.A.N. from S.H.A.D.O.W. Androids, who have set out to destroy The Order. The Order being Tony Stark's showcase Initiative team of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Zeke targets them as the first part of his revenge on Tony Stark for the death of his father Obadiah. Stane meets Iron Man face-to-face for the first time ever. Due to Stane's life off the grid, Iron Man fails to realize who he actually is, even with Stark's resources as Director of
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...
, and Stane subsequently leaves California and prepares for the next stage in his vendetta against Stark. Fraction would follow ''The Order'' with a new monthly on-going ''Invincible Iron Man'' title, with Zeke Stane appearing in its first story arc "The Five Nightmares" to further his vendetta against Tony Stark. Zeke is first seen attending a meeting with the Board of Directors of a big tobacco company who had hired him to tweak their tobacco to produce a higher basal metabolic rate in the people who smoked it: in layman's terms, they wanted him to invent a cigarette that would make users lose weight. Stane reveals he did succeed in doing it, but that he only took the job to use the company's money to make upgrades for the biotechnology he put in himself, upgrading his own
hypothalamus The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrin ...
to utilize energy within the body, that Stane swiftly uses to execute the board of directors with energy blasts from his finger tips. Stane is then updated by his girlfriend/assistant
Sasha Hammer Haechi Haechi (Mark Sim) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Christopher Yost and Marcus To, he first appeared in ''New Warriors'' (vol. 5) #2 (March 2014). Sim is among the latent ...
on his upgraded
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
n
suicide bombers A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...
who were test subjects of Stane's biotechnology.''Invincible Iron Man'' Vol. 5 #1 (July 2008). Marvel Comics. The attacks of his suicide bombers were something that neither Iron Man nor
War Machine War Machine (Col. James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, John Byrne, and Bob Layton as a supporting character for Iron Man, he first appeared i ...
could have predicted. Stane meets with Stark a second time (with Stane saying his name to Stark) during a party moments before suicide bombers appeared and self-destructed. Stark was able to summon his Iron Man armor while Stane just stood there with a disturbing smile. The explosion also severely injured
Pepper Potts Virginia "Pepper" Potts is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee and Robert Bernstein (comics), Robert Bernstein, and designed by artist Don Heck, the character Firs ...
in the process. Stane ultimately confronts Stark with his own unique armor, while also using terrorists armed with his technology to attack Stark Industries facilities around the world. However, Stark defeats Stane's plan with his control of all of his various Iron Man armors, allowing him to be in multiple locations and neutralize all of Stane's bombs at once. Stark then disables all of Stane's tech and both of their armors with electromagnetic pulses and defeats the younger man in hand-to-hand combat. Stark delivers the final emotional blow to the defeated Stane by telling him that "your father badiahwas smarter than you. And harder to beat." However, Stark is left disturbed by Stane's attack, particularly with the notion of what he may have to become to face the future Stane represents. Zeke's prison sentence was "paroled" by the
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
and
Justine Hammer The Crimson Cowl is an identity used by different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first incarnation of Crimson Cowl, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, f ...
, Sasha's parents, to now employ Zeke with Stark being informed after the fact. Later, Zeke used a photo of the Iron Man armor in short cut at the ''
Daily Bugle The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB!'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most ...
'' and make it look like the hero was drunk. Also, Zeke planned along with Mandarin to use classic villains of the Armored Avenger against him, such as
Chemistro Three characters have taken the moniker of the supervillain Chemistro appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Curtis Carr incarnation of Chemistro first appeared in '' Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #12 an ...
,
Living Laser The Living Laser (Arthur Parks) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book a ...
and Mauler. Mandarin became increasingly discontent when Stane could not build
Dreadnoughts The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...
and Titanomechs on impossible schedules and nonexistent budgets. He started affecting Stane with his ring, making him obsessed with the work. Irked by this, Stane managed to remove his bomb implant and face off against Mandarin. However, Mandarin cranked up the ring's effect, making Stane his slave, causing increasing brain damage in the process. After the Mandarin succeeded in bringing Stark under his control, Tony and Zeke worked together to produce the Titanomechs. After Mandarin used 3 of his rings to power the first Titanomech, Tony started a plan with Zeke where they convinced super villains
Whirlwind A whirlwind is a phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow ( current) gradients. Whirlwinds can vary in size and last from a cou ...
,
Blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...
II and Living Laser to join him in a rebellion with the final purpose of defeating Mandarin, and managed to use the technology in his body to help Resilient to find him, using microbots known as the Swarm, which tracked the repulsor technology of Tony's body. Resilient asked for help to the Triumph Division and the Dynasty to help Tony defeat Mandarin and his Titanomech. After Tim Cababa managed to reactivate the Extremis virus inside Stark's body, Tony created a link with the Swarm, and use them as bombs to destroy Mandarin's weapons, who in the end was killed by Stane. As part of the ''
All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched wi ...
'', Zeke Stane represented Stane International when he attended a meeting at the Universal Bank with Tiberius Stone of Alchemax,
Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 196 ...
of Fisk Industries, Sebastian Shaw of Shaw Industries,
Darren Cross Darren Agonistes Cross is a supervillain appearing in Marvel Comics properties. He is the archenemy of Scott Lang (the second superhero to be called Ant-Man), the father of Augustine Cross, and the cousin of Crossfire. In the Marvel Cinemat ...
of
Cross Technological Enterprises Darren Agonistes Cross is a supervillain appearing in Marvel Comics properties. He is the archenemy of Scott Lang (the second superhero to be called Ant-Man), the father of Augustine Cross, and the cousin of Crossfire. In the Marvel Cinematic ...
,
Shingen Harada Silver Samurai is the name of two different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, both acquaintances of Wolverine (character), Wolverine. The character has appeared in several X-Men-related animation, animat ...
of the Yashida Corporation, Frr'dox of Shi'ar Solutions Consolidated, and Wilhelmina Kensington of Kilgore Arms where they discussed with Dario Agger about his and
Roxxon Energy Corporation The Roxxon Energy Corporation (also known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation, or simply Roxxon) is a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in American comic books ...
's plans to exploit the Ten Realms of Asgard. Zeke Stane also saw the arrival of
Exterminatrix Earth Lord Earth Sentry Earth Sentry (John Foster) was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, and first appeared in ''A-Next'' #2 (1999) in the MC2 universe. When John and his father Bill were investigating a UFO crash site, they discovered ...
of the Midas Foundation who knocked out Dario and declared herself a new member of their assembly. Recently, he is also revealed to be the financial backer of a rebellion against
T'Challa Black Panther is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #52, published in July 1966. On ...
in
Wakanda Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...
.


Powers and abilities

Zeke Stane's genius-level intellect and considerable fortune has allowed him to cannibalize and reverse-engineer Stark Tech from the
black-market A black market is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services whose production and distribut ...
to upgrade his own
biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
, most notably his
hypothalamus The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrin ...
. Stane successfully reduced the caloric energy consumption of his body from 70% to 9% leaving him surplus energy which he uses in repulsor bolts at the end of his fingers. Other upgrades have allowed his body to vastly repair itself from injury. Despite his high intelligence, Reed Richards claims that Stane is imitative rather than innovative, as all his inventions are merely re-purposed Stark tech rather than anything he developed completely on his own. Reed uses the example that the man who invented the
sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
simply put together what already existed to produce something good rather than developing his own idea – a fault which Iron Man exploits to ultimately defeat him. However, the fact his enhancements almost defeated Iron Man makes this seem more like Richards trying to demoralize Stane than an actual, honest assessment of his intellect. Especially considering that, so far, Stane's biomechanical technology seems unique and both Richards and Stark have never shown the ability to reproduce it on any wide scale. This excessive use of the body's energy has shown that Stane must constantly keep his body's blood sugar level high to make up for its rapid consumption. Stane does this by eating a high (20,000)
calorie The calorie is a unit of energy that originated from the caloric theory of heat. The large calorie, food calorie, dietary calorie, kilocalorie, or kilogram calorie is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one liter o ...
paste.


In other media


Television

* Ezekiel Stane appears in the ''
Marvel Future Avengers is a Japanese superhero anime television series produced by Madhouse and Walt Disney Japan, based on the Marvel Comics universe. The series follows a group of teenagers with special powers, who are trained by the Avengers to become superh ...
'' episode "Secret Past of Iron Man", voiced by
Yōhei Azakami is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He gained recognition for his role as Guel Jeturk in '' Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury''. Biography Azakami was born in Gunma Prefecture on August 7, 1991. He attended Aoni J ...
in the original Japanese version and by
Benjamin Diskin Benjamin Diskin (born August 25, 1982) is an American actor. Early life Diskin was born on August 25, 1982 in Los Angeles County, California to a Jewish family. Career In 1991, Diskin won the "Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Pictur ...
in the English English dub.


Film

* Ezekiel Stane was intended to appear in an early draft of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
(MCU) film ''
The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
''. * Ezekiel Stane appears in '' Iron Man: Rise of Technovore'', voiced by
Miyu Irino is a Japanese actor and singer. He voiced Haku in '' Spirited Away'', Shoya Ishida in '' A Silent Voice'', Sena Kobayakawa in '' Eyeshield 21'', Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi in '' Anohana'', Syaoran in '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'', Yuichiro Hya ...
in the Japanese version and by
Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian voice actor based in the United States. He is mostly known for voicing several ''Looney Tunes'' characters, for which he won three Emmy Awards for his performances in '' Looney Tunes Cartoons'' (20 ...
in the English dub. This version created the
Technovore Technovore is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, typically as an enemy of the superhero Iron Man. Technovore appears in the TV series '' Iron Man: Armored Adventures'', and is one of the two titular main ...
. He and
Sasha Hammer Haechi Haechi (Mark Sim) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Christopher Yost and Marcus To, he first appeared in ''New Warriors'' (vol. 5) #2 (March 2014). Sim is among the latent ...
utilize the Raiders via A.I.M. Ezekiel is confronted by
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
as he details his plan to replace humanity, but he's betrayed by his own technology which takes over his body. Iron Man and
War Machine War Machine (Col. James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, John Byrne, and Bob Layton as a supporting character for Iron Man, he first appeared i ...
defeat Technovore, and Ezekiel is taken into
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...
custody.


Video games

Ezekiel Stane appears as a boss in '' Iron Man 3: The Official Game'', voiced by
Tom Wayland Tom Wayland (born July 21, 1973) is an American voice actor, voice director and producer who is the Supervising Director at 3Beep productions, which works on English-language dubs of Japanese anime and other global animations. He previously worke ...
. This version's mother withheld information about his father and did not learn of this until after Ezekiel received his inheritance. He works with A.I.M.,
MODOK MODOK (; also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Ja ...
, and the
Living Laser The Living Laser (Arthur Parks) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book a ...
to capture
Pepper Potts Virginia "Pepper" Potts is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee and Robert Bernstein (comics), Robert Bernstein, and designed by artist Don Heck, the character Firs ...
until Ezekiel is killed by Iron Man.


References


External links


Zeke Stane
at Marvel Wiki
Zeke Stane
at Comic Vine
"A Stark Contrast: Fraction talks “Invincible Iron Man”" by Dave Richards, Staff Writer comicbookresources.com


{{DEFAULTSORT:Stane, Ezekiel Characters created by Matt Fraction Comics characters introduced in 2008 Fictional businesspeople Marvel Comics cyborgs Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics supervillains