Huge MCU Phase 4 Villain Theory Sets Up Iron Man's Dark Replacement

Iron Man led the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, collectively known as the Infinity Saga, and Phase 4 could be on its way to introducing his dark replacement. The MCU continues its expansion with Phase 4, which is going bigger than previous phases as it’s covering both TV shows and movies, thus covering a lot more ground and introducing more characters (heroes, villains, and non-superpowered allies) and concepts, such as the multiverse. The MCU has a long list of TV shows coming up, and through them, it could be shaping the future of this connected universe by introducing characters that could form new teams, though not necessarily heroic ones.

Among the TV shows in the MCU is Riri Williams, a 15-year-old engineering student and certified super-genius attending MIT on scholarship. In the comics, Riri designs a suit of armor similar to Iron Man’s famous armor with material she stole from campus, and she uses this same suit to flee when campus security comes after her. Riri starts using the armor to fight crime, and the suit is damaged after preventing two inmates from escaping the penitentiary. Her actions catch the attention of the one and only Tony Stark, who meets her and decides to endorse her decision to become a superheroine, thus taking the name of Ironheart.

Ironheart is scheduled to begin filming in June 2022, so Marvel is in the process of rounding up the cast and crew, and rumors have already started circulating about the project. The biggest, most exciting theory surrounding Iron Man movie, as it could be none other Zeke Stane, thus setting up a dark replacement for the late Iron Man – but who is Zeke Stane and how does he fit into the MCU?

Who Is Zeke Stane? Marvel Comics Origin & Powers Explained

Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane is the son of Obadiah Stane (played in the MCU by Jeff Bridges), and his actions are all part of his revenge on Tony Stark for the death of his father. Since he was nine years old, Zeke had been building bioweaponry and manufacturing next-generation weapons for terrorists and supervillains and was revealed to be the manipulator behind villains like Black Dahlias and Maul and the M.A.N. from S.H.A.D.O.W. Androids, who set out to destroy Stark’s showcase California Initiative team, The Order. Zeke purposely kept details of his life hidden and was raised by Obadiah to become a better scientist through punishment every time he failed and by instilling hatred towards Stark in him.

Zeke searched the black market for Stark technology and created a number of cybernetic augments for himself, using his own body as a test subject, and his most notable his own biology was to his hypothalamus. Zeke successfully reduced the caloric energy consumption of his body, leaving him surplus energy which he uses in repulsor bolts at the end of his fingers, and other upgrades have allowed his body to vastly repair itself from injury. However, Stane has to wear a displacement suit to avoid injuring himself from his own repulsor rays, and because his body's metabolism is higher than normal humans, he must consume 10 times the amount of calories a person normally would. Zeke is also incredibly arrogant, just like his father, and considers other people to be beneath him. Although he’s a genius, Reed Richards sees Zeke as imitative rather than innovative, as all his inventions are re-purposed Stark tech rather than stuff developed completely on his own, which is seen as one of his major weaknesses.

How The MCU Already Hinted At Iron Monger's Son

Obadiah Stane was the villain in Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, the movie that started the MCU and thus the first villain in this universe (though obviously not in chronological order). Obadiah was the business partner of Howard Stark, assisting him and Ivan Vanko in the development of the Arc Reactor technology and more. After Howard’s death, Obadiah became interim CEO of Stark Industries until Tony Stark was old enough to take over as CEO. Years later, Obadiah planned the kidnapping and murder of Tony, which resulted in the latter developing the Iron Man armor and becoming the hero everyone now knows (and misses). Obadiah was eventually defeated and electrocuted to death, and there haven’t been references to him in the MCU since then… until Hawkeye happened.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed an interesting Easter egg in the first episode of Hawkeye, in the scene where Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) is at college challenging her archery skills, and she’s seen shooting at Stane Tower. A reference to Iron Man’s villain, after all these years, in Hawkeye seemed odd to MCU fans, who are theorizing that Marvel is subtly (or not so much) setting up the arrival of Zeke Stane, who could now be in charge of Stane Tower and everything that comes with it.

Is Ironheart's Villain Obadiah Stane's Son? Theory Explained

As mentioned above, Ironheart is currently in pre-production and rounding up its cast, and one name reportedly attached to the project is Anthony Ramos. It was reported that Ironheart’s villain would pay off the subtle setup in Hawkeye and bring not only a new bad guy to the MCU that is connected to past phases and, mostly, to the character that started this connected universe, but he can also become a dark Iron Man in Phase 4 and beyond.

How Zeke Stane Can Become A Dark Iron Man In Phase 4 & Beyond

With Tony Stark now gone after his sacrifice in Armor Wars, which will focus on Rhodey (Don Cheadle) confronting one of Tony’s greatest fears when his tech falls into the wrong hands, which could easily be Zeke given his history in the comic books.

Zeke has also been theorized to forces with MCU villains to live past its debut and develop into a bigger and more layered character.

Next: How Black Panther 2 Can Introduce Ironheart To The MCU