- Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane is the son of Obadiah Stane, who became Iron Monger in the first Iron Man movie and tried to kill Stark.
- In Ironheart, he is a black market tech collector who provides Riri with the components required for her suit.
- In Marvel comics, he eventually becomes a supervillain who calls himself the Iron Monger and fights Iron Man.
Riri Williams is back on screen with Ironheart, and I’ve got to admit, despite seriously underestimating what Marvel had in store with this solo series, it turned out to be a win. Now, I’m not saying it’s exceptionally groundbreaking, but it’s worth a watch. One of the more intriguing additions in Ironheart is a shady black-market tech dealer who goes by the name Joe McGillicudy online. At first, he becomes friends with Riri, but soon enough, she finds out his real name, Zeke Stane. And if that name doesn’t ring a bell for you, here’s everything you need to know about Ironheart’s Zeke Stane, played by Alden Ehrenreich, in the Marvel universe.
Who Is Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane in Marvel?
If you’ve stuck with Marvel since the very beginning, you’d remember Obadiah Stane. He was the COO of Stark Industries in the first Iron Man movie, who turned into the supervillain Iron Monger to take down Tony Stark. Now, after all this time, we’ve come full circle with Ironheart, because Ezekiel or Zeke Stane is none other than Obadiah Stane’s son in the Marvel universe.
You might be tempted to brush him off as a minor character, but that’d be a mistake; his role in the comics is pretty significant. He’s been a recurring villain, going toe-to-toe with Iron Man on multiple occasions, equipped with cutting-edge weapons and tech that he built himself, which sometimes even surpasses that of Iron Man.
Who Is the Actor Playing Zeke Stane in Ironheart?
Alden Ehrenreich appears in Ironheart as Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane, who also operates under the alias Joe McGillicuddy. Alden already has some memorable projects under his belt, including Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fair Play, and Oppenheimer. And if that wasn’t enough, he’s also set to appear in the upcoming horror flick Weapons.
What Is Zeke Stane’s Role in Ironheart?
In Ironheart, Zeke Stane operates under the alias Joe McGillicudy, a black market tech collector whom Riri tracks down while hunting for components for her suit. But things take an unexpected turn when the two strike up a friendship, and Zeke even shares some of his cutting-edge ideas with her, one of them being a custom-designed bio-mesh. He decides to trust Riri with it, but during the heist she needed it for, she accidentally leaves it behind.
That small mistake now puts Zeke at risk of being tracked down by the Feds. I think this could very well be the start of Zeke’s villain origin story. Riri broke his trust and might end up getting him arrested, which could easily push him over the edge and introduce us to his version of Iron Monger. Then again, it’s a bit early to jump to conclusions, so we’ll just have to wait till July 1, 2025, to see how this all unfolds.
Shashank Shakya
