Who Is [SPOILER]? 'Ironheart's Surprise 'Iron Man' Connection Explained

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Ironheart Episodes 1-3.Marvel’s Ironheart is officially here, with the long-delayed MCU series reintroducing Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) after her big debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This time, instead of battling war-hungry Talokonil, Riri finds herself begrudgingly working with a mysterious criminal mastermind named Parker Robbins, also known as The Hood (Anthony Ramos). They may be coworkers for now, but it’s only a matter of time before their worlds of technology and magic are at odds with each other.

In Episode 2, on Riri’s first job as a member of Hood’s gang, she finds herself needing the assistance of a black market racketeer named Joe McGillicuddy, played by Alden Ehrenreich. Joe might be a bit awkward and lack a lot of confidence, but he quickly forms an unexpected bond with Riri, who, in turn, helps Joe learn how to stand up for himself. However, in Episode 3, Riri learns who Joe really is, and she might live to regret helping someone with a very sinister secret identity.

Who Is Ezekiel Stane in ‘Ironheart’?

Alden Ehrenreich in Ironheart — Image via Marvel Studios

In Ironheart, Joe mentions that he had a complicated relationship with his father, and Riri finds out exactly what he means in Episode 3. Turns out, Joe’s name isn’t really Joe, and he changed it to avoid the attention that his real name — Ezekiel Stane — would attract. If the surname sounds familiar to longtime MCU fans, it’s because Ezekiel is the secret son of Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), AKA the Iron Monger, AKA the very first main villain to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who debuted back in 2008’s Iron Man.

To briefly refresh who Obadiah Stane is and what happened to him (it has been almost 20 years, after all), Stane was the COO of Stark Industries, working closely with a then-very irresponsible Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). While he commonly presented himself as a benevolent father figure and mentor to Tony, Obadiah secretly resented the cocky playboy’s control of the company and hired the Ten Rings to kidnap and eventually assassinate him. When that failed, and Tony took on the alter-ego of the Invincible Iron Man, Obadiah made a violent power play for the company and even crafted a powerful suit of armor of his own. His plan ultimately failed thanks to Tony and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Obadiah was killed in the climactic final battle.

Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart next to Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark/Iron Man

“You’re Not Embarrassing Iron Man”: ‘Ironheart’ Gets a Blessing From Robert Downey Jr.

The series is set to arrive later this year.

Obadiah Stane’s death was covered up by Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Ironheart seems to confirm that said cover-up continues to be effective over a decade later. The rest of the world believes Obadiah Stane died in an unfortunate accident, but Ezekiel knows the truth and secretly resents his father for the monstrous actions he committed. What isn’t immediately clear is whether Ezekiel had any relationship with Tony Stark in the MCU, which is one of many notable departures from the original comics.

Who Is Ezekiel Stane in Marvel Comics?

Contrary to his MCU debut, Ezekiel Stane is far from a lovable bumbling fish-out-of-water in the comics. Where Ironheart‘s Ezekiel is trying to escape Obadiah’s nefarious legacy, his comics counterpart is just as cold and sadistic as his father. When Obadiah dies in the comics, Ezekiel is quick to mount a bloodthirsty revenge campaign against Tony Stark, slaughtering more than a few innocent people along the way.

In many ways, Ezekiel is clearly meant to be the pure antithesis to Iron Man, much like what Venom is to Spider-Man (although even Venom has a conscience). This is also true in how Ezekiel used his own technological prowess to become a cyborg and effectively turn his body into a suit of armor not unlike Iron Man’s, thus becoming one of Tony Stark’s deadliest and most disturbing foes. Again, that’s a far cry from who Ezekiel is right now in the MCU, but the character’s inclusion gives Riri Williams a direct connection to Marvel’s original iron hero, but one can’t help but think that this could be the start of a new villain origin story.

Ironheart episodes 1-3 are streaming on Disney+ now.