Zeke Stane: Difference between revisions
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Fraction would follow ''The Order'' with a new monthly on-going ''Invincible Iron Man'' title, with Ezekiel Stane appearing in its first story arc "The Five Nightmares" to further his vendetta against Tony Stark. Ezekiel Stane 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 that smoked it. Stane says he succeeded in doing it, but reveals he only took the job to use the tobacco company’s money to create bio-upgrades for himself, upgrading his own [[hypothalamus]] to utilize energy within the body which Stane swiftly uses to execute the board of directors with energy blasts from his finger tips. Stane is later updated by his girlfriend/assistant, Sasha Hammer (Justin Hammer's granddaughter), on his upgraded [[African]] [[suicide bombers]] who were the test subjects of Stane's biotechnology.<ref name="IIM1">''Invincible Iron Man'' vol. 5, #1 (July 2008)</ref> |
Fraction would follow ''The Order'' with a new monthly on-going ''Invincible Iron Man'' title, with Ezekiel Stane appearing in its first story arc "The Five Nightmares" to further his vendetta against Tony Stark. Ezekiel Stane 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 that smoked it. Stane says he succeeded in doing it, but reveals he only took the job to use the tobacco company’s money to create bio-upgrades for himself, upgrading his own [[hypothalamus]] to utilize energy within the body which Stane swiftly uses to execute the board of directors with energy blasts from his finger tips. Stane is later updated by his girlfriend/assistant, Sasha Hammer (Justin Hammer's granddaughter), on his upgraded [[African]] [[suicide bombers]] who were the test subjects of Stane's biotechnology.<ref name="IIM1">''Invincible Iron Man'' vol. 5, #1 (July 2008)</ref> |
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Stane ultimately confronts Stark with his own unique armor, while also using terrorists armed with his technology to attack sites around the world. However, Stark defeats Stane's plan with his control of all of his various Iron Man armors. Stark then disables both of their armors with a massive electromagnetic pulse and defeats the younger man in hand-to-hand combat. Stark delivers the final emotional blow to the defeated Stane by telling him that his father was "smarter than [Ezekiel]. And harder to beat". However, Stark is left disturbed by Stane's attack, particularly with the notion of what he may have to become in order to face the future Stane represents. |
Stane ultimately confronts Stark with his own unique armor, while also using terrorists armed with his technology to attack sites 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 eliminate virtually all of Stane's bombs at once. Stark then disables both of their armors with a massive electromagnetic pulse and defeats the younger man in hand-to-hand combat. Stark delivers the final emotional blow to the defeated Stane by telling him that his father was "smarter than [Ezekiel]. And harder to beat". However, Stark is left disturbed by Stane's attack, particularly with the notion of what he may have to become in order to face the future Stane represents. |
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==Powers and abilities== |
==Powers and abilities== |
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Revision as of 23:07, 3 June 2010
| Ezekiel Stane | |
|---|---|
 Ezekiel Stane. Art by Salvador Larroca. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Order #8 (April 2008) |
| Created by | Matt Fraction Barry Kitson |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ezekiel Stane |
| Notable aliases | Iron Monger Zeke Iron Man 2.0 |
| Abilities | Genius-level intellect Superhuman abilities derived from bio-upgrades |
Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane is a fictional supervillain within the Marvel Comics universe, and son of Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger and enemy of Tony Stark/Iron Man. Zeke Stane first appeared in Matt Fraction's The Order #8 (April 2008) and was drawn by Barry Kitson.
Characterization
Ezekiel is the son of Obadiah Stane and has been building bioweaponry and manufacturing next-generation weapons for terrorists and supervillains since he was nine. Though Ezekiel is the son of Stane and a supervillain rather than a hero, Ezekiel Stane's creator, Matt Fraction considers Stane 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"[1].
Fraction states the similarities between the pair's characteristics with Ezekiel being evolution of Tony Stark's character; a younger, smarter, sharper futurist of a post-national supercorporate world moving into a future that Stark has no control over.[1] Overtaking Stark and his Iron Man technology by not taking the route of armored suits but upgrading the human body itself.
No matter how high tech or evolved, even with Extremis, the Iron Man armor is still a guy in a suit, if you get between the man and the suit you can undo it. So Stane doesn’t need a suit. That’s the difference. That’s what we start to see, the future of Iron Man is that there’s no gap between Iron and Man. It’s one being and Stane is quite literally evolving himself and people who pay him as we see in the book’s opening.
— Matt Fraction[2]
Fraction often describes the contrast between the two characters using software terms, due to the character's technological basis.
Zeke is a post-national business man and kind of an open source ideological terrorist, he has absolutely no loyalty to any sort of law, creed, or credo. He doesn’t want to beat Tony Stark, he wants to make him obsolete. Windows wants to be on every computer desktop in the world, but Linux and Stane want to destroy the desktop. He’s the open source to Stark’s closed source oppressiveness. He has no headquarters, no base, and no bank account. He’s a true ghost in the machine; completely off the grid, flexible, and mobile. That absolutely flies in the face of Tony’s received business wisdom and in the way business is done. There are banks and lawyers and you have facilities and testing. Stane is a much more different animal. He’s a much smarter, more mobile and much quicker to respond and evolved futurist.
— Matt Fraction[2]
Publication history
 |
Ezekiel Stane first appeared in Matt Fraction's The Order #8 dated April 2008, where he was penciled by Barry Kitson[3]. Within this critically acclaimed but short-lived comic book, Stane was revealed to be the behind-the-scenes manipulator pulling the strings of other villains[4], 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, Ezekiel target them as the first part of his revenge on Tony Stark for the death of his father.
In the final issue of The Order, #10, Stane meets Iron Man face-to-face for the first time. Due to Stane's life off the grid, Iron Man fails to realize who he is, and despite Tony Stark's resources as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Stane 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 Ezekiel Stane appearing in its first story arc "The Five Nightmares" to further his vendetta against Tony Stark. Ezekiel Stane 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 that smoked it. Stane says he succeeded in doing it, but reveals he only took the job to use the tobacco company’s money to create bio-upgrades for himself, upgrading his own hypothalamus to utilize energy within the body which Stane swiftly uses to execute the board of directors with energy blasts from his finger tips. Stane is later updated by his girlfriend/assistant, Sasha Hammer (Justin Hammer's granddaughter), on his upgraded African suicide bombers who were the test subjects of Stane's biotechnology.[5]
Stane ultimately confronts Stark with his own unique armor, while also using terrorists armed with his technology to attack sites 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 eliminate virtually all of Stane's bombs at once. Stark then disables both of their armors with a massive electromagnetic pulse and defeats the younger man in hand-to-hand combat. Stark delivers the final emotional blow to the defeated Stane by telling him that his father was "smarter than [Ezekiel]. And harder to beat". However, Stark is left disturbed by Stane's attack, particularly with the notion of what he may have to become in order to face the future Stane represents.
Powers and abilities
 | This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (October 2009) |
Ezekiel Stane's genius-level intellect and considerable fortune has allowed him to cannibalize and reverse engineer Stark Tech from the black-market to upgrade his own biology, most notably his hypothalamus. 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- compared by Reed to the man who invented the sandwich simply putting together what already existed to produce something good-, a fault which Iron Man exploits to ultimately defeat him.
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 paste.[5]
References
- ^ a b Matt Fraction On Invincible Iron Man - Newsarama
- ^ a b Comic Book Resources > CBR News: A Stark Contrast: Fraction talks “Invincible Iron Man”
- ^ The Order vol. 2, #8 (April 2008)
- ^ Deseret News | Man of Iron: Writer finds dream job — at Marvel Comics
- ^ a b Invincible Iron Man vol. 5, #1 (July 2008)
External links
- "A Stark Contrast: Fraction talks “Invincible Iron Man”" by Dave Richards, Staff Writer comicbookresources.com
- Comic Book Review: Invincible Iron Man #1 by Rokk Krinn
