If Iron Man, as a comics character, has one short coming its that he has one of the weakest rogues gallery compared to the other high profile heroes. Iron Man foes tend to be either repetitive or overly fantastical, with the range being between dozens of different businessman/staff of big companies (including his own) steal/make weapons/robotic technology and cause havoc to alien dragons and giants.
The question is who, if any, of Iron Man’s remaining villains are suitable for the next installment? I have compiled a list of the more noteworthy (or at least remembered) antagonists in Tony’s comic history. Some we have been seen, others only briefly hinted at. While the rest could be are potential bad guys
Note: I have include characters from the tie-in video games, as so far they haven’t impeded on the movie villains.
Corporations/Terrorist/Criminal groups
There many business rivals to Tony, and even a few in his own staff.. And there’s all way those evil terrorists to blow up.
This techno-terrorist organisation featured heavily in the two tie-in games and the group features one of Iron Man’s most well known foe’s
M.O.D.O.K. (Mobile Organism Designed Only for Killing). The group is also splintered from
HYDRA which makes it a good connection to Captain America.
Paulley: In the movie universe, bio-enhanced people exist so maybe MODOK could be pulled off. The idea of scientist only wanting to destroy is an interesting one but is anyone ready for a screen full of yellow beekeeper hats! I don’t know.
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Hammer Industries
Featuring in the latest movie,
Justin Hammer a rival business man wants to create his own robots / armor suits and put Stark out of business.
Paulley: Also note Justine Hammer, the daughter of Justin Hammer, later used the identity Crimson Cowl to lead a team of Masters of Evil; who are a possible candidates for the baddies of The Avengers.
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Maggia
This crime cartel were featured in the first game, where
Madame Masque, a villainess who hides her scarred face behind a golden mask also appeared.
The groups leader
Count Nefaria, Masque’s dad, also was a Iron Man foe who gained amazing powers.
Paulley: Madame Masque’s story of conflicting loyalties between her father and her lover, Iron Man, makes good story but due to the appearance in the game and the thought of seeing the over powered superhuman version of Nefaria making my skin crawl I’m gonna say no. Though an easter egg wouldn’t go a miss.
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Roxxon
The company logo/headquarters featured in the first film.. And the group are set to appear in the second tie-in game. Maybe they can take a more noted roll in a future film.
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Stark Industries - Stane International
In the Iron Man films Stane has been amalgamated in to Starks company and the plot was introduced for him to turn on Stark and become
Iron Monger. I cant see them wanting to have another employee go bad but if they do who could they have.
Endotherm: A Stark employee who becomes paranoid at the thought of losing his job steal tech and makes trouble.
Arsenal: A doomsday robot built by Iron Man's father, Howard Stark.
Paulley: That would be an unexpected find in the Stark family basement.
Chessmen: Chess-themed henchmen of Obadiah Stane, there was a chessboard in Stane’s office in the original movie that some believe is a nod to them.
Or, though not an employee, the son Obadiah Stane
Ezekiel Stane.
Paulley: Ezekiel’s use of biological armor/weapons/energy source is plausible and could suit well in the movie but more likely down the road. In any case, Stark Industries is a big part of the films so more of the characters being associated with it is fairly certain.
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Ten Rings
There is already a great article in reference to this organisation and its links to Iron Man’s arch nemesis The Mandarin located
here.
Paulley: Is it possible that Raza survived, as we never actually saw him die and will we some day down the line see Temugin; The Mandarin’s son.
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Armor clad villains, technology users and robots.
A popular theme in the movies and games is of other people in armor, but this can get old very quickly. If the franchise want to get over the dreaded third movie pitfall they will have to go a new direction. But in case they don’t here is a few choices.
Blacklash: Featured in the first game, as
Mr Scarlotti, and is a composite part of the villain,
Whiplash, in Iron Man 2.
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Crimson Dynamo: Featuring in the second game, as
General Shatalov, and the original Crimson Dynamo from the comics,
Anton Vanko, plays a part in the origin of the composite villain,
Whiplash (Ivan Vanko), in Iron Man 2.
Paulley: Though several nods to Crimson Dynamo are present in the films, and the fact he was in the first draft of the original, I doubt he will make it onto the big screen. Interestingly though Valentin Shatalov was closely related to other Russian Iron Man foes and Captain America villain Red Skull.
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Dreadknight: A disfigured scientist in knight armor with a vendetta against Iron Man.
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Firebrand: A supervillain in a suit that not only has flamethrowers mounted on the wrist, it is also fire resistant.
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Firepower: Suited villain who initially defeats Iron Man in the Armor Wars storyline.
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Melter: A former business competitor with a beam that can melt iron. The character featured in the first video game.
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Titanium Man: A Soviet supersoldier clad in powered armor. The character featured in the first video game.
Paulley: featured in the first video game.
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Unicorn: A Soviet supersoldier. His suit is equipped with a cone-shaped blaster on his head.
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Raiders: costumed villains in powered armor suits
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Another more interesting choice would be
Ultron: a resilient and evil AI originally created by
Hank Pym.
Paulley: Having a scene in the Avengers where Hank Pym show interest in developing/tweaking Stark’s J.A.R.V.I.S. AI could be a subtle lead to this being used as a villain. Fanboy wise that would be awesome.
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Genetic Experiments
Seeing as Captain America and Incredible Hulk are in play.. any sort of government/military super soldier experiment can have happened.. However, due to the nature of those two; the villain is more likely to have had his appearance or attributes modified..
Crusher I: A South American scientist who created the "Crusher" Formula which granted him with super-strength, dense skin, and a weight of 1,000 lb (450 kg).
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Miklos Vryolak - Minotaur: takes a cure that then turns him into a half man/half bull.
Paulley: Though this origin is a bit silly, if they were to use the origin of a similar character (a Daredevil and Iron Man villain) called Man-Bull; who was used as a human guinea pig for enhanced soldier experiments, it becomes more plausible. However, i dont see him lasting long in a fight.
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Griffin: A New Orleans punk turned monster by the Secret Empire.
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Unpowered People
Average Joes with money usually and connection to Stark. however most would just get shot pretty quickly
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Actor: A man who could impersonate anyone he saw, instantaneously and visually.
Paulley: But really who cares.
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Spymaster: A mercenary and spy-for-hire.
Paulley: also a Black Widow rival.
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Sunset Bain: An expert and genius in the field of cybernetics, she is a seller of technological wares for super-villains and the ability to disappear
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Unlikely / Outlandish
Some people are just not going to grace the silver screen because many wont work in this more grounded universe.
Blizzard: A costumed villain with a suit that enables him to produce ice and cold..
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Controller: A power hungry scientist with the expertise to control minds
Paulley: Featured in the first game
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Fing Fang Foom: An Alien dragon. An image of him made a cameo appearance in the first film, the image of which was from an unfinished (though possibly canon) comic.
Paulley: However, i dont think we will see anymore of this character in the films.
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Ghost: A professional saboteur with equipment that allows him to become intangible who's determined to kill Tony Stark and destroy Stark Enterprises.
Paulley: I really like the character though I doubt they can make it work realistically enough to be believable.
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Gargantus: An outer space robot who appeared in the form of a giant Neanderthal Man.
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Grey Gargoyle: A costumed villain who can turn anything he touches into stone.
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Hypnotia: A costumed villain with mind controlling abilities.
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Killer Shrike: a gravity-manipulating agent of Roxxon Oil.
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Living Laser: A laser expert who eventually evolved into a being made of pure light energy.
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Radioactive Man: A Chinese physicist who can manipulate radiation.
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Thundersword: A television writer empowered by the Beyonder.
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Ultimo: A Doomsday robot built by an unknown alien race and activated by the Mandarin.
Paulley: Though it has links to The Mandarin I cant see it happening. Maybe, there can be some sort of easter egg mention but nothing more.
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In conclusion, I truly cant see where they will go with it. There are a few possible ones in there that could be used; with Ultron being the only one that would make a proper bad guy.
However, this inclusion into a bigger universe could be Iron Man’s saving grace as I think there best bet is to look outfit his collection of enemies and use someone else’s .. Iron Man vs. The Leader maybe?