Iron Merchant

First appeared in Iron Man # 163 as Obadane Stein and in Iron Man # 200 as Iron Merchant.

Stein had a difficult childhood. His father, Zibedaya Stein, was a big fan of gambling, and his mother died under unknown circumstances. Once Zibedaya won a large amount of money and came to a little son drunk. He announced that he “caught luck by the tail” and, as proof of this, having decided to play Russian roulette , committed suicide in front of his son. Due to psychological turmoil and endless wanderings among foster families, the boy grew up a cruel and prudent manipulator, ready for anything for the sake of victory. From childhood, he learned to find the smallest manifestations of weakness in people and use them, breaking his opponents. For example, as a teenager, he played chess and met a boy playing better than him. To win, Obadaya killed the opponent’s dog, thereby shaking his psyche and not allowing him to concentrate on the game.

Growing up, Stein led his own company ( Stein International ), which was engaged in the sale of weapons. In an effort to expand his influence, he decides to take over Stark Industries , a leading corporation in the arms market led by Tony Stark . After a personal meeting with Stark ^[1], Stein finds out about his weaknesses - at this time Tony struggled with alcoholism. He immediately took advantage of this by launching regular attacks on his friends with the help of a group of his bodyguards, called Chess Players, and intercepting military contracts. In the end, Tony could not stand it and started drinking again, slowly dropping to the bottom of society and passing the Iron Man costume to his friend, James Rhodes . Meanwhile, removing his opponent, Obadaya absorbed the company and renamed it Stein Industries. Tony, more recently, the world-famous billionaire, became a street tramp and an alcoholic. ^[2]

Obadaya, studying the bins of Stark Industres, finds incomplete drawings and notes on the Iron Man suit and instructs a group of scientists to decipher them. Based on them, a prototype armor is created, called the Iron Merchant ( Iron Monger ). Despite the slowness and large size, it seems to Stein more effective and powerful than the Iron Man armor. He plans to set up production and sell entire units of armored soldiers. He also works with Madame Mask for some time ^[3]

Living on the streets, Stark meets a pregnant homeless girl, Gertie Adams. After she dies in childbirth, Tony promises to protect her baby. This promise helps him overcome his alcoholism. ^[4] After which he founded the new company Circuits Maximus ^[5] and created a new costume called Silver Centurion.

Stein, again seeing the threat in Stark, is trying to undermine his activities, but this time the inventor was indestructible. In the new armor, he defeats all of Stein's bodyguards, after which he had to face the businessman himself, wearing the Iron Merchant's armor ^[6] . Tony managed to defeat him, after which, unwilling to give up and accept defeat, Obadaya took off his helmet and spread his head with a repulsor beam. Stein's company was later bought for a penny by Justin Hammer . Tony returned and renamed Stark Industries.

Stein is a genius with a master's degree in management. He can skillfully wage a psychological war, is a tactful and cunning business strategist. Iron Merchant - Armor made of durable steel alloy forged in Staine Industries. This invention is a powerful exoskeleton that increases the strength and endurance of the wearer. Armor contains various types of weapons, such as rockets, repulsors and a powerful laser in the chest. Also provides the owner with the option to fly.

Animation

Obadane Stein appears in the animated series Iron Man: Adventures in Armor .

Cinema

For the first time in the movie, Iron Merchant appeared in the movie Iron Man , where he was played by Jeff Bridges . His biography in the film is significantly different from the comic book. Here Obadaya Stein is an old friend and partner of Howard Stark who, after the death of the latter, helps Tony manage the company. However, it soon turns out that he paid for the abduction of Tony, and, seeing what his armor is capable of, he created his own version. In his armor, he killed several agents of Shch.I.T. and tried to kill Pepper Potts , but Tony flew in to help her in Iron Man's armor. Later, the battle between the Iron Trader and Iron Man begins, in which Iron Man emerges victorious, and Obadai dies due to overload and a reactor explosion in the laboratory caused by Pepper at the request of Tony.

• (English) Iron Merchant Biography on Marvel.com