The Iron Monger in the Marvel Studios movie was once a member of the Illuminati, according to some fresh, unused storyboard art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
For those who are unfamiliar with the name, Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane, who was last seen in 2008’s original Iron Man movie as the MCU got started, is known as Iron Monger. He was dead by the end of the movie, but it’s obvious that wouldn’t have stopped him from popping up all over the Multiverse.
Would Stane still exist if the character had persisted through some Multiverse mayhem from 2008? Or could he be a totally different Tony Stark/Iron Man variant?
Fans can at least look at the recently revealed art to get a glimpse of what might have been even though those questions can’t currently be answered.
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The Iron Monger Multiverse
New storyboard artwork from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness by artist Soren Bendt features some scenes that weren’t included in the finished film.
Iron Monger appears alongside Captain Carter, Balder the Brave, and Maria Rambeau’s Captain Marvel in the first picture.
This image shows an unknown person putting something inside an Iron Legion robot.
A person who appears to be Wanda Maximoff, who defeated Ultron bots in the Illuminati’s headquarters on Earth-838, faces off against three Iron Legion robots.
Unlike heroes like Reed Richards and Black Bolt, it appears that Patrick Stewart’s Professor X was always going to be in the film.
Any possibility of more Iron Mongers?
Although it’s easy to forget that Jeff Bridges served as Marvel Studios’ original antagonist, it would have been entertaining to see him return to the MCU.
But there’s a good chance Bridges was never going to be the one in the first place. Instead, it was probably just a Tony Stark variant, possibly one for which Marvel tried to recruit Tom Cruise.
There is still plenty of time for those who want to see Bridges return for something, even if it’s just a brief cameo. The Multiverse might be present in Armor Wars in some way, allowing Obadiah to briefly steal the show.
Even though Iron Monger may be deceased on Earth-616, speculation has it that his unidentified son may make an appearance in Ironheart. If accurate, it might create a really interesting bond between Riri and Tony Stark.
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