Iron Man is one of the iconic characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). A key figure in The House of Ideas, he has been a fixture in the MCU since its very beginnings in 2008. During his many appearances, Iron Man has faced enemies of varying degrees of prominence. This prompted us to rank Iron Man's enemies from worst to best. Here are Tony Stark's 13 enemies ranked by importance.
13) The Mandarin
This is the bad joke of Iron Man 3.The Mandarin is an iconic Tony Stark villain in the comics. In 2013, filmmaker Shane Black picked up the Iron Man license and teased the appearance of the Mandarin in this third installment, played by Ben Kingsley. Ultimately, it turned out that Ben Kingsley actually played an actor named Trevor Slattery, who himself played a fake Mandarin in the pay of Aldrich Killian. A good joke, perfectly hidden during the promotion of the film, but which nevertheless somewhat annoyed fans of the Iron Man universe. We will finally have to wait until 2021 to see the real Mandarin, played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
12) Aldrich Killian
As you can see, we are not very fond of the villains of Iron Man 3 (even if the film is rather successful). Guy Pearce plays a caricatured antagonist, whose revenge is motivated by a form of somewhat immature resentment. Aldrich Killian hatches a revenge plan because Tony Stark hasn't been "nice" to him in the past. Likewise, in addition to being in an unwelcome form of ostentatious expression, Guy Pearce fails to give substance to a villain cliché, whose powers remain difficult to determine... In short, if The Mandarin wasn't one joke too many, Aldrich Killian would have won last place hands down.
11) The Grandmaster
A quick detour through the animated series What If…? In episode 4 of season 2, Tony Stark is sent to Sakaar. On this planet featured in Thor: Ragnarok, Tony Stark crosses paths with Gamora and challenges the Grandmaster. An episode that isn't necessarily unpleasant, but extremely classic...
10) Killmonger
We're staying on What If…? with episode 6 of the first season. In this episode, Tony Stark is saved by Killmonger in Afghanistan. The two men become friends before Killmonger decides to reveal his true intentions: to take control of Wakanda. Tony Stark, who, in this reality, does not become Iron Man, will try to stop the megalomaniacal madness of the antagonist of Black Panther, and will find death at the hands of the terrible Killmonger.
9) Obadiah Stane
This is perhaps one of the weaknesses of this first Iron Man: a villain a little weaker than the rest of the story. Played by the talented Jeff Bridges, Obadiah Stane is a villain a little too classic to really convince. A businessman jealous of Stark's success, who will try to steal his empire. Nothing particularly innovative, but a muscular and inhabited incarnation of the immense Jeff Bridges.
8) Hulk
This is arguably the best sequence in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Somewhere in Johannesburg, Bruce Banner loses control and the Hulk begins to wreck everything in his path under the influence of the Scarlet Witch. Tony Stark has no choice but to take out the Hulkbuster for the first time and reason with the Jade Giant. Even if the Hulk is not strictly speaking an enemy of Tony Stark, the titanic confrontation between the two characters offers an anthology sequence, muscular, and totally entertaining.
7) Justin Hammer
He is a largely underestimated character. Played by the incredible talent and infectious energy of Sam Rockwell, Justin Hammer is largely underused in the MCU. Present in Iron Man 2, he could have become a recurring figure in the MCU, rather than being quickly consigned to oblivion. He was Stark's competitive figure, his direct rival in the arms, defense, and technology markets. He could have become an alternative to Stark, whether with the various governments around the world, with certain superheroes outside the Avengers, or even with unsavory supervillains. Justin Hammer could have become a recurring and exciting story element in the MCU. This was not the case. Too bad...
6) Helmut Zemo
Played by the immense Daniel Brühl, Helmut Zemo is the instigator of the Civil War. He is the one who manages to set the Avengers against each other by abusing poor Bucky. A Machiavellian, manipulative antagonist, who succeeds in splitting the Avengers into two camps. The actor's inhabited incarnation, the presentation of a more shadowy villain, and the outcome of Captain America: Civil War make Helmut Zemo a solid, interesting villain, who we can't wait to see again in the MCU.
5) Captain America
No, Steve Rogers is not strictly speaking an enemy of Tony Stark. But the two men don't particularly like each other. And by the end of Civil War, the two characters are clearly enemies. Ideological enemies, political enemies, philosophical enemies who do not share the same view of American society. A doctrinal separation that results in a muscular physical confrontation between Iron Man on one side, and Bucky Barnes and Captain America on the other. A violent fight through which the Russo brothers send a message: Captain America and Tony Stark, deep down, totally hate each other...
4) Whiplash
Certainly Iron Man 2 is the worst part of the trilogy. However, we really like Whiplash. A cult comic book villain, he is generally well portrayed here and allows the immense Mickey Rourke to have a recent role worthy of his talent. He offers an effective performance, all restraint, charismatic and taciturn in the role of Ivan Vanko. We simply regret that the writing and the character's trajectory are so lazy, and only set up a poor, shaky revenge story...
3) Loki
If Loki has become more interesting lately, notably thanks to the series Loki, the Asgardian God was the main antagonist of the first Avengers. A villain who became a cult classic, thanks to the impeccable performance of Tom Hiddleston. Tony Stark and Loki clashed several times in Joss Whedon's film, until the superhero was ready to sacrifice himself to save Earth from the attack of the Chitauri.
2) Ultron
While the treatment of Ultron in the MCU sometimes leaves something to be desired, he's an iconic villain for Tony Stark in the comics. In the MCU, it's Banner and Stark who give birth to Ultron. This makes the killer robot Stark's worst mistake of his entire career. Ultron is therefore the personification of Stark's ego, his control freak, his selfishness, his arrogance, and his fear of not being good enough. A fascinating villain because of what he tells us and who is the materialization of Stark's failures. So, while the character's application is far from perfect, the themes he addresses are just as fascinating as in the comics.
1) Thanos
It's hard to forget the confrontation between Tony Stark and Thanos on Titan, Jupiter's moon. It's hard to forget how much Thanos affected Stark's mental health, how much this iconic villain gave the Avengers and especially Iron Man a hard time. An anthology villain, who has become an emblematic figure of the MCU. He is also the only one on this list (along with Killmonger) to have managed to kill Tony Stark for good...
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