Zeke Stane

 ( Characters Created By Matt Fraction ) 

Fraction would follow The Order with a new monthly on-going Invincible Iron Man title, with Zeke Stane appearing in its first story arc "The Five Nightmares" to further his vendetta against Tony Stark. Invincible Iron Man #4-7. Marvel Comics. Zeke 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 who smoked it: in layman's terms, they wanted him to invent a cigarette that would make users lose weight. Stane reveals he did succeed in doing it, but that he only took the job to use the company's money to make upgrades for the biotechnology he put in himself, upgrading his own hypothalamus to utilize energy within the body, that Stane swiftly uses to execute the board of directors with energy blasts from his finger tips. Stane is then updated by his girlfriend/assistant Sasha Hammer on his upgraded suicide bombers who were test subjects of Stane's biotechnology. Invincible Iron Man Vol. 5 #1 (July 2008). Marvel Comics. The attacks of his suicide bombers were something that neither Iron Man nor War Machine could have predicted. Stane meets with Stark a second time (with Stane saying his name to Stark) during a party moments before suicide bombers appeared and self-destructed. Stark was able to summon his Iron Man armor while Stane just stood there with a disturbing smile. The explosion also severely injured Pepper Potts in the process. Invincible Iron Man Vol. 5 #20. Marvel Comics.

Stane ultimately confronts Stark with his own unique armor, while also using terrorists armed with his technology to attack Stark Industries facilities 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 neutralize all of Stane's bombs at once. Stark then disables all of Stane's tech and both of their armors with electromagnetic pulses and defeats the younger man in hand-to-hand combat. Stark delivers the final emotional blow to the defeated Stane by telling him that "your father Obadiah was smarter than you. And harder to beat." However, Stark is left disturbed by Stane's attack, particularly with the notion of what he may have to become to face the future Stane represents. Invincible Iron Man Vol. 5 #25-28. Marvel Comics.

Zeke's prison sentence was "paroled" by the Mandarin and Crimson Cowl, Sasha's parents, to now employ Zeke with Stark being informed after the fact. Invincible Iron Man #500. Marvel Comics. Later, Zeke used a photo of the Iron Man armor in short cut at the Daily Bugle and make it look like the hero was drunk. Also, Zeke planned along with Mandarin to use classic villains of the Armored Avenger against him, such as Chemistro, Living Laser, and Mauler. Invincible Iron Man #510-513. Marvel Comics.

Mandarin became increasingly discontent when Stane could not build Dreadnoughts and Titanomechs on impossible schedules and nonexistent budgets. He started affecting Stane with his ring, making him obsessed with the work. Irked by this, Stane managed to remove his bomb implant and face off against Mandarin. However, Mandarin cranked up the ring's effect, making Stane his slave, causing increasing brain damage in the process. After the Mandarin succeeded in bringing Stark under his control, Tony and Zeke worked together to produce the Titanomechs. Invincible Iron Man #520. Marvel Comics.

After Mandarin used 3 of his rings to power the first Titanomech, Tony started a plan with Zeke where they convinced super villains Whirlwind, Blizzard II and Living Laser to join him in a rebellion with the final purpose of defeating Mandarin, and managed to use the technology in his body to help Resilient to find him, using microbots known as the Swarm, which tracked the repulsor technology of Tony's body. Resilient asked for help to the Triumph Division and the Dynasty to help Tony defeat Mandarin and his Titanomech. After Tim Cababa managed to reactivate the Extremis virus inside Stark's body, Tony created a link with the Swarm, and use them as bombs to destroy Mandarin's weapons, who in the end was killed by Stane. Invincible Iron Man #525. Marvel Comics.

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Zeke Stane represented Stane International when he attended a meeting at the Universal Bank with Tiberius Stone of Alchemax, Wilson Fisk of Fisk Industries, Sebastian Shaw of Shaw Industries, Darren Cross of Cross Technological Enterprises, Silver Samurai of the Yashida Corporation, Frr'dox of Shi'ar Solutions Consolidated, and Wilhelmina Kensington of Kilgore Arms where they discussed with Dario Agger about his and Roxxon Energy Corporation's plans to exploit the Ten Realms of Asgard. Zeke Stane also saw the arrival of Exterminatrix of the Midas Foundation who knocked out Dario and declared herself a new member of their assembly. Mighty Thor Vol. 2 #8. Marvel Comics.

Recently, Zeke is also revealed to be the financial backer of a rebellion against T'Challa in Wakanda. Black Panther Vol. 6 #4. Marvel Comics.

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. Overtaking Stark and his Iron Man technology by not taking the route of armored suits but upgrading the human body itself.

Fraction often describes the contrast between the two characters using software terms, due to the character's technological basis.

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.