Every Major MCU Villain Ranked Worst To Best

7. Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger – Iron Man

In hindsight, Obadiah Stane is a lot more enjoyable than he might have initially been considered. He was the prototype for personal villains too, the original dark mirror of the hero who represents what they could have become if things were slightly different or their moral compasses were broken.

Without Jeff Bridges' performance as Obadiah Stane in Iron Man, we wouldn't have got Justin Hammer or Aldrich Killian in the sequels, but we probably also wouldn’t have got Yellowjacket in Ant-Man, Erik Killmonger and even Thanos. He proved that the comic book trope of dark parallels would work on screen too.

Stane is conniving and genius and it’s a completely transformative performance by Bridges, who is both bombastic and a surprising physical threat even before he puts the Iron Monger suit on.