According to some new, unused storyboard art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Iron Monger was once a part of the Illuminati in the Marvel Studios film.
For those who don’t recognize the name, Iron Monger is the moniker given to Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane, who was last seen in 2008’s original Iron Man movie as the MCU officially began. By the film's end, he was dead—but clearly, that wouldn’t have stopped him from showing up throughout the Multiverse.
But, if the character had stuck around for some Multiverse madness, would he be the same Stane fans saw in 2008? Or would he possibly be an entirely different Iron Man/Tony Stark Variant?
While those questions can’t currently be answered, at the very least, fans can take a peek at the newly released art to see what might have been.
The Multiverse of Iron Monger
Artist Soren Bendt released new storyboard art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which showcases some scenes that didn't make it into the final product.
The first image sees Iron Monger alongside Captain Carter, Balder the Brave, and Maria Rambeau's Captain Marvel.
Here, a mysterious figure can be seen placing something inside of an Iron Legion bot.
Three Iron Legion bots go up against a figure that is presumably Wanda Maximoff, who took out Ultron bots in the Illuminati's headquarters on Earth-838.
It looks like Patrick Stewart's Professor X was planned to be a part of the movie since the very early stages—unlike heroes such as Reed Richards and Black Bolt.
Any Chance for More Iron Monger?
It certainly would have been fun to get Jeff Bridges back into the MCU—it’s easy to forget that he was ever a part of it to begin with as Marvel Studios' first antagonist.
However, odds are strong that it was never going to be Bridges in the first place. Instead, it was probably just a Variant of Tony Stark, perhaps even one that Marvel attempted to get Tom Cruise for.
For those that want to see Bridges back for something, even if it’s only a small cameo, there’s still plenty of time to do so. Armor Wars could include the Multiverse in some form, giving Obadiah a chance to take the spotlight for a bit.
While Iron Monger may be dead on Earth-616, rumors have claimed that his unseen son could debut in Ironheart. If true, it could establish a really neat connection between Riri and Tony Stark.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now streaming on Disney+, and Ironheart lands on the service in Summer 2023.
