MCU Theory: Is Obadiah Stane Secretly Alive?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has plenty of great superheroes. But what really helps it stand out are its compelling villains as well. One of those was Obadiah Stane, expertly played by Jeff Bridges.

While Stane’s character died in the one film he appeared in, that doesn’t rule out a future appearance. Anything’s possible in the MCU. Let’s take a closer look at a Reddit-inspired theory about Stane potentially being secretly alive. 

Who is Obadiah Stane? 

Within the MCU, Stane is a Stark Industries executive. He’s an important figure in the company’s day-to-day operations.

At the film’s outset, Stark is more concerned with maintaining a playboy lifestyle than the inner workings of his own company. 

After Stark is kidnapped by terrorists abroad, he takes a more active role in his company. He finally understands the damage he’s doing as a weapons manufacturer and distributor.

As he investigates more and more into the dealings of his own organization, he discovers Stane has made deals to sell weapons to the very terrorists who took him hostage. Stane develops an even larger iron suit (leading to the moniker of “Iron Monger”) and does battle with Stark. 

Eventually, with the help of his loyal assistant Pepper Potts, Stark dispatches Stane. Stane is electrocuted and falls into the core of the arc reactor. Stark Industries creates a fake story covering for Stane’s death. 

MCU characters who have been resurrected

Stane was presumably left dead at the conclusion of Iron Man, but that’s not to say he didn’t live — or that he won’t come back.  It wouldn’t be the first time in an MCU film that a character was seemingly resurrected. 

• In Captain America: The First Avenger, the main villain is the Red Skull. He’s seemingly killed at the end of that film. Later, we find out he was simply absorbed by the Tesseract and is now confined to the planet Vormir to watch over the Soul Stone. His death was never confirmed, and now he’s stuck in something resembling purgatory within the MCU.
• Likewise, Captain America’s best friend Bucky Barnes falls to his apparent death in the same film. Later, it’s revealed that the evil organization HYDRA saved him and turned him into an agent known as the Winter Soldier.
• Phil Coulson dies in The Avengers, only to come back later. He was an integral character on the seven-season run of Agents of SHIELD. 

The bottom line is that MCU characters either dying or disappearing only to later reappear is hardly unprecedented. 

Is Obadiah Stane secretly alive? 

A Reddit thread of MCU fans recently speculated on whether Stane is secretly still alive. It’s an interesting theory to consider. It’s certainly possible that Stane survived the spill.

There’s also the possibility of a more creative solution. In the Captain America films, HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola appears in The Winter Soldier, but only after his consciousness has been uploaded into a computer. It’s possible that a similar transformation could have happened to Stane. Stark Industries has no shortage of AI within its enclave.

Of course, it’s also possible Stane simply physically survived the explosion. 

In reality, however, Stane’s return is highly unlikely for a number of factors: 

• He’s chiefly an Iron Man villain, and his return would have already happened in one of the previous Iron Man trilogy films.
• Now that Robert Downey Jr. has exited the MCU, there won’t be any more Stark-centric Iron Man movies (though another character taking on the mantle isn’t out of the realm of possibility). 
• Bridges is a highly sought after actor. The odds of him returning to the MCU for anything more than a cameo aren’t high. 
• The character has served its purpose. Stane existed because he enabled the formation of Iron Man. Now that Iron Man’s arc is complete, what’s left for Stane really do in the MCU? 

While it’s fun to speculate about a Bridges return, don’t expect to see his character reemerge.