At Disney's Investor Day, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced that Don Cheadle's James Rhodes/War Machine would return in the Disney+ series Armor Wars. While Feige didn't reveal much about the series, Armor Wars has the potential to serve as a proper sequel to the Iron Man films. And because of this, Armor Wars could be the perfect opportunity to bring back Iron Man and Iron Man 2's villains -- in one form or another.

Based on Bob Layton' David Michelinie, Mark D. Bright and Barry Windsor-Smith's 1987 comic book story of the same name, Armor Wars will see one of Tony Stark's greatest fears realized: Iron Man technology falling into the wrong hands. Since these fears were first established in the Iron Man movies, the best way to capitalize on that would be for the series to bring back an enemy Stark has clashed with before: Justin Hammer.

 

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Justin Hammer Sam Rockwell Iron Man 2

 

Hammer was one of the antagonists in Iron Man 2. Although he didn't present a physical threat to Tony, he was a rival business man that dreamed of having Stark's technology. When it all became too much for him and when his reputation was on the line, he teamed up with Ivan Vanko, and together they tried to destroy Stark. Vanko was ultimately defeated, and at the end of the film, Hammer was arrested.

Since Armor Wars will take place a considerable amount of time after Iron Man 2, Hammer may have finally been released from prison -- either for time served, or because of some technicality due to the Blip. It's safe to assume Hammer would have spent most of his time in prison resenting Stark, and when he is finally freed, he could see this as his chance to take his revenge. Only, with Stark dead, now would be the perfect time for Hammer to the void and finish what he started by stealing Iron Man's technology and using it for his own purposes.

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However, Hammer might again need some help, this time in the form of Obadiah Stane's son: Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane. The villain in the first Iron Man film, Stane attempted to have Stark fired from his own company, and he stole the arc reactor technology to create his own armored suit. While Stane was killed at the end of Iron Man, the villain could live on in his son.

In the Marvel comics, Ezekiel Stane was introduced in 2008 as the son of Obadiah and was hellbent on getting revenge for his father's death. Like Stark, Ezekiel is a genius scientist and inventor, and he used old Iron Man technology to create new cybernetic weapons. The first Iron Man film may not have confirmed that Obadiah had a son, but that could easily be revealed in Armor Wars.

Ezekiel Stane and Justin Hammer could then team-up to create new weapons and technology based off of the Iron Man armor, kicking off the titular Armor Wars. This would then make for a perfect continuation of the themes and characters established in Iron Man and Iron Man 2 while also giving the MCU's first villains a chance to shine again.

Armor Wars does not yet have a release date. 

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