Top Ten Greatest Iron Man Foes?

[Toku King]

In honor of the new epic superhero film coming to theaters, I figure that Ironman deserves some comic saga threads. First: Who are the ten deadliest, most vile, most influential, and overall life beating villains that Ironman has had to tangle with??

My list:

10. Spymaster
9. Crimson Dynamo(Nevsky)
8. Firepower
7. Ultimo
6. Fin Fang Foom
5. Extremis
4. Titanium Man(Bullski)
3. Justin Hammer
2. Iron Monger
1. Mandarin
0. Alcohol

[Expletive Deleted]

I'd say . . .

10. Crimson Dynamo
8 - tie. Spymaster / The Ghost
7. Immortus
6. Edwin Cord
5. Madame Masque
4. Justin Hammer
3. Obadiah Stane
2. Mandarin
1. Tony Stark (what can I say, I like the idea)

[HouseSolo]

10. Spymaster
9. Crimson Dynamo
8. Obadiah Stane
7. Madame Masque
6. Titanium Man
5. Iron Monger
4. Immortus
3. Captain America (I hated Civil War, but I dug those 2 fighting)
2. Mandarin
1. Alcohol

[MichaelChen]

The Mandarin
Fin Fang Foom
Ultimo
Sunturion
Living Laser

After that it gets frankly pretty thin. He's basically a guy with five real villains and some also-rans.

[Toku King]

10. Spymaster
9. Crimson Dynamo
8. Obadiah Stane
7. Madame Masque
6. Titanium Man
5. Iron Monger
4. Immortus
3. Captain America (I hated Civil War, but I dug those 2 fighting)
2. Mandarin
1. Alcohol

Obadiah Stane is Iron Monger.

[HouseSolo]

Haha, I didn't evne notice I did that. I guesss I'd have to throw Fin Fang Foom on there instead.

[Camron Amaya]

beyond a few guys...iron man doesn't exactly have one of the best rogues galeries..

mandarins the best by far tho

and booze!

[Magneto Rocks]

He may not be a traditional foe, but I LOVE Iron Man's fights with Doom. They're just so perfectly matched! (See the recently released "Doomquest" awesomeness, some good stuff in Mighty Avengers, the Avengers 'Sacrifice' crossover a few years back, "Legacy of Doom" out this week and hell, even the fact that it was Iron Man who brought Doom into Onslaught.) In fact, if it weren't for his perfect emnity with Reed, I'd make Doom an Iron Man villain.

[tangentman]

10. The Triune Understading & Media Circus One-Two Punch (from Busiek's Avengers)
9. Titanium Man
8. Fin Fang Foom
7. Spymaster
6. Count Nefaria
5. The Crimson Dynamo
4. Madame Masque
3. Obadiah Stane
2. The Mandarin
1. Alcoholism


EDIT: Honorable mentions--Captain America, Hawkeye & The Black Widow (from Silver Age), Alcoholic Carol Danvers, Sunset Bain, War Machine II, Ultimo

[mikekerr3]

1, Captain America
2. Dr Strange
3. Namor
4, Martini's

[marshal99]

Ultimo has and always has been a pain in the butt for Iron man , no matter how many times the robot get dismantled into parts , he always comes back stronger and nastier.

[worstblogever]

10. Firebrand
9. Spymaster
8. Whiplash
7. Fin Fang Foom
6. Ultimo
5. Crimson Dynamo
4. Doctor Doom
3. Justin Hammer
2. Iron Monger/Obadiah Stane
1. Mandarin

[SquidSquod]

Iron Man doesn't have the many legitimate villains on the basis he's intelligent and keeps upgrading so it's up to the new writers to give him the bones. Mandarin and Dr. Doom are good villains because they're smart and have resources to pull for.

[Josef F.]

There are lists.
fin fang foom is on these lists.
THEREFORE HE SHOULD BE FIRST.

<3

[mgs]

hasn't Iron Man classically had to fight The Hulk? Hulk is not (edit: generally) a villain, but I think their battles are pretty epic.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

rust id imagine

[matthewaos]

I like Mandarin, but except for now I don't remember him anywhere else pictured as great. Justin Hammer is ok, but a millionaire's enemy is another millionaire? :rolleyes:
I didn't know Iron Man had other enemies except those two, Titanium man and Crimson Dynamo. Except if you count Blizard and Whiplash, which I like them.

[brundlefly]

10. Firebrand
9. Spymaster
8. Whiplash
7. Fin Fang Foom
6. Ultimo
5. Crimson Dynamo
4. Doctor Doom
3. Justin Hammer
2. Iron Monger/Obadiah Stane
1. Mandarin

I agree with this top 10 of IM's rogues. Personally, the only change that I would make would be to flip Stane and the Mandarin. Stane straight-up beat Stark, taking his company from him & leaving him a penniless alcoholic. It took Stark nearly thirty issues to fully recover and finally face Stane for "round two" and even then only after Stane murdered one of Stark's best friends and kidnapped several of his loved ones to bait him into a confrontation. I love the Mandarin, too (descendant of Genghis Khan + ten rings of power = awesome), but Mandy never beat Stark so bad that he quit being Iron Man for over two years and willingly surrendered the armor to someone else. Plus Stane went out at the top of his game, so he doesn't have any questionably-written defeats (hello, "Hands of the Mandarin") to tarnish his legacy. The Mandarin is most certainly Stark's most enduring foe and highly recognizable, but I think that Stane holds the biggest single victory over Stark.

Off topic: did anybody else enjoy the recent Joe Casey Iron Man miniseries ENTER THE MANDARIN? I really dug it, but just realized that I never noticed any threads about it here; plus it didn't benefit from the massive overhype push that a certain other new IM book is currently getting. Casey's book was a great "reimagining" of the first dust-up between Shellhead and the Mandarin; highly recommended for fans of both characters, imo.

[Kirk G]

hasn't Iron Man classically had to fight The Hulk? Hulk is not (edit: generally) a villain, but I think their battles are pretty epic.

Well, given that reasoning, so should Thor, Cap, the FF, the Vision, Hawkeye, Black Widow, the list goes on and on.

Frankly, I think you've got them down for the most part:

Mandarin
Titanium Man
Living Lazar/Mysterious Melter
Whiplash
Crymson Dynamo
Justin Hammer
Roxxon Oil
J. Stane
Hawkeye & Black Widow
The Controller

[StoneGold]

Rather than alcoholism, I would posit addiction in general. Because currently, it's not his addiction to alcohol that has him in trouble, but his addiction to being in control, and his addiction to being in the armor.

[Frank]

Firebrand

Best, most badass Iron Man villain. He's never been used much since the 80s but he was his most formidable(and best look!).

[The Master Meglomaniac]

Seems like Iron Man's rogues gallery needs a revamp.

[Dagger]

What no love for Whitney Frost? LOSERS.

My list would be...

10. Blizzard/Whiplash
9. Spymaster/ Ghost
8. The Controller
7. Living Lightning
6. Madame Masque
5. Fin Fang Foom
4. Crimson Dynamo/ Titanium Man
3. The Mandarin
2. Justin Hammer
1. Obadiah Stane

[Iron_Stark]

1. Mandarin
2. Obadiah Stane
3. Justin Hammer
4. Crimson Dynamo
5. Titanium Man
6. Count Nefaria, Madame Mask and the Maggia
7. Fin Fang Foom
8. Controller
9. Spymaster
10. Living Laser

Honorable mentions

Blizzard, Ultimo, Whirlwind, Whiplash, The Ghost

[matthewaos]

Seems like Iron Man's rogues gallery needs a revamp.

Yeah, I mean is any one of them alive, or not in the z-list?

[The Master Meglomaniac]

Yeah, I mean is any one of them alive, or not in the z-list?

Mandarin's back and Stane Jr. is around, that's a start.

I like it when writers revamp C-list villains in a rogues gallery and there are a few that have potenial:

Controller: Upgrade his tech to mind control nano bots, then he is really dangerous. With that kind of tech and his psychopathic personality, Controller can easily give Stark fits.

Living Laser: he has recently got a power upgrade and his original stalker motive was creepy.

Ghost: He give Stark problems through subtlety and guile and his motive is very interesting.

Crimson Dynamo: first pick one and stick with it. second update him to suit modern times, like a corrupt Russian general who is working with ultra nationalists to subvert democracy in Russia. Russia is no longer a direct enemy, but they are still a Machiavellian rival.

There that's six villains right there.

[Bob-el]

He's got a couple that are in his league as both Stark and Iron Man - Mandarin and Iron Monger(Stane).

He's got two or three that make good negative counterparts - Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man and maybe Sunturion.

He's got two huge enemies - Ultimo and Fin Fang Foom.

Then he has a few interesting enemies - Spymaster, Ghost and I'd probably give the tenth spot to Madame Masque although I wouldn't argue much with someone who wanted to give it to the Controller (or maybe even Doom although I really can't get behind the idea that he is Iron Man's villain. That suggests a degree of exclusivity that isn't there).

Everybody is entitled to their opinion but the idea that Whiplash, Blizzard, Living Laser or the Melter would ever be regarded as great villains is just laughable.

For my money though some of Iron Man's best stories where when Hawkeye was his enemy. The character needs a new enemy with that kind of resourcefulness.

[LordEd1976]

10. Titanum Man
9. Senator Byrd
8. Black Widow
7. living Iron Man armor
6. Spymaster 1
5. Ghost
4. Madame Masque
3. Mandarin
2. Obadiah Stane
1. alcohol

[COUNT De MONET]

I'll take a shot:

10. The Ghost. A villain with a unique look and intriguing motivation, he had Stark so scared he invented a special shower to avoid getting soap in his eyes!

9. Whip(Black)lash. One of Iron Man's most persistent foes, despite his lack of raw power. He typifies making the most of what you've got- taking a basic weapon, jazzed up considerably, and making himself a credible threat to one of the most powerful superheroes around. He sort of reminds me of Hawkeye in that regard.

8. The Living Laser. Outside of the Mandarin, Iron Man's most physically powerful foe. He is raw light energy, with all the abilities inherent in that. If he ever got his act together, Shellhead would be toast, literally.

7. The Titanium Man. The image from my childhood of Boris Bullski making Shellhead his bitch is too ingrained in my mind not to include him on this list.

6. The Extremis Virus . That stuff will be his downfall one day....

5. Madame Masque. As any guy will tell you, nothing's more deadly than an ex-girlfriend with a grudge- except an ex with the vast resources of a powerful crime empire backing her up. And don't forget the looming threat of her father, the uber-powerful Count Nefaria.

4. Justin Hammer. Stark's dark reflection. I've always wondered why Hammer, the original evil, ruthless counterpart to the beneficient, altruistic mega-industrialist Stark wasn't used in the Stane story instead....and lest we forget that Spymaster was under Hammer's payroll when he stole the tech from Stark that set off the Armor Wars...

3. The Mandarin. The Money Villain. Easily Iron Man's most renown, recognizable foe. Brundlefly sited excellent reasons why a discerning fan can't really justify placing him above Stane in regards to this particular list, but Stane is dead and Mandy's still in business. The potential's there for him to do even worse crap to Stark than even Obadiah accomplished. Quite a feat, but not totally impossible. I consider Fin Fang Foom and Ultimo offshoots of the Mandarin's greater threat.

2. Obadiah Stane, The Iron Monger. NOBODY, at least in Marvel Comics, has f'd up a major superhero's life (short of killing him) like Stane has done to Stark. Only the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn comes close.

1. Alcoholism. The foe he can NEVER defeat. Only survive.