- "The bow and arrow, once was the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific, to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great, and four times the size of the Roman Empire. But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons, rules these lands... and soon, it will be my turn."
- ―Raza[src]
Raza Hamidmi Al-Wazar was a member of the Ten Rings, a terrorist organization, stationed somewhere in Afghanistan. Raza made deals with Obadiah Stane to kidnap Tony Stark in exchange for weapons. However, when Stark escaped, Raza and his soldiers were betrayed and murdered by Stane.
Biography
Kidnapping of Tony Stark
Rebuilding the Jericho Missile
- "You have until tomorrow, to assemble my missile."
- ―Raza to Tony Stark[src]
Raza looks over his Ten Rings base
Raza was a member of the terrorist group, the Ten Rings. Raza was initially contracted to kill Tony Stark during a new military weapons demonstration within Afghanistan by Obadiah Stane, a rival in Stark Industries who had wanted control over the company. Raza's branch of the Ten Rings then attacked and destroyed a United States Air Force convoy transporting Stark through the desert, but did not kill Stark immediately.
Raza sends Obadiah Stane a message
Upon discovering the importance of their target, Raza decided to detain Stark in an effort to make him construct a Jericho missile from stolen Stark Industries weapons that had been sold to the Middle East. Still furious at Stane for no informing them of the importance of their target, Raza sent a video to Stane explaining that they had Stark and would keep him alive until Stane agreed to pay them more cash in exchange for them executing Stark for him.
Raza introduces himself to Tony Stark
Seeing that the build of the missile was taking longer than he liked, Raza decided to pay a visit to Stark in person. Stepping into his cell where he was working, Raza told Stark to relax as he examined the Arc Reactor Stark had built to protect his heart. Raza went on to compare Stark's weapons to the weapons Genghis Khan had used to take over much of the world, explaining how he intended to use his weapons to take over Asia and then the world.
Raza threatens to brutally torture Ho Yinsen
Raza then turned to Ho Yinsen, who had been assisting Stark, and demanded an update on their process. Unhappy with Yinsen's answer, Raza ordered his men to hold him down while he heated up a piece of coal, intending to use it to horrifically burn Yinsen's face. Despite Yinsen insisting they were building a Jericho, Raza did not believe him until Stark stepped forward and demanded that he allow Yinsen to live, claiming he was a good assist.
Raza leaves Tony Stark to continue working
Believing he had made his point, Raza dropped the burning coal by Yinsen's face before turning back to Stark and demanding that he had until the next day to complete the missile. Raza then left with Abu Bakaar and the other Ten Rings soldiers to allow Stark and Yinsen to return to work. Raza kept a close eye on the security cameras throughout however, checking to ensure what they were building was indeed the missile he desired for his upcoming war.[2]
Tony Stark's Escape
Raza watches Tony Stark's escape attempt
- "Ah well, if you'd killed him when you were supposed to, you'd still have a face."
"You paid us trinkets to kill a prince." - ―Obadiah Stane and Raza[src]
Instead of constructing the missile for Raza, Tony Stark built a suit of weaponized armor. Seeing that Stark was hiding from the view of the cameras, Raza sent some of his men to investigate, only to witness them being killed by a bomb Stark had rigged to the door. Knowing that a battle was able to begin, Raza sent more men to confront and kill Stark.
Raza prepares to kill Iron Man with a rocket
To help Stark's escape, Ho Yinsen took one of the soldier's guns and chased away the incoming attackers, however this resulted in him running straight into Raza and other Ten Rings soldiers who mortally wounded him. In Stark's ensuing escape, Raza attempted to shoot him with a rocket, only to miss and have his face badly burnt when Stark fired back at him before he blew up the terrorists' camp and destroyed the piles of Stark Industries weapons.[2]
Finding the Iron Man Armor
Raza finds the Iron Man suit in the desert
- "So that's how he did it..."
"Tony Stark has created the ultimate weapon: a masterpiece of death. A man with a dozen of these could rule all of Asia." - ―Obadiah Stane and Raza[src]
Seeking to understand how Tony Stark had built a weapon that had managed to destroy his entire base and kill several of his own Ten Rings soldiers, Raza had his men scout through the desert in order to locate the Iron Man Armor which had been damaged and left buried under the sand. When one of Raza's men uncovered Stark's helmet, Raza ordered him to deliver it to him. Staring at the helmet, Raza considered not only how he would recreate the technology, but how he would get revenge against Stark for killing his men and damaging his face.
Raza studies the Iron Man armor
Raza and his men took all the pieces of the Iron Man suit back to one of their Ten Rings bases where he had Ahmed and Omar attempt to rebuild it piece by piece. However due to the amount of damage the suit had sustained during Stark's escape from their captivity, and the terrorist's lack of understanding of the science to create the power source to operate the suit, Raza was unable to rebuild it completely. Frustrated, Raza could only stare into the face of the Iron Man and continue plotting his own cruel revenge.
Raza and his men continued to ravage the region and expand their power using weapons purchased from Stark Industries through it's current leader Obadiah Stane. When fighting in Gulmira, the small Afghan region that was home to Ho Yinsen, Raza found himself being filmed by WHiH World News, leading to his face being presented across the United States of America as reports on the Ten Rings' actions were told for the world to watch in horror.
Raza witnesses Iron Man fighting his men
Having collected what he needed, Raza left Gulmira in an armored van, leaving Abu Bakaar in charge of executing the villagers. However Iron Man arrived in his newly constructed Mark III Suit and began to systematically hunt down Ten Rings members, engaging in a fierce battle against them. As Raza was driving away from Gulmira, he witnessed the explosion of his Jericho missiles being destroyed by Iron Man while Bakaar was left to be killed by villagers.[2]
Obadiah Stane's Betrayal
Raza meets with Obadiah Stane
- "We have a common enemy. We're still in business, I will give you these designs as a gift, and in turn I hope you'll repay me with a gift of Iron Soldiers."
- ―Raza to Obadiah Stane[src]
With all of the pieces of the Mark I suit which Tony Stark had used to escape the cave and had then abandoned in the desert having been recovered, Raza decided it was time to contact Obadiah Stane hoping to strike some sort of deal so he could rebuild his branch of the Ten Rings and continue his war against Stark and the Western world.
Raza gives Stane the Iron Man technology
When Raza met with Stane to negotiate over Stark's abandoned armor in exchange for an army of armored soldiers, he explained to Stane how Stark had escaped and presented Stark's rebuilt armor. Raza promised to hand over all of Stark's designs to Stane for his own work in designing the Iron Monger Armor, and requested that in exchange Stane provide the Ten Rings with their own army of Iron Armored soldiers to fight in their future wars.
Raza is betrayed by Obadiah Stane
However Stane had no intention of striking any more deals with the terrorist and instead paralyzed Raza with a Sonic Taser. As Raza suffered agony from the taser, Stane mocked his people for their lack of understanding of technology before having him and the militants killed and taking the armor back to the Stark Industries Headquarters in Los Angeles to continue his own mission to kill Stark himself by using the technology provided by Raza and his men.[2]
Personality
Raza believed himself and the Ten Rings to be the absolute, believing that he would rule the world with powerful weaponry created by Stark Industries. In addition, Raza was cruel and vicious, torturing Tony Stark by having him drowned in freezing water, and nearly having a hot coal forced into Ho Yinsen's mouth.
Abilities
| This section requires expansion |
- Multilingual: To be added
Equipment
- Heckler & Koch G36KV w/ Heckler & Koch AG36: Raza and Ten Rings members are seen wielding these G36 variants given to them by Obadiah Stane. He is seen having this weapon holstered while looking over the Ten Rings base. A AG36 grenade launcher is fitted with his weapon, firing it at Iron Man when he escapes.
Facilities
- Ten Rings Base: To be added
Relationships
Allies
- Ten Rings
- Mandarin - Superior
- Abu Bakaar - Subordinate
- Ahmed † - Subordinate
- Omar † - Subordinate
Enemies
- Tony Stark/Iron Man - Former Hostage
- Ho Yinsen † - Former Hostage
- Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger † - Contact turned Killer
Trivia
- In the comics, Raza is an alien space pirate. Although unrelated, Raza's character in the movie mirrors his comic counterpart with the scars on his face. However, his role in Iron Man's origin is very similar to the role of Wong-Chu, a Vietnamese warlord from the comics who took Tony Stark prisoner in the jungles of South Vietnam.
- A version of the character was later introduced in the comics in a retelling of Tony Stark's origin as Iron Man.
