After a whopping 18 years since the first Iron Man movie, Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar has made his return to the MCU in VisionQuest episode 6. And there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detail that suggests he’s learned from his mistakes. A lot goes down in the latest episodes of the Marvel series, with Vision (Paul Bettany) heading to Madripoor to track down his son Tommy Maximoff (Ruaridh Mollica), who’s being used as bait… again. As we know, Paladin (Todd Stashwick) is a bounty hunter hired by the mysterious “Client” to get Vision. They come face-to-face in Madripoor, sparking tensions that result in Paladin pointing his gun at Vision. But before he can pull the trigger, the Client’s new hired gun comes charging in: Raza. Who is Raza again? Credit: Disney You’d be forgiven if you needed a refresher. The last time we saw Raza, played by Faran Tahir, was in Iron Man – all the way back in 2008. He served as the leader of a Ten Rings terrorist cell responsible for kidnapping Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). After ambushing Stark’s military convoy in Afghanistan, Raza held the billionaire captive in a cave and demanded that he build a Jericho missile for the group. Of course, Stark had other ideas – he secretly built his first Iron Man suit instead and used it to escape. But Raza wasn’t acting alone. As it turned out, he was working with Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), Stark’s business partner, who had secretly arranged for Tony to be killed. Things didn’t exactly go to plan. After Stark escaped, Raza recovered pieces of his makeshift Iron Man armour and later showed them to Stane, hoping the technology would help the Ten Rings build an army of armoured soldiers. Unfortunately for Raza, Stane had no intention of sharing. He used a sonic device to paralyse the terrorist leader before stealing the armour for himself and having his men killed. But while Raza was seemingly left for dead, we never actually see the body. And as you know, in movie land, if there’s no body, there’s no guarantee they’re gone. There’s something interesting about Raza’s return Credit: Disney+ Although VisionQuest doesn’t explain exactly how he survived his encounter with Stane, there’s one particularly interesting detail that suggests he hasn’t forgotten what happened 18 years ago. Look closely at Raza’s appearance in episode 6, and you’ll notice he’s wearing an earpiece. This might not seem particularly significant at first, but remember how Stane managed to get the better of him? That’s right, with a sonic device that temporarily paralysed him. The device works by emitting a high-pitched, high-frequency sound wave that overloads the nervous system and inner ear. So it would make sense for him to wear a protective earpiece. What’s interesting is that he’s still worried about this nearly two decades later. Of course, the series doesn’t confirm this is why he’s wearing it, but it’s certainly a fun little callback to his last MCU appearance if true. For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: Disney+ Post navigation Next story
