How Marvel's VisionQuest Brings Back Iron Man Villain Raza After 18 Years

Contains spoilers for "VisionQuest" Episode 6.

Episode 6 of Marvel Studios' "VisionQuest" sees the return of Faran Tahir as Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar, a villain not seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since his appearance in "Iron Man," the very first MCU movie. Tahir's return to the role of Raza was first announced in January 2025 to some surprise, as the character had seemingly been killed by Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane in "Iron Man." Of course, death is rarely final in the MCU — especially when it happens off-screen like Raza's — but given there has been no sign of Raza for 18 years, fans were surprised to learn the character would be making a comeback.

Raza makes his return on "VisionQuest" in Madripoor, the island city-state that was first introduced to the MCU in the 2021 Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." Episode 6 sees Vision traveling to Madripoor to save Thomas Shepherd, aka Tommy Maximoff, Vision's reincarnated son from "WandaVision." Tommy has been taken hostage by the bounty hunter Paladin, who hopes to use him to lure Vision into his clutches to fulfill his contract with his mystery client. However, Paladin's contract has officially been terminated, and other bounty hunters have been called in to capture Vision.

A tense confrontation between Vision and Paladin is interrupted when Raza and a heavily armed crew turn up, intent on capturing Vision themselves. Raza's role is cut short when he is knocked out by Paladin, but the villain remains an active threat in the MCU.

Raza's return to the MCU on "VisionQuest" hinges upon a pretty significant makeover for the character, while remaining true to his roots in "Iron Man." In that original MCU movie, Raza had been hired by Obadiah Stane to capture and kill Tony Stark. "VisionQuest" sees him once again serving a mysterious and powerful client to capture a high-profile target. However, while he was leading an Afghanistan-based cell of the terrorist organization the Ten Rings in "Iron Man," Raza is now operating in Madripoor, swapping out his military fatigues for a sharp suit.

Raza also appears to be learning from his mistakes. "Iron Man" saw him temporarily paralyzed by Stane using a gadget that emitted a high-pitch frequency. On "VisionQuest," he can be seen wearing an earpiece, presumably to protect himself against such attacks.

The armed enforcers backing up Raza on "VisionQuest" are also likely a new crew, following the execution of his soldiers at the hands of Obadiah Stane in "Iron Man." Whether this new team is still an arm of the Ten Rings or not is a little more ambiguous — Paladin mentions both "Stark's old partner and the occasional Ten Rings torture chamber" as reasons he expected Raza to be either dead or incarcerated. But regardless of the allegiances, Raza has clearly rebuilt his forces since "Iron Man" and now appears to be acting as a full-time bounty hunter — one with whom the prolific Paladin has clearly crossed paths before.