VisionQuest brings back Iron Man villain Raza 18 years later

Marvel is clearly not finished mining its own ancient history for new plot twists. If you thought VisionQuest was going to be just another Disney+ spinoff about synthezoids and Wanda's occasionally troublesome offspring, think again: it's gone and resurrected a villain many viewers assumed had joined the MCU's long queue of forgotten baddies nearly two decades ago.

Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar is back in action in the MCU, nearly 18 years after his last appearance.

Yes, that's right—Faran Tahir has returned as Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar, a name you probably haven't heard since your first Blu-Ray of Iron Man back in 2008. His surprise comeback in VisionQuest Episode 6 is one of those ‘wait, THAT guy?’ moments Marvel seems to enjoy springing on us every now and then. And to be fair, it's a bold move: most of us rather assumed Raza had expired, what with Obadiah Stane's heavy-handedness and the general MCU attitude to disposable henchmen.

The Raza Resurrection

First off: Raza pops up in Madripoor (that’s the neon-lit criminal playground first introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, if your memory’s getting as addled as mine). He swaggers in with a load of hired guns, targeting none other than Vision himself. The episode's main arc has Vision travelling to Madripoor on a rescue mission for Tommy Maximoff, only to get himself caught in a showdown with new bounty hunter darling, Paladin. Enter Raza, stage left, to absolutely ruin the mood.

For those who care about such things, he’s had quite the makeover: gone are the rough fatigues and desert chic of 2008. Now he’s sporting a suit, an earpiece (possibly to ward off any more unfortunate sonic weapon incidents—those who've watched Iron Man will remember Stane paralysing him with a sonic taser), and a generally more refined vibe.

Not Quite Dead, Just Upgraded

Paladin clocks Raza's voice during their run-in and, not one to let old wounds close, remarks on the whole ‘shouldn’t you be dead?’ angle—name-dropping both Stane and the Ten Rings in the process. Clearly, Raza's had enough of Marvel terrorist collectives: he's now flying solo as a bounty hunter. The man even brings adamantium bullets to the party, a detail Marvel fans will note could actually hurt Vision (and yes, that’s the same adamantium you know from Wolverine and company).

• Raza brings a new crew and adamantium bullets to confront Vision in Madripoor
• He’s still breathing after Stane’s “finish up” order in Iron Man—no on-screen death, as it turns out
• Paladin gets the better of him in combat, leaving Raza alive but unconscious

The moment is brief, but it's enough: Raza is now officially back on the MCU’s chessboard, still a threat even if he's just had his villainous pride dented. And all this time, not a single line in Iron Man actually confirmed his demise—Stane told his goons to "finish up" after Raza was tased, but no body, no funeral, no post-credits scene. Now VisionQuest has settled it: Raza survived, and he's operating independently in the world’s shadiest city nearly twenty years on. Absolutely no one had that on their MCU bingo card.