ARA TANZERIAN

Real Name: Ara Tanzerian

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Terrorist, deputy security chief

Group Membership: None

AffiliationsAndrei Gorlovich, Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Mahwash Najeeb

Enemies: Iron Man (Tony Stark), Mrs. Yinsen, Yinsen's son;
    allegedly Ho Yinsen

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Cali, Colombia;
formerly Afghanistan

First Appearance: Iron Man IV#8 (July, 2006)

Powers/Abilities: Tanzerian was a trained terrorist and security chief with access to artillery and military forces.

History:

(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS) <As reported by the alleged son of Yinsen> - Needing funding for his experiments and lacking the patience to settle for the slow trickle of funds he was getting from university grants, which might take decades, Ho Yinsen "got in bed with government," and placed an implant in promising young weapons designer Tony Stark's head for the Taliban (specifically Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Najeeb, Ara Tanzerian). Yinsen allegedly designed a sending unit without which the implant he placed in Stark was useless; Yinsen smuggled the sending unit out of Afghanistan and placed it with his wife.

(Iron Man IV#9 (fb) - BTS) - Ho Yinsen was captured and executed under the orders of Taliban agents Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Najeeb, Ara Tanzerian.

(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS) - Andrei Gorlovich was hired by Karzai, Kellard, Lemar, Najeeb, and Tanzerian to retrieve the sending unit; he confronted and slew Yinsen's wife when she apparently didn't have it, but Gorlovich did not realize Yinsen's son was wearing the sending unit as a necklace and that he was watching his mother's murder from behind a partially closed door.

(Iron Man IV#6-11 - BTS) - Years later, the alleged son of Yinsen, seeking vengeance for his alleged mother's death (although he considered his father to have been "a monster") resolved to use the sending unit to activate Stark's implant and cause Iron Man to murder Gorlovich, Karzai, Kellard, Lemar, Tanzerian, and Najeeb. 

(Iron Man IV#9 (fb) - BTS) - Tanzerian acted for years as the Afghani deputy security chief.

(Iron Man IV#8 (fb) - BTS) - Tanzerian was prosecuted in a war-crimes trial by the United Nations, at which Dennis Kellard was the star witness. Eventually, under the alias Senor Sanchez, he established a base in Cali, Colombia.

(Iron Man IV#8) - While drinking and hot-tubbing with two women, Tanzerian became aware that his guards weren't responding. He investigated, finding one of them dead, just before he was murdered and crucified by Iron Man (Tony Stark), who was being controlled by the son of Ho Yinsen.

Comments: Created by Daniel & Charles Knauf, Patrick Zircher, and Scott Hanna.

    This entire story is of questionable continuity for many reasons. 

The "Son of Yinsen" storyline in Iron Man IV#7-12 (2006), had Yinsen implant a device into Stark's brain while the two were imprisoned in Afghanistan together. This revelation was crap, crap, and more crap.
(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS) <According to a young man claiming to be the son of Ho Yinsen; see comments> - Yinsen allegedly discovered that neuro implants could cure depression and schizophrenia and perhaps redefine a man's soul, turning sociopaths into model citizens. Needing funding for his experiments and lacking the patience to settle for the slow trickle of funds he was getting from university grants, which might take decades, Ho Yinsen "got in bed with government," and placed an implant in promising young weapons designer Tony Stark's head for the Taliban (specifically Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Najeeb, Ara Tanzerian).
Yinsen allegedly designed a sending unit without which the implant he placed in Stark was useless; Yinsen smuggled the implant out of Afghanistan.
Yinsen placed the sending unit with his wife. 
(Iron Man IV#9 (fb)) - Ho Yinsen was captured and executed under the orders of Taliban agents Zakim Karzai, Dennis Kellard, Aftaab Lemar, Karim Najeeb, Ara Tanzerian.
(Iron Man IV#11 (fb) - BTS) - Andrei Gorlovich was hired by Karzai, Kellard, Lemar, Najeeb, and Tanzerian to retrieve the sending unit; he confronted and slew Yinsen's wife when she apparently didn't have it, but Gorlovich did not realize Yinsen's son was wearing the sending unit as a necklace and that he was watching his mother's murder from behind a partially closed door.
(Iron Man IV#6-11 - BTS) - Years later, the Son of Yinsen used the sending unit to cause Iron Man to murder Gorlovich, Karzai, Kellard, Lemar, and Tanzerian. Stark found a means to block the control to some degree and locate the Son of Yinsen as he was being ordered to kill Najeeb. SHIELD agents assassinated the Son of Yinsen to prevent him from further controlling Iron Man.
(Iron Man IV#12 - BTS) - The Extremis slowly dissolved the implant.

    The major contradictions include:

Profile by Chadman. Updated/edited by Snood.

Ara Tanzerian has no known connections to


images: (without ads)
Iron Man IV#8, p19, pan6 (main)


Appearances:
Iron Man IV#8-9 (July-August, 2006) - Daniel & Charles Knauf (writers), Patrick Zircher (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Iron Man IV#11 (October, 2006) - Daniel & Charles Knauf (writers), Patrick Zircher (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)


First posted: 04/05/2008
Last updated: 03/11/2018

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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