Phillip Stern (Earth-11584)

History
Phillip J. Stern was born into wealth and influence as the grandson of an influential United States Senator, Bob Stern. It was not long before the younger Stern found himself following in his grandfather's footsteps, first serving in Congress and then being elected as a Senator from his home state of Wisconsin. Senator Stern quickly rose through the ranks to become the chairman of the influential Armed Forces committee, which brought him into conflict first with Howard Stark and then with his son, Tony.

When Tony Stark revealed himself as the Iron Man, Stern was immediate pushing for the United States military to seize the technology for their own use, advocating for legislation and commissioning a study performed by Lt. Col James Rhodes on the viability of Stark as a deterrent. While publicly his motivations for this were to improve the United States military (a fact he also pointed out with his promotion of Justin Hammer's technology at the Stark Expo), the reality of the situation was that he wanted the suit for use by HYDRA, whom he secretly had joined at some point during the organization's dormancy. Much to his chagrin, Stern was forced to give a medal of special distinction to Tony Stark for his efforts at thwarting the Wrecking Crew at the Stark Expo.

When Project Insight was launched by HYDRA forces within SHIELD, Stern appeared like he would benefit from the New World Order. There was even speculation that he would run for President in the near future. However, Stern's political career came to an abrupt end with the testimony of Jasper Sitwell, a former HYDRA operative turned key witness for SHIELD in exchange for amnesty. He exposed Stern as a HYDRA affiliate, and as a result Stern was arrested and eventually convicted on charges of espionage, while also being expelled from the Senate in disgrace. He currently is serving a multi-year sentence in a federal penitentiary.

Powers & Abilities

 * Political Accumen: Stern learned politics at the knee of his grandfather, who had been a well-respected Senator during World War II. Stern would go on to use this knowledge in his own political career, until his eventual downfall.

Weaknesses
Stern's lust for power, a fundamental flaw in many politicians, would ultimately prove to be his downfall. He also thought himself high up on the totem pole in HYDRA, when in reality he was a low-level patsy who was easily sold down the river by a low ranking operative like Sitwell.

Film Details
Senator Stern appears in the following films within the Earth-11584 continuity of the MCU. In all cases he is portrayed by actor John Larroquette.
 * Iron Man 2 (2010)
 * Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)