Stane's storyline in the original comic was pretty cool. Tony lapses back into being a drunk and loses the company, and Stane takes it over. Tony eventually recovers and tries to get the company back. Stane ties a bunch of underhanded shit to keep him away and finally fights him using a suit of armor (the "Iron Monger") based on Tony's original designs- better in some ways, inferior in others.
Now, if the main bad guy is The Mandarin, maybe they're just having Stane in the movie to set up this storyline in the sequel. I'd hate to have him just be a throw-away baddie instead.
I guess you're the movie news guy by proxy while Advocate is banned, eh?

