Whiplash (Marvel Cinematic Universe)


 *  NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Whiplash from the Marvel Cinematic film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Whiplash (Marvel). 

"If you can make God bleed, then people will cease to believe in him. And there will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come. The truth, all I have to do is sit here and watch, as the world will consume you."

- Ivan Vanko/Whiplash's speech to Tony Stark/Iron Man. "...You lose."

- Vanko's last words before being blown up - his most famous line.

Ivan Vanko, also known as Whiplash, is the main antagonist of the 2010 Marvel film Iron Man 2. He is a disgruntled and merciless Russian physicist who is obsessed with taking revenge on Tony Stark's family.

He was portrayed by Mickey Rourke, who also portrayed Hyperion.

Early life
Ivan was the son of Anton Vanko, a former Russian physicist who collaborated with Howard Stark, the father of Tony Stark. In fact, Anton originally collaborated with Howard to design the ARC reactor which occupied the chest of Tony Stark. While Howard desired to use the reactor for good, Anton was more interested in selling the technology to become a millionaire. Subsequently, Stark had Anton deported back to Russia. Upon Anton's return to Russia, the Soviets punished him for a failed collaboration with the United States and sent him into exile in northern Siberia, where he had to raise his son Ivan alone. When Anton died, Ivan vowed revenge on the Stark family. Ivan designed an ARC reactor himself, thanks to the notes that his father left him, and connected it to two electrified whips. At some point, Ivan was arrested at some point for selling nuclear secrets to Pakistan.

History
Disguised up as a race track worker, he attacked Stark at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix but is defeated by the superhero armor. Following his defeat, he was arrested and sent to jail, but is immediately freed by Justin Hammer, (an industrial competitor of Stark Industries), who wants Ivan to work for him in order to manufacture armor comparable to Stark's and to equip to the US military, which Stark refused to ally. Hammer offered a parrot to Ivan to convince him to work for him. But instead of making armor requested by Hammer, Whiplash instead made many humanoid drones (known as Hammer Drones), which annoyed Hammer, who threatened to eliminate him. Finally, while keeping Ivan under surveillance at the Hammer facility, Hammer presented the drones and a Mark III armor piloted by Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes at the "Stark Expo", the latter with previously stolen from Stark on his birthday. But Ivan kills his guards, breaks out of his room, and took the remote control of the drones and Mk III and programming them to kill Stark, who arrived shortly before. Stark and Rhodes are fighting and end their race in a river in a park under a giant dome, where Rhodes regains control of the equipment after the agent Natasha Romanoff (who penetrated the premises of Hammer Industries to disable remote controls). Unfortunately, Vanko drones arrive under the dome and surround Stark and Rhodes, which, fortunately, easily manage to defeat the drones. But suddenly came Ivan, in a new armor he designed and defies Stark. Rhodes tries to detonate him with a homing missile that Hammer gave him, but the missile does not affect the armor. Vanko gains the upper hand over them and catches them with two electric whips. But Stark suddenly has an idea, recalling the explosion caused by repulsor Rhodes and hers on the anniversary of Stark, he orders Rhodes fire his repulsor along with him, and through this, they manage to defeat Vanko, who is heavily injured but then said to Stark, "you lost." Stark and Rhodes soon discovered that the drones scattered around them are programmed to self-destruct. They still manage to escape in time and Vanko died in the explosion.

Personality
Despite his lowly upbringing and lack of resources, Ivan Vanko was a mechanical and technological genius. Ivan was extremely intelligent, and was able to create his own Arc Reactor by using his father's old blueprints and whatever resources that he could find, but instead of using his intellect for better purposes, he solely focused on a vendetta with Tony Stark after his father caused his family to be shipped back to Russia. Ivan was shown to be very arrogant, mocked and lied to Justin Hammer a powerful businessman after he had just broken him out from life in prison. Ivan was an alcoholic which was a trait that he picked up from his father, Anton.

Trivia

 * Ivan Vanko was a combination of Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo (Anton Vanko).
 * Vanko's fake ID and alias on the Monaco Grand Prix track use the name Boris Turgenov, a reference to the second Crimson Dynamo's real name.
 * Unlike in the comics, Ivan's alias "Whiplash" was never mentioned in the film, just like Obadiah Stane.

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Whiplash (Marvel Cinematic Universe)