Whiplash
Real Identity: Ivan Vanko
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Characteristics and Powers: Whiplash is named for his eponymous electric whips, powered by a knock-off arc reactor. He doesn’t have much for armor (unlike Iron Man) so he has to keep his distance and attack. Fortunately, whips are the perfect weapon for this. Plus it shows his brutality, like Kratos in God of War. Clearly, Ivan isn’t afraid to get hurt. He’s got plenty of scars and metal teeth, which indicates the state of Russian healthcare.
And don’t forget his bird.
Relationship to the Hero(es): Iron Man 2 starts a common thread in his movies that is “sins of the father”. In parallel, Ivan’s father dies as Tony Stark declares his Ironmanity. As you find out, Vanko’s father and Tony’s father did some collaboration on the arc reactor prototype. But Anton Vanko tried to sell the secrets. He was tried for espionage, then deported back to Russia (isn’t treason a capital punishment?).
Meanwhile, Justin Hammer is Tony Stark’s rival. Where Obadiah Stane was a father figure, Hammer is more of a peer or a sibling. A contemporary.
Goals/Motivation: Vanko’s motivation is pure revenge. (Why does Ivan think he deserves revenge? His father got what he deserved. It’s not like he was unfairly accused.) Ivan confronts him at Monaco in a mano-a-mano but loses. This gets the attention of Justin Hammer, who sees someone who can stand toe-to-toe with Tony where other weapons manufacturers and US senators can’t. Someone who proves that Iron Man is not invulnerable. Not untouchable.
And Justin Hammer, in particular, wants to be Tony. He’s already got the money and the prestige (being prime weapons contractor to the U.S. government). But he’s just not getting the same love. (I can’t imagine why. It seems pretty obvious–Hammer’s still making weapons to kill, Tony’s making weapons to defend.)
Relatability: It’s okay. Mickey Roarke does a good job of acting, but it’s hard to sympathize with a Russian gangster (anyone seen Anora?). They’ve been portrayed as bad guys for seventy-five years.
On the other hand, Hammer’s a little closer to home. He’s based off the many “motivational” CEOs we’ve had in this era who think they’re God’s gift to Earth–Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk. They want to be rock stars, not businessmen. Can’t you just see Hammer doing the Nazi salute at the Stark Expo? (Related note: Boy, that Elon Musk cameo sure didn’t age well. He went from fun cameo to foreshadowing another techbro archnemesis. Elon Musk is to Iron Man 2 as Donald Trump is to Home Alone 2.)
You’ll notice that no one really remembers the many villains in the Iron Man universe. But that’s all right. Sometimes it’s okay just to have a dyed-in-the-wool evil guy who doesn’t have any other plan than to kill the good guy. Sometimes people are just jerks.
Fun Factor: Whiplash’s weapons are intended to only kill Iron Man. I don’t think they’d work well against someone like Thor or Hawkeye or Hulk. Lightsaber whips that can cut through anything are certainly cool, but they have limited versatility. So he combines them with an army of Hammerdrones, but they look and act pretty stupid. Wait until we get to Ultron.
Fatal Flaw: One of the things Tony is continuously working on is being unselfish. He drives away Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy with his hissyfits. He’s confronting his own mortality at this time–thinking his days are numbered because of the palladium in his chest. But he solves that issue and learns how to trust people again. Knowing they have their back and he has theirs. That’s why they win. Where Vanko betrays his benefactor to fulfill his own petty vendetta. Meanwhile, Tony teams up with Rhodey to defeat the Hammerdrones and Whiplash himself. Couldn’t have done it without him.
Method of Defeat: Whiplash plops in after the drones are defeated. They have a tussle, then take him out with the same “Beam-o-War” that happened during the fight at his birthday party. I love it when something used for bad turns into something used for good. But anyway, Whiplash triggers the self-destruct on himself and all the drones around him. Iron Man and War Machine scoot out of there lickety-split.
Final Rating: ★★
