Whiplash (comics)

Whiplash is the name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Each Whiplash is a supervillain in the Marvel Universe, with the first and latest appearing as prominent members of Iron Man's rogues gallery. The newest Whiplash, Anton Vanko, is based on the version of the character that appears in the film Iron Man 2.

Mark Scarlotti
The first and most well-known Whiplash was Mark Scarlotti, a recurring foe of Iron Man who debuted in Tales of Suspense #97 (Jan. 1968) and whose first storyline ended in Iron Man #1 (May 1968), the first issue of Iron Man's solo title. Scarlotti was an extremely gifted technician at Stark International's Cincinnati branch, but he never received recognition for his hard work or scientific acumen. Jealous of the global renown for Tony Stark's brilliance and the celebrity it granted him, Scarlotti decided to become a costumed supervillain. Adopting the moniker Whiplash, he constructed a metallic, electrified whip capable of rending apart even the strongest of metals. As Whiplash, Scarlotti worked for the Maggia before becoming an underworld enforcer for shady industrialist Justin Hammer.

In Iron Man #146 (May 1981), Scarlotti changed his costumed identity to Blacklash. By Iron Man vol. 3, #8 (Nov. 1998), he had returned to his Whiplash alias, this time with whips of pure energy and a heavily BDSM-influenced costume; Scorlotti attributed the change to his grief over the death of his wife in Elektra vol. 1 #7, and subsequently having their son removed from his custody. Scarlotti was later killed in Iron Man vol. 3, #28 (May 2000), slain by Iron Man's sentient, rogue armor.

Leeann Foreman
The second Whiplash was Leeann Foreman, a professional criminal that was born in Wilmington, Delaware. She was a mutant with unrevealed abilities and used adamantium wires connected to her gloves as whips. She was part of Critical Mass's mutant Band of Baddies. The Baddies kidnapped a mutant girl and her father in order to coerce them to join their band. They forced the daughter to knock out Spider-Man and Wolverine, but they quickly recovered. The daughter then unleashed her powers, blew up the warehouse they were in, and defeated all of the Baddies. Whiplash disappeared after the daughter's telekinetic explosion enabled her to get free.

She later joined the Femme Fatales, and was hired by the Chameleon to lure Spider-Man into a trap by threatening a United Nations ambassador. Spider-Man defeated the Femme Fatales and saved the ambassador. The Fatales then joined forces with the Scorpion and the Tarantula, but all of them were defeated by Spider-Man and the Black Cat. The Femme Fatales later received an invitation to join Superia and her organization of female criminals, the Femizons. They accepted, and were among the superhuman females aboard Superia's cruise ship, where they battled Captain America and the Paladin. Whiplash also traveled to Superia's private island to be one of her new Femizons.

After the group disbanded, Whiplash teamed up with Orka, Shockwave and Killer Shrike in a plot to take over a retired aircraft carrier, the USS Intrepid. She and her allies were defeated by Heroes for Hire. She was later seen in "Bar With No Name" and in a black market auction for the Venom Symbiote.

Unnamed
Two villains, a woman called Whiplash and a man called Blacklash, appeared during the outset of the Superhuman Civil War. Both were past associates of the current Swordsman (Andreas von Strucker) and frequenters of BDSM events before becoming supervillains. The duo was forcibly recruited into the Thunderbolts, and little has been seen of them since.

Anton Vanko
The new Whiplash is Anton Vanko (Анто́н Ва́нко, sharing the same name as the original Crimson Dynamo although with no relation to him), a young scientist from a small Russian village by the name of Volstok. One day, the village is attacked by someone wearing a stolen suit of Iron Man armor, who murders a number of townspeople, including Vanko's father (Igor Vanko И́горь Ва́нко) in an attempt to frame Tony Stark.

Using a specialized rifle, Vanko is able to shoot the impostor just before he flees, causing the chest plate on the armor to come off. Vanko becomes obsessed with exacting vengeance on Stark, still believing him to be the man who attacked his village, and decides to use the chest plate to fashion a suitable weapon to do so. Over the next six months, he reverse engineers a suit of body armor equipped with energy whips, and vows to kill Stark in order to avenge his father.

After breaking into the prison where Stark is being held for his alleged crimes, Vanko kills several guards and attempts to track down and murder Stark and his confidant Pepper Potts. Stark fights off Vanko using a crude suit of Iron Man armor fashioned from parts of various machines around the prison, and forces him to flee. After Stark tracks down the criminal syndicate who framed him, Vanko arrives at their headquarters, intent on finishing off Iron Man once and for all. It is there that Vanko learns that Stark was indeed framed and that the syndicate was hired to destroy Volstok by secret international consortium funded by several governments including USA and Russia, notably Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in order to wipe out an activist who was creating anti-Putin sentiments. Despite learning of Iron Man's innocence, Vanko makes one final attempt to kill him, claiming that even though he did not destroy the village, his technology did. After the building catches fire, both men are ultimately forced to run to safety, and Vanko then makes his escape. Following this, Stark is cleared of his alleged crimes, and helps rebuild Volstok. As this is happening, Vanko is seen in Moscow approaching Saint Basil's Cathedral in the Red Square preparing to properly exact vengeance this time around.

Whiplash is later recruited by Max Fury as a member of the Shadow Council's incarnation of the Masters of Evil, along with many other super-villains.

Powers and abilities
The female Whiplash wears two gauntlets containing three spring-loaded retractable omnium steel whip-like cables on each of her arms. Each cable can extend a maximum length of about 25 feet and contains needle-sharp adamantium barbs on the tips. She wears a padded costume of synthetic stretch fabric laced with kevlar, leather shoulder padding, and steel breastplates and mask, which provides her some protection from physical damage.

Whiplash possesses extensive hand-to-hand combat experience, and expertise at using whips. The unnamed Whiplash had no apparent superhuman abilities, and relied on an advanced energized whip.

The fourth Whiplash possesses a suit of armor equipped with two energy whips built into the wrists. The whips are shown to be powerful enough to slash through a metal staircase, as well as deflect a barrage of gunfire. He is also a skilled athlete and possesses a deep understanding of robotics, enough that he was able to fashion his suit from a destroyed piece of Stark technology.

Television

 * An unnamed female version of Whiplash appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "The Breakout" Pt. 1.
 * The Anton Vanko Whiplash will appear in the summer 2013 animated special Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel.

Film

 * Mickey Rourke portrays Ivan Antonovich Vanko / Whiplash (Ива́н Анто́нович Ва́нко) in the 2010 feature film Iron Man 2. Elements of the Crimson Dynamo are incorporated into the character.

Video games

 * The Anton Vanko version of Whiplash is featured as a boss in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.

Toys

 * 2 figures of Whiplash were released in Hasbro's 3.75" Iron Man 2 movie tie-in line. A figure based on his appearance in Iron Man 2 was released in wave 2 and a figure based on the Anton Vanko version of Whiplash was released in wave 5.
 * A figure of Whiplash, based on his appearance in Iron Man 2, was released in the Final Battle 3-pack from the Marvel Super Hero Squad line, packaged with figures of Iron Man a Hammer Drone.
 * A figure of Whiplash, based on his appearance in Iron Man 2 was released in wave 35 of the Marvel Minimates line, and a battle damaged version was released as an exclusive to the Borders bookstore chain.
 * Hot Toys released a 12" figure of Whiplash as he appears in the film Iron Man 2.
 * Mega Bloks released a Whiplash mini-figure in their series 2 figure blind packs.