It’s no secret that Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), although a beloved character and the savior of the universe in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was a deeply flawed character, and through the dark mirror linked to one villain, Marvel showed Tony Stark’s biggest flaw. Iron Man battled a variety of enemies during his time in the MCU, and some of them turned out to have been unintentionally created by him or were somewhat linked to him and his backstory, which added even more layers of complexity to his character.

In over a decade in the MCU, Iron Man battled aliens (Thanos and the Chitauri), an AI (Ultron), and people without superpowers who relied on technology to carry on with their plans. Falling into the latter category is Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), best known as Whiplash, the villain of the often forgotten Iron Man 2, who has a connection to Stark’s family, and through him and his own backstory, Marvel showed a dark mirror of Tony’s biggest flaw before he became Iron Man.

Related: Marvel May Have Explained A Major Iron Man 2 Retcon

How Iron Man 2’s Whiplash Showed A Tony Stark Dark Mirror

Iron Man 2 Mickey Rourke Ivan Vanko Whiplash

Ivan Vanko was a Russian physicist and the son of Anton Vanko, a scientist who worked with Howard Stark after leaving the Soviet Union and arriving in the U.S. Vanko and Howard developed the first Arc Reactor, but they ended up disagreeing on what they wanted the Arc Reactor for – Vanko wanted to make a profit off this technology, while Howard wanted to use it for the benefit of mankind. A couple of years later, Vanko was accused of espionage and was deported back to the Soviet Union, with Howard taking credit for the Arc Reactor. Vanko couldn’t develop the technology by himself and was exiled to Siberia as punishment, spending the rest of his life in alcoholic rage and taking it all out on his son, though he also taught him about science so he could get revenge on the Starks.

Before he was kidnapped by the Ten Rings and his transformation into Iron Man began, Tony Stark was more similar to Anton Vanko than to his own father. Tony didn’t care about who Stark Industries sold weapons to as long as he made money out of it, and it wasn’t until he was in a life-or-death situation with bombs and weapons (most of them from Stark Industries) that he realized all the mistakes he had made so far. Tony, then, had a mentality similar to that of Anton Vanko, as he only wanted to make a profit off his company’s technology rather than use it for the world’s benefit, but luckily, he learned the lesson and dedicated the rest of his life to being a responsible hero.

Could Whiplash Return To The MCU?

Ivan Vanko walking down the racetrack in Iron Man 2

Like most of the villains in the first part of the MCU’s Infinity Saga, Ivan Vanko/Whiplash didn’t survive his first movie. With the help of Rhodey (Don Cheadle) and his War Machine suit, Iron Man battled Whiplash, and when it seemed like Whiplash was about to win, Iron Man and War Machine triggered a massive explosion with their beams of energy. Ivan died seconds after detonating an explosive device in his armor, and he ended up becoming one of the MCU’s most forgettable villains. Now, the MCU’s multiverse offers a chance to pretty much any deceased MCU character to return, but out of all those who could make a surprise appearance in what’s left of the Multiverse Saga, Whiplash isn’t one. While it would be interesting to explore a different version of Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, the MCU has bigger events and more interesting characters to follow, so a Whiplash variant will only live in the imagination of the audience.

Next: Iron Man's Big Whiplash Plot Hole Explained - Does It Make Sense?

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