Mickey Rourke is Officially Whiplash in Iron Man 2 But Seems More Like Backlash?
Empire recently chatted with both director Jon Favreau and actor Mickey Rourke on the set of Iron Man 2, which is currently at the halfway point of filming. Here is an excerpt from the article regarding Rourke’s character in the sequel which was thought to be a combination of the Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash. It seems he is just being dubbed Whiplash.
“Meanwhile, Mickey Rourke, who appears as new Iron Man nemesis Whiplash, was back on set last week after a stint with Sly, Li, Lundgren, Statham et al on The Expendables. “I’m having the time of my life!” he enthused about joining the Iron Man franchise. “It’s been really brutal, because my Iron Man suit weighs 23lb. It’s sort of a half-suit, with half my skin showing, with lots of Russian tattoos, because [Whiplash is just] out of a Russian-zone prison.”
Much confusion has been made across the webs on exactly what Rourke’s character was to be called even when some concept art came out that screamed Whiplash, speculation was still up in the air. Now the cat is out of the bag. However I am still a little vexxed and confused as to who his character is and this is why:
In the Marvel comics there is 2 Whiplash characters: one is a girl that was a mutant with unrevealed abilities and she used adamantium wires which were connected to her gloves as whips.
In the Iron Man continuity there is character named Mark Scarlotti, who was called Whiplash, and then he became the nemesis Backlash. Courtesy of rival industrialist, Justin Hammer ( same name of character Sam Rockwell plays in Iron Man 2), Blacklash wields a pair of cybernetically-controlled titanium whips that can extend to be swung fast enough to deflect bullets, or become rigid and be used as nunchaku or vaulting-poles. This looks a lot like the concept art we have seen.
Blacklash also carries a variety of devices in a weapons pouch, including anti-gravity bolas and a necro-lash which releases electrical energy generated by his gauntlets. Blacklash’s costume is also bulletproof. Scarlotti was a research engineer and weapons design specialist, with a college degree in engineering. In Ultimate Iron Man there was a male Whiplash not Backlash.
It seems like Rourke’s character to be a combination of Whiplash/Backlash/Crimson Dynamo - but is being called Whiplash (confusing isn’t it? Welcome to Comic to film). Something like a former Russian prisoner, Rourke will most likely join forces with Justin Hammer who builds him a nice suit such as the one described above to fight against Stark. I am just speculating though.
