Whiplash is the name of multiplesupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. They are commonly depicted as members ofIron Man'srogues gallery.Mickey Rourke portrayed Whiplash in theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmIron Man 2 (2010).[1]
Mark Scarlotti first appeared as Whiplash inTales of Suspense #97 (Jan. 1968).[2] He was killed in battle inIron Man vol. 4 #28 (May 2000).[3]
Leeann Foreman debuted as Whiplash inMarvel Comics Presents #49 (May 1990).
During theCivil War storyline, two new villains called Whiplash and Blacklash appear inThunderbolts #104 (Sept. 2006) and #107 (Dec. 2006).
Another female Whiplash appeared inBig Hero 6 #1 (Nov. 2008).
Anton Vanko first appeared inIron Man vs. Whiplash #1–4 (Jan.–April 2010). He later appeared as a member of theMasters of Evil.
| Blacklash | |
|---|---|
 Blacklash (center) features on the cover ofMarvel Team-Up #145 (Sept. 1984), art byGreg LaRocque | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | (As Whiplash) Tales of Suspense #97 (Jan. 1968)[4] (As Blacklash) Iron Man #146 (May 1981) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Gene Colan (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Marco Scarlotti[5] |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Maggia Death Squad Sinister Syndicate |
| Notable aliases | Blacklash |
| Abilities | Wears abulletproof costume Wields a pair of cybernetically-controlled titanium whips Carries a variety of devices in a weapons pouch |
Mark Scarlotti is originally a gifted electrical technician at Stark International'sCincinnati branch, but desires a life of luxury and becomes a professional criminal. With a costume and a sophisticated metal whip of his own design, the character becomes Whiplash, a weapons designer, special agent, and assassin for the criminal organization theMaggia. On behalf of the Maggia, Whiplash fights the heroIron Man[6] – secretly inventorTony Stark and Scarlotti's former employer – andA.I.M. agents attacking a Maggia gambling ship.[7]
Scarlotti is assigned to workundercover for the Maggia at Stark International's Cincinnati plant, and becomes Head of Research. As Whiplash, Scarlotti then has another inconclusive battle with Iron Man and flees the scene, quitting the Maggia.[8] Whiplash, together with fellow supervillains theMelter and theMan-Bull, are recruited by the other-dimensional villain theBlack Lama to form a team named the Death Squad and fight Iron Man. They enter a "War of the Super-Villains" to win the Black Lama's Golden Globe of Power, but are all defeated.[9]
Whiplash rejoins the Maggia and battles the heroesSpider-Man and Iron Man inNew Jersey, eventually being defeated by the vigilante theWraith.[10] Criminal mastermindJustin Hammer hires Whiplash, and with the Melter and the originalBlizzard attempt the robbery of anAtlantic City casino, but are stopped by Iron Man.[11] Whiplash is released from prison by Hammer and battles Iron Man again as one of Hammer's costumed operatives, and despite overwhelming odds the hero defeats the villains.[12]
Scarlotti is re-employed by an unnamed consortium, financed by Hammer, to kill Stark employee Vic Martinelli, and is provided with an upgraded costume and weaponry and the new alias Blacklash. Despite the upgrades, however, Scarlotti is defeated by Iron Man and humiliated by being dragged before his employers.[13] Scarlotti makes a brief appearance as Whiplash as a paid employee of the master villain theMad Thinker in a failed attempt to kill the hero theThing who is recuperating at a New York hospital.[14]
Scarlotti is eventually diagnosed as manic-depressive by prison psychiatrists. He attempts to reform, but rejected by his parents and residents of his home town, Scarlotti becomesBlacklash. While attempting an assassination for the Maggia, Blacklash is confronted by Spider-Man whom he weakens with his whip, but is defeated by the secondIron Man.[15] Blacklash is beaten by Spider-Man once again[16] and is also apprehended byCaptain America while committing several robberies.[17] Blacklash is rehired by Justin and sent with theBeetle and the secondBlizzard to assassinate Hammer's former agentForce. Iron Man,Jim Rhodes and Force, however, defeat the trio.[18]
At Hammer's request, Blacklash,Boomerang, and the second Blizzard stop industrial sabotage by the vigilante theGhost. Blacklash is sent to work with Iron Man and Jim Rhodes against the saboteur, but betrays them.[19] Together with Spider-Man villain theRhino, Blacklash hunts down fellow rogue agent theScorpion, who fails to return stolen weaponry to Hammer.[20]
Scarlotti decides to renounce his criminal identity and marries and has a child. A lack of money forces Scarlotti to assume his identity again, and he becomes the target of an assassin, who kills his wife when she returns to their apartment. As Blacklash, Scarlotti then finds and kills the assassin, and vows to abandon the identity of Blacklash forever.[21] Scarlotti, however, is hired by a rival of Stark and returns as Whiplash, with an upgraded costume and new weaponry. Whiplash manages to battle Iron Man to a standstill in their first encounter, but is killed several weeks later by Iron Man's new sentient armor, which crushes Scarlotti's throat against Stark's wishes.[22]
| Whiplash | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Marvel Comics Presents #49 (May 1990) |
| Created by | Erik Larsen |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Leeann Foreman |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | Band of Baddies Femme Fatales Femizons |
| Notable aliases | Snake Whip |
| Abilities | Wears two gauntlets containing three spring-loaded retractable omnium steel whip-like cables Costume grants some protection from physical injuries |
The second Whiplash isLeeann Foreman, a professional criminal born inWilmington, Delaware. She was a mutant with unrevealed abilities and usedadamantium 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 to coerce them to join their band. They forced the daughter to knock outSpider-Man andWolverine, 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.[23]
She later joined theFemme Fatales, and was hired by theChameleon to lure Spider-Man into a trap by threatening a United Nations ambassador. Spider-Man defeated the Femme Fatales and saved the ambassador.[24] The Fatales then joined forces with theScorpion and theTarantula, but all of them were defeated by Spider-Man and theBlack Cat.[25] The Femme Fatales later received an invitation to joinSuperia and her organization of female criminals, theFemizons. They accepted, and were among the superhuman females aboard Superia's cruise ship, where they battledCaptain America and thePaladin. Whiplash also traveled to Superia's private island to be one of her new Femizons.[26]
After the group disbanded, Whiplash teamed up withOrka,Shockwave andKiller Shrike in a plot to take over a retired aircraft carrier, theUSSIntrepid. She and her allies were defeated byHeroes for Hire.[27] She was later seen in "Bar With No Name" and in ablack market auction for theVenom Symbiote.[28]
During the "Hunt for Wolverine" storyline, Whiplash took the name ofSnake Whip and is with the Femme Fatales when they assistViper in attackingKitty Pryde's group at the King's Impresario Restaurant inMadripoor. She engagedJubilee in battle beforeKitty Pryde gets her andDomino away from the restaurant.[29] Following that victory, Snake Whip stayed by Viper's side as she ordered Knockout and Mindblast to have a defeated Rogue and Storm be delivered to their clients and when Viper speaks to a representative from Soteira. As Snake Whip asks if they are going to ignoreSapphire Styx's vampiric appetite, Viper says that they have to obey the representative's orders and "let the @#$%& feed."[30] After another call from Soteira's representative, Viper and Snake Whip check up on Sapphire and find her acting strange claiming that Wolverine's Patch alias is here. Snake Whip works to restrain her only to get knocked out. Upon recovering, Snake Whip starts to see Patch attacking Sapphire even though Viper doesn't see it.[31] After Sapphire Styx exploded enabling Psylocke to use her soul power to recreate a new body, Psylocke used her powers to defeat Bloodlust and use an illusion to trick Snake Whip into hitting the ground. Domino persuaded Snake Whip to surrender when her teammates are defeated. When the Femme Fatales were arrested, Kitty Pryde got the info about Soteira being after Wolverine from Snake Whip who gave the information to her in exchange for a light sentence.[32]
Two villains, a woman who is the third Whiplash and a man who is the second Blacklash, appear during the outset of theSuperhuman Civil War. Both are past associates of the Swordsman (Andreas von Strucker) and frequenters of BDSM events before becoming supervillains. The duo are forcibly recruited into theThunderbolts.[33]
This version of Whiplash is not a person, but a personality construct created by the aptly namedBadgal. The construct is feminine and thus tends to possess females. Initially, Badgal used this construct to possess a random citizen, but later used it to possessHoney Lemon and laterGoGo Tomago.[34] When theBig Hero 6 defeated Badgal, the construct ceased to exist.[35]
| Whiplash | |
|---|---|
 Whiplash (Anton Vanko). Art byMarko Djurdjevic. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Iron Man vs. Whiplash #1 (Jan. 2010) |
| Created by | Marc Guggenheim (writer) Philipe Briones (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Anton Vanko |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Assassins Guild Masters of Evil |
| Abilities | Skilled athlete Deep knowledge of robotics Suit of armor grants: Energy whips built into the wrists |
Anton Vanko (Russian:Антон Ванко) is a young scientist from a small Russian village by the name of Volstok who has no relation to the originalCrimson Dynamo. One day, the village is attacked by someone wearing a stolen suit ofIron Man armor, who murders a number of townspeople, including his father Igor Vanko (Russian: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 to avenge his father.[36]
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 confidantPepper 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 MinisterVladimir Putin, 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 theRed Square preparing to properly exact vengeance this time around.[37]
Whiplash is later recruited by Max Fury as a member of theShadow Council's incarnation of theMasters of Evil.[38][39]
During theInfinity storyline, Whiplash is among the villains recruited bySpymaster to help him in a plot to attack the almost-defenseless Stark Tower.[40]
Whiplash was among the villains contracted by theAssassins Guild to targetElektra's allies.[41]
He later attacksSquirrel Girl and her sidekickTippy-Toe when he mistakes her for Iron Man, since she was wearing one of his armors, but is later defeated.[42]
Whiplash later appears as a member ofHelmut Zemo's third incarnation of theMasters of Evil.[43]
During the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Taskmaster appears as a member ofMayor Wilson Fisk's latest incarnation of the Thunderbolts at the time when Mayor Fisk passed a law that forbids superhero activity. He and Whiplash hold the staff of the Daily Bugle hostage to draw outSpider-Man. During Spider-Man's fight with Taskmaster, Whiplash is goaded into attacking him. Despite being weakened by Whiplash, Spider-Man tries to ask Taskmaster if they can take it outside as Taskmaster places a power dampener collar on him and throws him out the window. Spider-Man uses his webbing to slow his descent to the ground as the NYPD operatives move in on him.[44]
In "All-New, All-Different Marvel", a female supervillain takes the name of Blacklash. The female Blacklash was hired byPower Broker through the Hench App to protect his unveiling of Hench App 2.0. She ended up fightingAnt-Man andGiant-Man (Raz Malhotra) when they show up to confront Power Broker. The battle ends with Blacklash escaping due to Giant-Man's crimefighting inexperience.[45]
Mark Scarlotti, courtesy ofJustin Hammer, wears abulletproof costume and 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. He 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. Scarlotti is a research engineer and weapons design specialist, with a college degree in engineering.
Leeann Foreman 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 withkevlar, leather shoulder padding, and steel breastplates and mask, which provides her some protection from physical damage.
The unnamed Whiplash and Blacklash have no apparent superhuman abilities, relying on advanced energized whips.
Anton Vanko 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.[46] 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.
Orson Scott Card'sUltimate Iron Man features analternate universe version namedMarc Scott, a Texan businessman competing withTony Stark for military contracts via his company Whiplash.[47]
TheUltimate Marvel version of Whiplash appears in the 150th issue ofUltimate Spider-Man. He is among a crowd as atTony Stark's donation party outside theNew York Hall of Science, when he attacks him only to be stopped bySpider-Man. He is seen wielding two electrical whips powered by some kind of battery. When asked by Stark why he is attacking him, Whiplash believes he is on a "mission fromGod to kill Tony Stark". It is revealed that he indeed is aRussian terrorist named Anton Vanko.[48]
A new, female version of Whiplash later appears as part of a team of mercenaries known as the Femme Fatales.[49]
Individuals based on the various comics incarnations of Whiplash appear in media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
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