I am Whiplash

I went to see Iron Man 2 last night. It was good. If you liked the first Iron Man, you will probably like the sequel (a bit less, perhaps). I'm not going to review it, however. Rather, I want to talk about the character of Ivan Vanko (aka Whiplash...or Crimson Dynamo...or something). This character was brilliant and a good template for DMs trying to come up with a compelling villain. [Minor Spoiler Warning]: I don't want to give too much away, but suffice to say, Vanko combines two elements that make a great villain. First off, he is the antithesis of the hero, Tony Stark, even though he comes from a similar place. His father and Stark's father were partners at one time, until that collaboration was harshly terminated. From that point on, the lives of Vanko and Stark went in radically different directions. Secondly, there is a definite "tail wags the dog" theme going on in the interaction between Vanko and the character of Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell), a jealous rival of Stark. The dynamic of puppet and puppeteer has rarely been better presented.

One more thing, if there is ever a shortage of Awesome in Hollywood, blame Mickey Rourke. He is clearly hoarding it.

-Rognar-

By the way, I notice it has been a full week since my last post. Shame on me. I risk losing my legions of fans. However, in my defense, I have been quite busy on my other blog.