Iron Man 2 First Look: Whiplash!

USA Today just did a sit down with Jon Favreau about Iron Man 2. Not only do we start to really learn more about the film’s villain, Whiplash, but we get to see the first image of him in full costume. He looks pretty cool, but Whiplash looks like he belongs more in a S&M film than fighting Tony Stark.

“The technologies are definitely related,” says director Jon Favreau. “That’s part of the core theme of the film.”

The villain’s alter ego, Ivan Vanko, is a Russian who “has constructed his own version of a suit,” Favreau says. Among the creative innovations: a pair of whips, powered by the suit’s glowing chest piece, that are expected to keep Iron Man cracking.

Whiplash “is going to light them up,” Rourke quips

“We like to play into and against the expectations that people might have, so we mixed it up a bit,” Favreau says.

“It was very important that the villain be as compelling as can be. … Once I thought of Mickey in that role, it made me understand how to shape the story.”