Whiplash

Ivan Vanko, also known as Whiplash, is an enemy of Iron Man. He seeks revenge on the Stark family for the ruin and humiliation of his own but at the cost of his own life.

Early life
Ivan Vanko is the son of Anton Vanko, a Russian physicist who had helped Howard Stark design the Arc Reactor, but who had been subsequently deported from the United States when it became clear that he was working for the money rather than for the benefit of humanity. Ivan's father fell into poverty and alcoholism, and proceeded to abuse his son for many years. Over the years, Ivan became highly knowledgeable in the fields of physics and mechanical sciences, while adopting his father's hatred for the Stark family.

Becoming Whiplash
After the death of his father, Ivan Vanko immediately began work on a replica of the arc reactor. Ivan constructed an exoskeleton, powered by a miniature arc reactor, to use against Tony Stark in an effort to discredit him. Vanko attacked Stark during the Monaco Grand Prix, using his Whiplash harness to destroy several cars in the race, but Stark ultimately defeated him using a portable Iron Man suit, and Vanko was sent to prison. While in custody, Vanko was asked by Tony why he didn't sell his technology to make money. Vanko replied that he wanted to remove Stark's awe from the people and demonstrate that Iron Man could be defeated. Ivan also deduced that Tony was being poisoned by the palladium in his arc reactor saying, "Palladium in the chest, painful way to die."

Making an aliance with Justin Hammer
Later, Vanko escaped from prison with the help of Stark's rival Justin Hammer, who also orchestrated the faking of Vanko's death in the prison break. Hammer and Vanko then made a deal in which Vanko was to build armored suits like the Iron Man armor in exchange for Hammer Industries resources. Vanko changed the terms of the deal however, when he retrofitted Hammer's existing armor technology from wearable suits into unmanned drones.

The finle battle
Vanko was then locked up in the Hammer Industries New York factory, having enraged Hammer with the unexpected change. In the mean time, Hammer's plan to unveil the drones during the World Stark Expo went ahead, although Vanko again surprised his benefactor when the drones powered up and altered the simple unveiling to a full-blown demonstration. Vanko had killed his guards and remotely assumed control of the drones, as well as the War Machine armor worn by James Rhodes.

Death
As a lengthy dogfight involving both Stark armors and the Hammer drones progressed, Vanko abandoned the factory and got personally involved in an armored suit of his own. The superior bulk and capabilities of his suit initially outmatched the combined efforts of Stark and Rhodes, but working together they soon found a way to beat him. As he lay wounded in the remains of his armor, Vanko revealed that he had concealed self-destruct devices in his suit as well as all of the Hammer drones. His dying words were, "You lose."

Relationships

 * Anton Vanko - Father
 * Justin Hammer - Teammate
 * Iron Man - Enemy
 * War Machine - Enemy
 * Howard Stark - Enemy

Trivia

 * Vanko's last name came from Anton Vanko, who is Ivan's father. Anton was the original Crimson Dynamo in the comics. In the beginning of the film Anton dies.
 * Vanko's fake ID and alias on the Monaco Grand Prix track use the name B. Turgenev, a reference to the second Crimson Dynamo, Boris Turgenev.