First photo of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in 'Iron Man 2'

Posted Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 9:21 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

USA Today brings us the first photo of Mickey Rourke in his Ivan Vanko/Whiplash costume for Iron Man 2. In the pic, Whiplash shows up at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix.

The chest power source is similar to the one used by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in the first film. Director Jon Favreau told the fish wrap, "The technologies are definitely related. That's part of the core theme of the film."

Favreau added that Russian Vanko creates his own version of the Stark suit with a pair of electric whips powered by the chest unit. He didn't mention whether or not he's employed by Stark's competitor Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell.

This Whiplash character in the film seems to be an amalgam of two longtime Iron Man baddies from the comics. The power suit and Russian origin is based on the Crimson Dynamo series of characters. The dual whips are from a villain with the name of Whiplash but also called Backlash.

Here's hoping a photo of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow comes next.

Iron Man 2's release is still a year away. It will be in theaters on May 7, 2010.