Ummm...

Gay Pride parade's thataway, buddy...

Doesn't look embedded to me, so I think it's ok.

I personally prefer the movie costume over the one from the comics.

Earlier I had heard he'd be an amalgam of Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash. I was hoping for something more like Crimson Dynamo...too bad.

He better not be the main bad guy. If it's an opener where Whiplash is screwing up a NASCAR event and Iron Man comes down, smites him handily then looks at the arc reactor on his chest and says "Waitaminnit!" and then we move into a kind of Armor Wars plot, then I can be happy. Otherwise no.

I mean, really. This is Iron Man. I want to see more hot suit on suit action, and more scantily clad hot chicks.

I'm guessing he gets the crap kicked outta him while wearing that thing, then has to build a more armory type suit for the end battle.

(Talking to myself)

Patience. Patience. Iron Man was awesome. Patience. Fuuu..no it's ok. Wait for more pics and info. Patience. Hold Steady. Hold Steady.

(Now talking out loud)

Wheew. Glad that's over.

(panic attack averted)

Yeah, chances are that's not the final outfit. I've seen some concept art of whiplash that shows him in an armored costume.

Uh. . .yeah. I always love getting on line in the morning only to find a pic that makes my bum hurt. Honestly, looking at Rourke in that get up makes me think of a prison flick gone REALLY bad. Lets just all pray he doesn't force Iron Man to call him 'Sweet Daddy' while getting whipped.

In the movie game Whiplash had a nifty armor suit on top of that.

My guess is he's not the main villain. I'm going with the "armor wars" plotline idea. It would be a good way to introduce War Machine, and lead into a Crimson Dynamo appearance.

Rob, is the above get-up better or worse, in your opinion, than that skintight disco number the character had back in the 70s/80s with the enormous popped collar and five-foot-long green ponytail?

Inquiring minds want to know! :p

I was disturbed by having to see the leather Muppet that is Mickey Rourke, but then you made it better by namedropping Lord Humongous. Road Warrior eases my pain. Now I can "just walk away," hurr hurr hurr!

Movie version has 100% less zipper mouth gimp mask. My gripe with Whiplash (and a lot of Iron Man's villains) has always been that he does seem like a credible threat - he is a guy with some whips. I think the armor can take it.

It occurs to me that super weapon armed bad guys who are otherwise just plain humans are pretty susceptible to bullets.

"Good lord! That leather skinned pirate is destroying NASCAR vehicles with his Super Whips!" Good thing all NASCAR fans have conceal-carry licenses!"

KAPOW BLAMMMITY BLAM!

"Huh. That guy was stupid."

"It occurs to me that super weapon armed bad guys who are otherwise just plain humans are pretty susceptible to bullets. "

Which is why the Batman and Flash rogues work in spite of being so underpowered - they're not up against people who'll just shoot them and move onto the next problem.

But didn't Whiplash have some sort of energy whip? I only remember him from the Avengers arcade game.

Templar — I don't know that I'd want the popped collar, but the super-long ponytail would have been kind of awesome. Don't you think?

Christ Iron Man has some of the lamest villains on the block! But I still have no doubt that this film will be great.

Where the hell is he, at the Daytona 500? Has Tony Stark gone redneck?

@Stephen - Yes, that works fine in the comics, and in the recent Batman movies, but Iron Man kills people in the movies, scads of them in fact.

I'm pretty sure that if he saw some energy-whip equipped maniac threatening a crowd, he'd shoot him with those shoulder mounted gun things he used to save the hostages in IM1. He doesn't have to shoot him in the head, but Whiplash's arms are pretty exposed there, and he'd not be much of a threat without the use of them.

This guy's no threat to Iron Man at all. It's laughable to think that he'd last more than a second. Target the elbows and shoot. Fight over.

And none of that "he'll whip the bullets from the air" nonsense either. Iron Man's about technology, it's basically a Science Fiction show. If this guy can whip a bullet from the air, then IM2 is going to have the same problem as X-Men 3: Too cartoony.

Seriously, if Whiplash does it even once, that'll violate my suspension of disbelief instantly. What works in a comic book doesn't work in movies, at least when you've set an expectation of plausibility. If it were a Kung-Fu movie, then sure, he can do that because that's what we expect in a Kung-Fu movie. So far though, IM has been utterly plausible advanced technology. Even migrating it into the Avengers will still keep the expectation that without a super-soldier serum, radiation, or some other Super-Human ability, everyone we've seen is a normal human.

Unless Whiplash is a Mutant, he's not a plausible foe for the movie genre.

/gets off soapbox.

Might still be a fun movie though :-)

Isn't Whiplash still currently dead? Back when Quesada was on the book, Tony's armor gained sentience in a lightning strike, killed Whiplash, and wasn't too broken up about it.

@zadl: Adrian Veidt caught a bullet...maybe that wrecked the movie for you, but i dug it ever so much.

There's probably a reason he has an arc reactor mounted on his chest, beyond just energy whips. If they want to say it powers a combat computer that enhances his reflexes, i'd actually find that easier to believe than lightsaber whips, but neither is likely to take me out of an iron man movie.

Also, while there's no way that's his final costume, because you're not going to sell action figures of Max Cady's/Jack Sparrow's kid in prison pants, but nobody seems to want to consider that he could have a force field? Iron Man is supposed to have a force field in the comics, no?

I don't know the comic books so I don't know if this is a faithful design or not, but that really isn't a very intimidating villain.

Does he get a full power suit or something later on or will he be vulnerable to rockets or even simple bullets for the duration of the film? I know Mickey Rourke is one tough bastard, but even he isn't bullet/rocket proof. It looks more like an exo-skeleton for someone who's been paralysed...

I'm with Rob, the first thing I thought of when I saw this was Road Warrior, here's hoping that Iron Man joins forces with Mad Max to take Whiplash out.

The handles of his whips don't look long enough for him to wield effectively. He's not wearing insulated gloves either so unless just the very ends are electrifed, his hands will be melted off.
Crimson Dynamo + Whiplash = Omega Red?

Templar — I don't know that I'd want the popped collar, but the super-long ponytail would have been kind of awesome. Don't you think?

It has a certain je ne sais quoi, yes...

Where the hell is he, at the Daytona 500? Has Tony Stark gone redneck?

Redneck NASCAR fans, billionaire weapons designers, they're all just Evil White Males. Get with the Program! ;)

@sk - "Adrian Veidt caught a bullet...maybe that wrecked the movie for you, but i dug it ever so much."

Well, yeah, but Adrian had ninja training, and therefore the expectation of nearly super-human abilities. It could also have been that he had a bullet proof suit that he pried the bullet from (it looked pretty durable to me). I honestly don't remember the exact sequence in the film, and can't recall if we actually saw him catching it in super slow motion or what.

If Whiplash does have a force field, or a super reflex enhancing targeting computer thing then that'd be OK. I'd be cool with that.

Even though he's hardly an A-list villain.

@ZADL "Even though he's hardly an A-list villain."

Whiplash isn't even B list. He's C list, tops. I only know about him from the old Iron Man cartoon.

Hey this is being filmed right now at Downey Studios!! It's right cross the street from my in-laws! LOL... I've seen some stars but now I'll have to watch out for Capt. Bondage!!

I couldn't help but snicker at that picture. But you've gotta admit, it is pretty faithful.

I couldn't help but snicker at that picture. But you've gotta admit, it is pretty faithful.

I prefer his Blacklash look:
http://www.comicvine.com/blacklash/29-24541/blacklash/108-5675/bl10/105-687324/?offset=4
He only wore the S&M kit twice before Iron Man's armor slew him for being lame. The giant collar and green ponytail were the only things keeping this loser alive.
Dreadknight, Ghost, Spy Master, Blizzard, Fin Fang Foom, Living Laser, and Titanium Man are all much better villains.

Once more I proof my lack of any comic knowledge..but Iron Man is a guy in a sort of powered combat suit? A bit like a Clan Elemental right? How is a guy with a whip an enemy for him??

You know, that picture doesn't necessarily mean there's a NASCAR event in the movie...it could be just the area where they have all the extras sit in between takes. When I was an extra for Spider-Man 1 (for the Unity Festival scenes, which ironically enough were also filmed in Downey) they had a big set of bleachers off to the side for us to sit on while the crew prepared each scene.

Yeh check out the cops at the bottom of the bleachers - I don't think it's a racetrack

Let's hope they're keeping the Mandarin being in this moive a secret

It's not a NASCAR track it's the Monico Grand Prix.

This photo is of the suit in its early stages, don't worry about the final product.