As much faith that I have in Favreau and Downey, I'd be kind of disappointed if Whiplash is one of the main villains in IM2. I just don't really see the potential in the character for him to be a primary villain.
VileOne:
I am familiar with the outfit... I just don't know why you assume it would be so great to see Rourke in that get-up??? You keep saying, "Who wouldn't want to see Rourke in the gimp mask?" as if it is some perfect Shang Ra-la moment in moviedom... Anyway, it is better than the plummed head, swashbuckler costume I suppose...
Having Omega Red in this movie would be a stretch for me. It would be a cheap ploy to add a villain just as a cool factor and not to mention he has no real ties to Iron Man.
I'm with you... It just seems that WL would be way out of his league... I mean IM faced two F22s and withstood an 125 mm tank shell... he can fly faster than sound, and has enough fire power to send a man through a wall. Plus, calling Rourke's character a bruiser, then giving him whips (even being hi-tech whips) is a total misfire.
Fav's has been borderline obsessed in his interviews with maintaining an air of realism in the IM films... Having a guy with whips (gimp-mask or plumed helmet) is a fail on that front.
Remember guys, Iron Man have a tons of villains, and many of these use an armor. Not only Crymson Dinamo..I think Titanium Man, Firepower ecc.
True, but what can be done differently with them, that wasn't already done with Iron Monger in the first film? I understand that the Iron Man world is surrounded by characters in iron suits but I'm betting Favreau wants to give the audience something somewhat new. Otherwise it's too much of the same. That's why I can understand going the Whiplash route, at least he has the coils.
So you want Iron Man to keep fighting guys in these same type of armor suits? They did that already with the first film: Iron Man vs Iron Monger. How much different would it be with Iron Man vs Crimson Dynamo. It's been there, done that. And I'm sure Favreau is aware of that, he will want to keep things as fresh as possible and that would include a villain that's not as similar as to the one from the previous film.
It's why I believe we will get Whiplash. A re-imagined Whiplash with an enhanced suit but not one that looks like Iron Monger all over again, and then add in the coils and at we have something that looks different for Iron Man to fight.
I don't think it would be a travesty... Monger was in there for like ten minutes... hardly a Transformers lengthy battle. Whiplash is a C-list villain at best.

This really lacks imagination:
1) IM was an origin film... IM2 would be a development of the world around Stark. An Armored villain coming from a corporate competitor would be entirely appropriate - not merely a rehash.
2) Ironmonger showed up in the last 10-15 minutes... and the fight was a big brawl. There is plenty of un-explored, high-flying, aerial battles for IM to have still... They have not been there, they have not done that.
3) Ironmonger was a corporate megalomanic, drunk with power... who wanted to personally kill Tony Stark so that he could have control. CD would be a product being developed for mass production and sales to governments, militaries, private buyers... Hammer is a business man that sees the next stage in new weapons technology, since Stark is "out" as IM, and wantst to compete (its an arms race after all). This story would be Tony realizing that this technology is to dangerous for mass distribution, and is out to shut it down (rather than being the target like with Monger, he is the one targetting).
4) CD could be piloted by a seasoned military veteran, and would actually be able to out class Stark in flying and combat... But Stark has a better mousetrap, and uses smarts and tactics (along with his suits fancy gizmos) to win the day. Further elevating him as the man, and showing him constantly upgrading.
So I entirely disagree with you that the way to be "fresh" is to get away from an armored character. Just because the two villains are armored, doesn't make them any more similar that Defoe's GG and Franco's GG.
VileOne:
I am familiar with the outfit... I just don't know why you assume it would be so great to see Rourke in that get-up??? You keep saying, "Who wouldn't want to see Rourke in the gimp mask?" as if it is some perfect Shang Ra-la moment in moviedom... Anyway, it is better than the plummed head, swashbuckler costume I suppose...
I'm with you... It just seems that WL would be way out of his league... I mean IM faced two F22s and withstood an 125 mm tank shell... he can fly faster than sound, and has enough fire power to send a man through a wall. Plus, calling Rourke's character a bruiser, then giving him whips (even being hi-tech whips) is a total misfire.
I just looked at the IM2 imdb page and I'm shocked at how many sites ran the Downey interview as "Rourke won't be in IM2!" instead of what Downey was actually saying, "Rourke's character in IM2 wouldn't be Crimson Dynamo"
RIP basic reading/listening comprehension![]()
Sure, it could either of those. And it could be one of IM's other C-list rogues. They aren't any more obscure than Iron Monger was.That's how I interpreted it...but how would that leave us with him playing? Titanium, Whip lash, maybe a more outside the box character than the obvious one...