Iron Man 2

(It's actually a gold alloy, but I digress)Marvel Stunned audiences around the globe with its release of Iron Man. This smart movie is one of the few that combines a good story line with special effects, unlike many other movies so oriented on special effects that the audience never gets the full story that they should. Iron Man does a wonderful job introducing the origin of the suited hero as well as introducing S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury to the world preparing for bigger and better things on the horizon. It also helped in revamping Robert Downey Jr.'s comeback to fame. Since its release and the release of Tropic Thunder, Downey Jr. has been on the fast track to the top and will be starring as Sherlock Holmes this December. He has also made a cameo appearance as Tony Stark in The Incredible Hulk and was signed on to do Iron Man 2, which was green lit the weekend of Iron Man's release.

Word about Iron Man 2 says that it promises to be a good film like its predecessor, but marvel has not had much luck in the realm of sequels. On top of that, their choice for the featured villain is none other than Whiplash, a Russian man with mechanical whips, and you can bet that he knows how to use them. Now, it would be a big mistake for Marvel to chance what could be the highest grossing film of all time upon its release on a villain with a couple of whips, and someone over there was thinking in the name of common sense because they decided to vamp up the character. Instead of using the same idea from the first movie with the villain being another guy in an Iron Man suit, and instead of using a guy with a couple of whips and not much else, they decided to combine the ideas. Instead of the wimpy Whiplash comic readers know, and might love, Iron Man 2 will feature Whiplash as a cross between the original character, and the Crimson Dynamo, a Russian who has his own version of a power suit. So what we will see in the year to come is a villain with a variation on a suit giving him enhanced abilities along with a set of powerful, mechanical whips.

Marvel released pictures of the whip-wielding villain, and many are unimpressed. It appears that whiplash is just a man a little past his prime with a couple straps, an arc reactor in his chest, and a couple of really big whips. This doesn't necessarily mean the movie is doomed, it simply means that Mickey Rourke needs to be doing the best acting of his life to make up for it, and we all know that he can do it. His performance in Sin City proves that Mick knows what it takes to be a tough guy fighting for his cause, and as long as he performs as well as he did there, this movie should have no problems succeeding.

If you're having trouble looking past Mickey's appearance in the film, there is another option. We can expect to see another appearance from Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts once again, if you happen to be a fan, but the best part of this film will be the lovely Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow. She will be seen throughout as the sexy spy working for the Russian government, and from the looks of her outfits in the film men won't be able to take their eyes off her.