Maybe.
When Mickey Rourke was first announced for Iron Man 2, there was some confusion as to the role he was actually taking. One trade pegged him as Crimson Dynamo, a sort of Russian equivalent to Iron Man. Another claimed he’d be Whiplash, one of those oh-so-Marvel second-tier villains.
Now Robert Downey Jr. tells MTV that Rourke is definitely not playing Crimson Dynamo, but he’s evasive on the Whiplash question. “I can neither confirm nor deny that,” Downey said. “Or maybe it’s some semblance of both.” And by that I think (after watching the accompanying video clip) he meant a little of confirming/denying, not of the two characters. I think.
Keep in mind, too, that Rourke isn’t actually signed, and there were those recent reports that Marvel was lowballing him with their offer.
Watch the interview clip, though. Downey promises no villain overload, and says the film will be “three times more fun and strange.” Is he making a comparison to Iron Man, or to other superhero films? And he talks about his next film, CarrieBoy, which sounds like a film I’d give some teeth to see.