Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash may want to cover up some. At least if he’s going to be going head to head with Shellhead in Iron Man 2. This is the official first picture of Rourke in costume as the movie’s villain, and he looks like a steampunk version of Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises. I like it!

The picture appears in USA Today, which says the image takes place at the Monaco Gran Prix. How does that fit into the story? Director Jon Favreau is staying mum, but he does say that the power source on that suit looks like Iron Man’s on purpose.

The chracter’s name is Ivan Venko; as far as I can tell that means this Whiplash is new to the movies. Will he have other aspects of the comic character? Only time will tell.