IMHO:Actually Whiplash aka Vanko in IM2 is a rather classic super villain that you would expect from a comic book. Vanko is Stark's mirror opposite and creative/brainy counterpart (Stane is just a board-room back-stabber). Like Tony, He too was forced to use his knowledge for selfish purpose. In a way, Vanko & Stark kinda stand for the writers, the creative people in H'wood, how sometimes they too get exploited (underpaid, manipulated to write junks) by the suits.The makers of IM2 chose instead to fill IM2 with very boring myth-arc fillers for TA. You should take out the whole Black Widow-Nick Fury stuff, and instead they should flesh out the conflict between Stark & Vanko, focus on their game of one-up-manship. IM3, while the most entertaining of the three for the GA (a lot of comic moments), feels light on the action and super-heroics. It is great to see Tony go MacGyver, but a Marvel movie should focus on the superhero's "super heroic" capability.