10 Potentially Great Marvel Movie Villains (That Were Grossly Underused)

A waste so grievous that Mickey Rourke himself still harbours ill feelings on the matter, Whiplash and his sympathetic motivations should have been the star villain of Iron Man 2, not second to Tony Stark's issues or the bombastic and incompetent Justin Hammer. Though Hammer was, in fact, a fantastic villain in his own right, bumbling yet oddly threatening with Sam Rockwell's fun portrayal, it was a shame to see such a personality as Rourke lose out.

Ivan Vanko's character and motivations would have solidified just how much harm Howard Stark brought about in his carelessness for the consequences of his decisions. Tony could have grappled with the idea that Howard's legacy meant Vanko's ruin, instead of simply fighting off a set of drones, and having a one-off battle with a man with electric whips.

The idea that Howard, despite leaving Tony with an unasked for legacy and conveniently saving his life in the process, shortchanged the people in his life for his life's work, would have been made much clearer with Vanko's story in the forefront to accompany Howard's apathy towards his own son in his video. Many possibilities, largely wasted on one of the MCU's lesser films.