Crimson Dynamo

Real Name
Anton Vanko

Occupation
Employee of Stark Enterprises; formerly weapon manufacturer of the Soviet Union

Citizenship
Soviet Union, Russia

Place of Birth
Russia

Known Relatives
Unknown

Group Affiliation
Formerly Communist Party (Soviet Union)

Education
Masters degree in electrical engineering

Height
6'0"

Weight
240 lbs. (presumed)

Eyes
Brown

Hair
Bald, Black

Powers
None

Abilities
A genius level intellect that allows him to create a range of sophisticated inventions, most notably his Crimson Dynamo armor.

Other Info
Anton Vanko was a reknowed scientist and the greatest expert on electricity of the east block. Due to his brilliance, Anton was funded by the state and had a few labs within the Soviet Union. It was there that he created the Jet Paralyzer technology, the costume for the Unicorn, and the Crimson Dynamo armor. (The Crimson Dynamo armor enhances the wearer's strength, and it can emit enough volts of electricity to short-circuit electronic devices--destroying and manipulating most machines.) With its red covering, Anton named his armor "Crimson Dynamo." (Click on the highlighted name above to learn about the Unicorn.)

Later, Vanko was sent on a mision to destroy the guardian of Stark Enterprises, Iron Man. He eventually even battled Iron Man. However, Tony Stark realized that brute force could not defeat Vanko and decided to fool him. Stark said Vanko's bosses wanted to kill Vanko after the first successful test of the armor. From this, Vanko decided to switch sides and escaped to America with Stark. (Neither one knew, but Iron Man's trick turned out to be true--the Soviet government planned to kill and replace Vanko). (To learn about Iron Man, click on the highlighted name above.)

Once in the United States, Vanko was immediately hired by Stark. He soon became a valued employee of Stark Enterprises and became a good friend of Tony Stark.

The Kremlin didn't take well to turn coats and sent Boris Turgenev and Black Widow to kill Vanko and retrieve the Crimson Dynamo armor. Boris was successful in subduing Vanko and stole his armor and began using it. However, Vanko used an experimental laser that he had been working on to battle Turgenev. Unfortunately, the weapon exploded and it ended up killing both Turgenov and Vanko. Anton Vanko died for the country he saw now as a home. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names. Note: Beware of the Black Widow's bio page due to her form-fitting/revealing outfits.)

Vanko's legacy has continued for many years as about twelve others have taken on the name of the "Crimson Dynamo"--some good and some evil.

To learn just a bit more about the original Crimson Dynamo, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Crimson_Dynamo_%28Anton_Vanko%29.

In the movie, Iron Man 2, Anton Vanko is portrayed as the dying father of Ivan Vanko (aka Whiplash). Ivan's character is basically a mix of the Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash. The Vanko family name is connected with being the Crimson Dynamo, and the armor worn by Ivan in the movie is similar to the Crimson Dynamo armor. However, the electric whips are Whiplash's signature weapons. So, basically, Marvel Entertainment messed with the comic book story lines again. However, I thought they did an awesome job with the movie!