Blacklash

Blacklash
File:MS 04302005 0007.jpg Art By Bob Layton
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(as Whiplash) Tales of Suspense #97, (as Blacklash) Iron Man #146
In-story information
Alter ego	Mark Scarlotti
Team affiliations	Former agent of the Maggia, former partner to the Melter, Man-Bull, and the Wraith, associate of Justin Hammer
Notable aliases	Whiplash
Abilities	Expert at the use of whips. Other assorted specialized weaponry.

Blacklash (aka Whiplash) is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Universe. He is a master of the whip, and frequent foe of Iron Man.

Character History

Mark Scarlotti was contracted by the Maggia crime syndicate while working for a degree in Engineering at Rennselaer Poly-Tech. Upon graduation; he went to work for the Maggia as a weapons designer. With Maggia funds, he developed several technological weapons, the greatest among which was a steel-fiber whip capable of penetrating virtually any substance short of Adamantium. A natural athlete, Scarlotti practiced with the whip until he became an expert at it. Then, craving more excitement and money than weapons design afforded, Scarlotti asked to use his whip as a special costumed agent. He dubbed himself Whiplash and served the Maggia well, his reputation established early on by battling Iron Man to a stalemate. Eventually, Scarlotti was assigned to go undercover for the Maggia, and under the name Mark Scott, he infiltrated Stark International's Cincinnati plant and became its head of research. There, he again encountered Iron Man and escaped the battle unscratched.

Quitting the undercover assignment without his superiors' permission, Whiplash joined forces with the Melter and the Man-Bull to vie for the Golden Globe of Power offered by the mysterious extradimensional being, the Black Lama. It was then that Whiplash was decisively defeated by Iron Man for the first time, he was taken to jail, and his identity was learned by the authorities. The Maggia paid his bail and took him on once again as a contract agent. On assignment, Whiplash encountered the Wraith, whose mental powers drove Whiplash to the brink of insanity.

Upon recovery, he was sent to Ryker's Island Prison to serve time for his various crimes. He was freed by criminal financier Justin Hammer, who was getting a small army of costumed criminals to finance their operations in exchange for a share of the profits. Hammer provided Scarlotti with the funds and facilities to totally revamp and update his arsenal. Scarlotti renamed himself Blacklash, and went back to the Maggia as a freelance mercenary to look for an assignment. The Maggia contracted Blacklash for a job, but despite his new arsenal was soundly defeated by Iron Man before he could complete it. Demoralized by his recent string of defeats, troubled by family problems stemming from the public revelation of his criminal activities, and shunned by the Maggia, Blacklash tried to make ends meet by taking any mercenary work that comes his way.

Blacklash was seemingly killed by Iron Man's sentient armor.

Other Media

In the 1994 Iron Man animated series, Blacklash served as one of the minions of the Mandarin. He also appeared in the series' Armor Wars adaption, along Blizzard.

External Link

• Blacklash at MarvelDirectory.com