Marvel: I am Iron Man

Ivan Vanko will never forget the name "Stark".

Ivan Vanko's life can be described as a tragedy up to this point, starting from childhood.

He didn't have many memories of his childhood, only a vague recollection that he was in a dilapidated house. The unfortunate house often had power outages, and they always seemed to happen on days when it was snowing heavily.

Little Ivan would often shiver from the cold indoors. He could only wrap his father's tattered cotton-padded coat tightly around himself to try and retain the little warmth he had left.

The physical cold was actually just one of the easier difficulties he had to face.

Ivan's mother seemed to have died a long time ago, and he didn't have a deep impression of her. His father had been an alcoholic since he could remember, always drunk, and when drunk, he was unpredictable, liked to curse, and even beat Ivan, leaving him covered in bruises.

But Ivan didn't hold a grudge against his father because he knew it wasn't his father's fault. As long as the father was sober, he was still a good father, and usually he would sincerely apologize to Ivan after sobering up.

Unfortunately, my father became less and less lucid later on.

However, Ivan remembered the name from his father's curses when he was drunk, even when he was very young.

Stark.

Damn the Stark family, it's all their fault. Father said they didn't deserve this life. They should have lived in big houses, leading a life of luxury like the other rich people in the penthouse.

The father often claimed to be a genius who had invented something that could change the world. Stark, on the other hand, was a thief who stole his invention to make a fortune, while the father and son were left to live a miserable life in this dilapidated shack.

My father died earlier this year.

Despite his alcoholic and unpredictable father, he was Ivan's only family. Ivan was devastated and almost couldn't face reality. The only thing that allowed him to force himself to keep going was hatred.

It was a deep-seated hatred he had harbored for the Stark family all his life.

That's why he used the blueprints left by his father and pieced together parts by stealing and scavenging to complete his "arc reactor".

He also crafted a simple exoskeleton suit for himself, which was powered by an "arc reactor." While not as advanced as Iron Man's full-body armor, it was enough to provide him with superhuman strength.

He chose a whip as his primary weapon because Ivan had some martial arts training, and his most proficient weapon was the long whip. The arc reactor powered his whips through his exoskeleton armor, giving them the power to cleave steel.

This weapon was entrusted to him by his deceased father and then completed through his own hands; it was the trump card for revenge for two generations of father and son.

Ivan arrived a week before the Monaco Grand Prix. He knew Stark would be attending, and since it was far from New York and not Stark's home ground, it would be much easier to make a move.

Two days ago, Ivan saw a news report on TV saying that Stark had ostentatiously booked a local hotel, which had caused quite a stir.

This only fueled Ivan's contempt for Stark. He thought of the miserable days he and his father had spent in that dilapidated house, while this man had lived a life of luxury, able to buy an entire building as temporary accommodation with a wave of his hand. And all that wealth had been plundered from him and his father; the more he thought about it, the more his hatred for him intensified.

However, Ivan never imagined that what he had heard was always his father's side of the story, and that he knew nothing about the entanglement between his father and Howard Stark back then.

Whether the Arc Reactor was actually created by his father, and whether the blame truly lies entirely with the Stark family as his father claims, is actually unsubstantiated. However, Ivan has hated the Starks since childhood and has no doubt about his father's words; he simply wishes he could skin the entire Stark family alive to vent his hatred.

Now that only Tony Stark remains in the Stark family, he can only seek revenge on this one person, which is a boon for the thief.

However, thanks to Stark's high profile, he was spared the trouble of investigating and staking out the location.

If Ivan couldn't track down Stark's whereabouts, he originally planned to make his move on the day of the race. Only on the day of the race could Ivan be certain that Stark would be there.

Now, media reports have given him a new option. Now he can break into the hotel late at night when the other party is least on guard and take Stark's life.

He figured this plan was more reliable than the original. The day of the race would be crowded and chaotic, with a large police presence and security presence already in place. The original plan, if they acted at the racetrack, meant Ivan was prepared that even if he succeeded, he wouldn't be able to escape. Even if he killed Stark, he would certainly be arrested.

Therefore, taking action on the spot was originally a suicide mission.

But now we can go directly to the hotel where they are staying, make a quick move, and leave as soon as we're done. We might be able to get out alive.

The plan went even more smoothly than Ivan had imagined. He disguised himself as a plumber during the day and infiltrated the hotel, remaining hidden until late at night.

When the night was deep and quiet, he secretly went to the floor he had scouted beforehand and found Stark's room—thankfully, this rich madman had booked all the rooms, and only this one window was lit up in the middle of the night, making it easy to find out the other person's exact room number.

Ivan walked down the empty corridor and activated the core in his chest. The arc reactor lit up with a beautiful yet dangerous white light, and the released energy transformed into high temperatures that flowed throughout his body along the veins of his exoskeleton. The leaping white arcs of electricity melted his plumber's jacket into pieces.

Ivan strode forward, dragging the light whip in his hands, and walked straight to the door of the room.

With a single lash of his whip, the door was easily cleaved open as if it were a thin sheet of cardboard.

Ivan burst through the door. As soon as he entered, he saw Tony Stark emerge, draped in a towel. Stark, startled by the sight, cried out, "Who are you? How did you get in? Security... Happy! Where's Happy?"

But no one responded.

Ivan's lips curled into a ferocious yet satisfied smile.

It's been too long, far too long. All those years of forbearance seem to have been for this very moment. Outsiders simply cannot imagine the satisfaction that seeing such fear and terror on Tony Stark's arrogant face could bring him.

He even considered waiting for the other person to beg for mercy before taking action, because ending the pleasure too quickly would force it to end.

But Ivan knew that things could get complicated if he waited too long, so he suppressed the thought and simply said, "Your death is coming. Say hello, Stark."

As he spoke, he unleashed a slash with his light whip.

However, just as the whip lashed across Tony's body, his image flickered as if distorted. The powerful whip pierced straight through him, splitting a table behind him in two.

It was as if it were just a ghost, visible but untouchable.

Ivan Vanko's expression changed drastically at that moment.

Holographic projection!

I was fooled!