Aerial Chase
"Marvel's Magnetic Field Rotation"
After the flight system was engaged, the Whip Lock Armor did not immediately activate the Rocket booster system to bring Ivan Vanko from a high-speed descent to a standstill. His shock absorption system was not that good; doing so would have caused the powerful overload to instantly destroy his cardiopulmonary function, and he would have either died or fainted. The only option was to gradually activate the Rocket booster to slow him down.
The Russian blood flowing in his veins had a profound influence on Ivan Vanko. Even though the blueprints provided by Wei Xiuming were very comprehensive in terms of human-computer interaction and protection for the wearer, Ivan Vanko intentionally or unintentionally weakened and cut these aspects during his improvement process, making way for his personal style of weapon system with the saved space.
Just like in the original movie plot, using a bunch of junk, Ivan Vanko cobbled together a rudimentary Arc Reactor and a crude Mechanical Exoskeleton with virtually no protective capabilities. Then, wielding two Energy Whip, he charged at Tony Stark. Thanks to the tough physique honed in the harsh Siberian climate, even after being rammed several times by bodyguard Happy's car, he still managed to put up a fight. It was only after Tony Stark traded injuries for injuries and took down Stark's Arc Reactor that the tide turned.
In terms of protecting the pilot, the Iron Man suit is undoubtedly far superior. In Avengers, when Tony Stark was thrown off the top of Stark Tower by Loki, the latest generation Iron Man suit, which was put on emergency gear, braked less than three meters from the ground and activated its anti-gravity device to take Tony Stark into the sky. During this time, Tony did not feel any discomfort.
Besides the difference in designers' styles, there is also a gap in technical expertise.
Tony Stark is backed by the massive industrial processing capacity of Stark Industries, the technological reserves of America's top technology companies, and his good relationship with the United States. military, which allows him to access many materials beyond those used in civilian production.
This was the culmination of an accumulation that began during Howard Stark's era—a vast industrial empire and network of social relationships.
On the other hand, Ivan Vanko has nothing but the Siberian cold wind and the knowledge his father gave him. These intangible assets are partially ahead of the times but overall behind, just like Lucia today. She stands at the forefront of the times by relying on the dividends left over from the CCCP era, but she is inevitably being left behind by the times.
It's important to understand that even without highly skilled individuals like Howard Stark who could produce groundbreaking technology, CCCP scientists still made breakthroughs in vertical takeoff and landing technology for fighter jets. However, due to the limitations of the era, it couldn't be put into actual combat. Later, this technology was sold to the United States, becoming one of the United States's trump cards.
Even with the help of Wei Xiuming and Nick Fury, the fledgling Conglomerate B was unable to close the gap between Ivan Vanko and Tony Stark to almost nothing.
After half a minute of gradual deceleration, the Whip Lock Armor activated its Rocket propulsion system, propelling the heavy armor upwards and steadily closing in on Tony Stark.
Once they got close enough, the energy weapons attached to the flight armor opened fire. A barrage of energy bullets caused Tony Stark, who was focused on something else, to lose his balance and tumble downwards like a kite with a broken string.
J.A.R.V.I.S. quickly took control of the Iron Man suit, unleashing beams of repulsive particles of varying degrees from the thrusters throughout his body, regaining Tony Stark's balance.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., what systems in this armor set can defeat that guy?"
The alarms on his Iron Man suit kept going off, forcing Tony Stark to fly at high speeds and make evasive maneuvers to avoid the enemy's energy bullets.
"I'm sorry, sir, this suit does not have any weapon systems other than the palm cannons and the repulsion cannons on the chest."
The palm cannon is just another application of the repulsive particle beam of the anti-gravity device. It may be able to bully enemies with poor mobility, but it is useless against highly mobile enemies like the Whip Lock armor that can instantly create distance and hide outside the range. Moreover, the charging method of the palm cannon means that its firing speed is the same as that of the terrible Germany 37mm anti-aircraft gun.
Tony Stark was starting to regret his decision. His two new suits combined high mobility with long-range firepower, making them perfect for this situation. The laser beams that could slice through Abomination's body could also slice through its armor.
"Sir, we suggest you speed up and leave. Their Arc Reactor is an older generation product, and its output Arc Reactor and range are far inferior to yours. The reason they can compete with you now is because their armor design is more aerodynamic, resulting in less air resistance."
Tony Stark felt a sense of urgency. He had always viewed others with a vision that was ahead of its time. For example, the Iron Man suit was the epitome of superhuman strength, capable of easily overpowering United States fighter jets with its powerful energy output. But now that someone with similar technology had appeared, his arrogance subsided considerably.
Running away is shameful, but it's useful.
Unwilling to give up, Tony Stark took one last look at the structural diagram of the Iron Man suit and discovered a device that, while not helping him defeat Whip Lock, could at least embarrass his opponent.
Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko was relentlessly pursuing Tony Stark. He had abandoned some systems that protected the pilot, and after adding a flight module, he relied on the Arc Reactor, which was a level behind in performance, to relentlessly close the distance with the Iron Man suit. He kept firing his air-to-air energy weapons, forcing Tony Stark to dodge and thus slowing down his opponent to close the gap.
Just as the distance between the two sides was closing to a certain point, and the weapons prepared for him were sure to hit the other side, a phone call inopportunely dialed into the communication system inside his armor.
"Whip Lock, the objective of this operation has been achieved; we can withdraw now."
It was Deathstroke, assigned by Baron Zemo to work alongside him.
Upon hearing the other person's voice, Ivan Vanko was somewhat displeased. In just the time it took to say one sentence, he had lost sight of Tony Stark and it took him some effort to re-lock onto him.
"No, I can kill Tony Stark right now, I'm about to get my revenge!"
The education he received from a young age made Ivan Vanko exceptionally paranoid when dealing with members of the Stark Family.
"This is the boss's order. Your armor technology isn't up to the level to defeat Tony Stark. Continuing to entangle him will only lead to nothing."
Nick Fury, disguised as Deathstroke, said this, but that's what he really meant.
Having Ivan Vanko exert pressure on Tony Stark rather than delivering a fatal blow would have been enough, but things took a turn for the worse than Nick Fury had anticipated— Stark Industries, a massive technology company and a supplier of high-end weaponry to the United States military, why wouldn't Tony Stark equip his armor with a few more weapons?
A back-and-forth battle would be acceptable; why be chased and beaten all the way now?