Anton Vanko (MCU)

Anton Vanko was a Soviet scientist and Ivan Vanko's father. He used to be partners with Howard Stark at Stark Industries. Alond with Howard, he created the first Arc Reactor.

Betraying Stark
Together, Vanko and Howard Stark worked on developing the Arc Reactor technology under the title of 'The Unity Project'. However, they had an ideological disagreement. Anton wanted to use the research to make money, while Howard wanted to help humanity with it.[5] In 1967, it was discovered that Anton Vanko was guilty of espionage. Howard Stark took credit for all the Arc Reactor research and Anton was deported back to the U.S.S.R.. Because Anton couldn't develop the technology on his own for the Soviet Union, he was sent to Siberia for 20 years. He was able to return to Moscow following Premier Gorbachev’s call for democratization in January 1987, where he raised his son Ivan Vanko.

Death and Legacy
Years into his exile and slow downward spiral, Vanko was bitter and claimed before his death that it should be Ivan Vanko in Tony Stark's position being adored by the media, living a luxurious lifestyle, telling Ivan to use what he had been taught. After Anton's death, Ivan began constructing the Whiplash armor and plotting his revenge against Stark.