Warning: This article contains spoilers for Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Bolova
Marvel just resurrected the Red Guardian, Russia’s equivalent to Captain America. In Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Bolova, by writer Devin Grayson (Gotham Knights), artist Michele Bandini (Marauders) and colorist Erick Arciniega (Excalibur), Yelena stumbles across the Red Guardian imprisoned deep within the bowels of a former SHIELD facility while searching for a missing scientist.
Created to be the Soviet Union’s equivalent to Captain America, The Red Guardian first appeared in The Avengers #43 in 1967. A product of the Cold War, the Red Guardian was Alexei Shostakov, a former Soviet Air Force pilot, KGB agent and husband of Black Widow. Chosen to be the Red Guardian, he received extensive combat training and ran afoul of Captain America and the Avengers. While Black Widow would eventually defect to America, Alexei stayed the course and became a hero to the Soviet people. The character has proven versatile, sticking around through the fall of the Soviet Union; there have been several different versions as well, but Alexei remains the most popular. He will be crossing over into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2021’s Black Widow, where he will be played by David Harbour.
Yelena Bolova, once Natasha Romanov’s successor as Black Widow, discovers the Red Guardian imprisoned deep within a former SHIELD facility in the Antarctic. She had been sent there to retrieve a scientist, Durst, who in actuality had gone rogue. After freeing the Guardian from his prison, the two fight off Durst’s goons; Yelena makes for an escape craft and the Guardian stays to fend off Durst’s henchmen. At the end of the issue, readers see the Red Guardian emerging from the ruins of the building, looking angry and ready for revenge.
The Red Guardian is still committed to Soviet and Russian ideals. When Yelena asks why he did not join his captors, he informs her they tried to get him to, but he refused, even in the face of violence because he refused to work with, “American pigs.” He lectures Yelena on serving the state and how glorious it is. He extols the virtues of Stalin and promises to make a new Russian Empire, one for the “Russian people.”
Seeing as the Red Guardian is set to make his big screen debut next year, now is the perfect time to bring him back. With his former wife Black Widow becoming more and more of a star in the Marvel Universe, he may not be far behind, especially not with fan-favorite David Harbour in the role. He is a compelling character—a man so committed to a fallen empire he is still fighting their battles decades later and fans can hope to learn more about him both in the books and at the movies soon.