KGB agents and Soviet super soldiers: what Russian superheroes look like in American comics - ForumDaily
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KGB agents and Soviet super soldiers: what Russian superheroes look like in American comics

Recently, the world-famous Marvel studio presented its new film “Black Widow”. This is a solo film about an already beloved character - Natasha Romanoff. In addition, this is one of the few films that was released during the pandemic. And although Romanoff is the most famous heroine of American comics who is of Russian origin, she is far from the only one. Edition "Voice of America" talked about the most famous characters of the publishing house Marvel, which the authors of the comics have endowed with the Russian or Soviet past.

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Black Widow

  • First appearance: Tales of Suspense # 52, 1964
  • Fictitious name: Natasha Romanoff, Elena Belova
  • Screenings: Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America: The Other War, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and "Black Widow"
  • Actresses: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh

Black Widow is the most recognizable Russian-born Marvel comic book heroine to appear on the big screen. The character was first introduced to the cinema in 2010: then Natasha Romanoff (played by Scarlett Johansson) appeared in the film "Iron Man 2", and later in the movie "The Avengers", where she became part of the famous superhero team.

However, comic book readers met Natasha much earlier. Back in 1964, the Black Widow could be found in the pages of the Tales of Suspense comic. She was originally introduced as an enemy of Iron Man.

According to the comics, Black Widow is a native of Volgograd (at that time Stalingrad), who worked for Soviet intelligence. She later transferred from the KGB to SHIELD. (SHIELD) is an anti-crime organization whose agents are dedicated to a separate Marvel series.

According to one of the fictional biographies, the heroine spent her childhood in the so-called Red Room - an experimental program of Soviet intelligence for raising super-spies from orphan girls (this is exactly what the new film tells about).

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It is noteworthy that the creators of the character did not seek to make the name of the heroine sound familiar to Russian-speaking readers. The full name of the heroine - Natalia - is used extremely rarely, and publishers prefer the variant of the surname Romanoff (with two "f" at the end), rather than the surname Romanov. For Russian-speaking fans, the unusual middle name of the character - Alyanovna can cause bewilderment.

According to Marvel, not only Scarlett Johansson's heroine is called "widows", but all the Red Room graduates. One of them is Elena Belova - in the film her role was played by the actress Florence Pugh and, perhaps, it is in her performance that the character under the nickname Black Widow will continue its development in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Colossus

  • First appearance: Giant-Size X-Men # 1, 1975
  • Fictitious name: Peter Rasputin
  • Screenings: X-Men 2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool, Deadpool 2
  • Actors: Daniel Cadmore, Stefan Kapicic, André Tricote

If the story of Black Widow became, in many ways, a reflection of the Cold War, then the Colossus character appeared in the comics, probably due to the theme of inclusiveness.

We are talking about the X-Men - mutant superheroes, comics about which in the 1980s were the main project of the publishing house Marvel, eclipsing all other famous superhero teams (including the famous "Avengers" and "Fantastic Four").

One of the cross-cutting themes of mutant stories is multiculturalism. Among the X-Men are representatives of many races, peoples, religions and sexual orientations. The Colossus in their ranks is the most famous (though not the only) Russian character.

The fictional Colossus is a native of the real-life village of Ust-Ordynsky in the Irkutsk region. His real name is Peter Nikolaevich Rasputin, and his ability is to transform his skin into impenetrable armor. And while Colossus is not one of the main members of the X-Men, since its appearance in Marvel stories, he has been consistently present in most of the stories about the team of mutants.

Including on the movie screen: Colossus can be seen in the X-Men movie series, as well as in both parts of the Deadpool action movie. Neither his Russian name, nor the mention of his homeland appear in any film: the only reference to his origin is the strong East Slavic accent “gifted” to his character by the Serbian-Montenegrin actor Stefan Kapichech.

Magik

  • First appearance: Giant-Size X-Men # 1, 1975
  • Fictitious name: Ilyana Rasputin
  • Screenings: "New mutants"
  • Actress: Anya Taylor-Joy

When mentioning Colossus, one cannot but recall his sister, Ilyana. She appeared in the comic book pages at the same time as her brother, in 1975, but for eight years appeared in stories only as the younger sister of the Colossus.

The character was developed in the early 1980s: the authors endowed Ilyana with superpowers and gave her the superhero name Magic. From a minor character, Ulyana turned into one of the strongest mutants, endowed with the ability to create magic armor and weapons, as well as contact with the otherworldly magical world called Limbo.

And as often happens, the authors chose a not very familiar Russian name for her. In the comics, the character's name is Ilyana, which, despite the Siberian origin of the heroine, is far from the most common name in Russia (Ilyan's name is more common among speakers of Bulgarian, Romanian, and also Kalmyk languages).

Ilyana also appeared on the movie screen, where, however, her Russian origin is not mentioned. Anya Taylor-Joy plays her role in the 2020 film The New Mutants, which is a plot spin off of the classic X-Men story.

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Peter and Ilyana were not the only children in the family. The older brother, Mikhail, was a Soviet cosmonaut who was presumed dead in an explosion on a spaceship. According to the comics, Mikhail was able to survive and return to Earth - but as a supervillain.

But so far the elder brother of the Rasputin family has not appeared in the films.

Red Dynamo (Crimson Dynamo)

  • First appearance: Tales of Suspense # 46, 1963
  • Fictitious name: Anton Vanko (as well as over ten other heroes)
  • Screenings: partially "Iron Man 2"
  • Actor: Mickey Rourke

Almost every superhero in the comics is confronted by at least one villain with equal abilities. For Iron Man, such an antipode was the Red Dynamo.

Both characters, who appeared in 1963, were a reflection of the realities of the Cold War in popular culture. Iron Man, which, according to the comics, is the apotheosis of the development of military technology, was a kind of reference to the development of American technology in one of the "hottest" periods of confrontation between the United States and the USSR. Red Dynamo was conceived as a Soviet response to the American superhero - with similar fighting qualities, namely a red mechanical suit with different weapons.

In total, over a dozen different characters are known under the name Red Dynamo. Among them are KGB agent Alex Turgenov (who participated in military operations with the Black Widow), General of the Soviet Army Valentin Shatalov, student Gennady Gavrilov, agent Dmitry Bukharin, a native of Samara, and the creator of the original costume, inventor Anton Vanko.

Although the Red Dynamo was not mentioned in the cinema, a direct reference to it is the character Mickey Rourke in the movie "Iron Man 2". Rourke played the role of Ivan Antonovich Vanko, whose image is based on two Marvel characters at once - Red Dynamo and Whiplash.

In order to enter the character, Rourke visited the Butyrka prison and insisted that his character acquire a gold tooth and prison tattoos.

Red Guard

  • Original name: Red guardian
  • First appearance: Avengers # 43, 1967
  • Fictitious name: Alexey Lebedev, Alexey Shostakov and others
  • Screenings: "Black Widow"
  • Actor: David harbor

When writer Joe Simon created the image of Captain America in the 1940s, his task was to come up with an image of the ideal patriot, who could become a role model for Americans during the Second World War. In the pages of the comics, the Captain bravely confronted entire German armies, but during the Cold War, he needed a new adversary, corresponding to the new political reality.

This is how the Red Guard (in other translations - the Red Guard) appeared, which became the Soviet version of Captain America. Initially, he was introduced as his ally: the first Red Guard, known as Alexei Lebedev, fought side by side with Captain America on the fields of World War II.

However, the second Sentinel became an adversary for its American counterpart. Alexei Shostakov was a Soviet test pilot, from whom the authorities of the USSR made an instrument of Soviet propaganda, widely covering his exploits in the media. At the same time, the image of the Red Guard - from combat skills to costume - was an obvious "mirror" variation of his American rival.

The Red Guardian also appeared on the silver screen. In Black Widow, Alexei Shostakov is a Soviet intelligence agent in the United States: his dummy family imitates the life of ordinary Americans. In the film, his wife is Melina Vostokova, also a character in Marvel comics, known under the pseudonym The Iron Maiden.

The role of children in this dummy family was played by Natasha Romanoff and Elena Belova - the aforementioned Black Widows. In this, the film differs markedly from the plot canon: on the pages of comics, Shostakov and Romanoff are spouses.

Big Dipper (Ursa Major)

  • First appearance: Incredible Hulk # 258, 1981
  • Fictitious name: Michael Ursus
  • Screenings: "Black Widow"
  • Actor: Olivier Richter

One of the main associations that foreigners know about Russia has found its embodiment in superhero comics. In 1980, on the pages of a comic book about the green giant Hulk, a Soviet character appeared, not inferior to the American hero in strength and size - Mikhail Ursus, nicknamed the Big Dipper.

From the name it is obvious that the ability of this mutant is the ability to transform into a giant bear. His nickname - Ursus - is a reference to the constellation Ursa Major.

As a result, this character served as an inspiration for the creation of a number of similar heroes. In 2017, the film "The Defenders" was released on Russian screens, an attempt by director Sarik Andreasyan to repeat the success of Hollywood films about superhero teams. In the Russian film, there is the character Arsus, who is able to transform into a bear and has a name similar to that of an American superhero.

Marvel also presented their hero on the silver screen, albeit only in the form of a cameo. In "Black Widow", the Red Guard, being in a Russian prison, competes in arm wrestling with one of the prisoners. His role was played by the Danish Olivier Richter - one of the tallest bodybuilding actors (his height is 218 cm). In the credits, he is listed as Ursa: thus, Marvel introduced into the film a barely noticeable cameo of the famous Soviet superhero - albeit in human form.

Soviet Super-Soldiers / Winter Guard

  • First appearance: Incredible Hulk # 258, 1981

Red Guard and Red Dynamo are far from the only Soviet counterparts to American superheroes. In 1981, Marvel created a whole squad to be the answer to the American "Avengers". The new team was simply named - "Soviet Super Soldiers" - and was almost entirely formed from mirror adaptations of American heroes.

So, the team included the aforementioned Red Guardian and Red Dynamo (as analogues of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively), and in contrast to the American giant Hulk, the Big Dipper joined the team.

In addition to them, at various times the team included Lainiya Petrovna, nicknamed the Dark Star (her ability is to control dark matter) and the sorceress Phantasm. In contrast to the American hero Vision, the Sputnik robot was invented, capable of controlling cars.

Finally, the creators of superheroes decided to balance the presence of the Scandinavian Thunder God Thunder in the team of the "Avengers": this is how the Slavic god of thunder and lightning Perun and the deity Chernobog appeared in the team of "Soviet Super Soldiers".

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With the end of the Cold War, the theme of the Russian "response" on the pages of comics has remained in demand. Former Soviet superheroes turned into Russian superheroes: in 1998, the Iron Man comic featured the Winter Guard team, which included former members of the Soviet Super Soldiers.

It also included the same Big Dipper, Dark Star, Red Dynamo and Red Guardian (which also acquired a shield with the image of a two-headed eagle, which is more relevant for modern realities), and also new faces appeared: for example, Igor Stanchek, nicknamed Radioactive Human.

Exiles

  • First appearance: X-Factor Annual # 1, 1986

Not only the Avengers squad could boast of their Russian counterpart, but also their comic book counterparts - mutants from the X-Men team.

According to one of the Marvel stories, the Soviet regime perceived mutants - i.e. people with congenital supernormal abilities - a threat to security. Mutants were pursued and killed, and experiments were carried out on the most interesting representatives of the species. In the comics, the persecution led to the creation of a mutant underground in Siberia - the so-called group of Exiles.

The Exiles first appeared in 1986 in the X-Factor comic, a spin-off to the X-Men story. As is often the case in the Marvel Universe, superhero teams were often intertwined: for example, many of the Exiles were also part of the aforementioned squad of Soviet super soldiers and the Winter Guard.

The names of many of the team members had references to well-known Soviet and Russian images. One of the characters was named Simas Androvich, aka Iron Curtain - a heavyweight mutant with superhuman strength. The head of the detachment was considered Alexei Garnov, nicknamed Blind Faith - a kind of analogue of Professor Xavier, the leader of the X-Men, capable of controlling the mind. It is not known who exactly the authors were inspired by when creating this character, however, according to the plot of the comics, Garnov is described as a Russian Catholic priest.

Finally, a werewolf named Ilyich Lavrov also joined the Exiles team - in comics he is known by the nickname Siberian Tiger.

Kraven the Hunter / Chameleon

  • First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man # 15, 1964 / The Amazing Spider-Man # 1, 1963
  • Fictitious name: Sergey Kravinov / Dmitry Smerdyakov
  • Screenings: Spider-Man 2: Far From Home (Dmitry)
  • Actor: Numan Adjar (Dmitry)

But not only the "Avengers" and the X-Men team fought with the villains of Russian origin. One of the most famous Marvel characters - Spider-Man - also fought with immigrants from the USSR on several occasions.

Sergey Nikolaevich Kravinov (aka Kraven the Hunter) is one of the main rivals of Spider-Man. Since appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man in 1964, this character has had only one manic goal - to prove himself the best hunter in the world by capturing Spider-Man.

Despite the fact that Kravinov regularly confronts the Spider on the pages of comics, the film version of this character still does not exist. However, Marvel and Sony studios, which share the rights to Spider-Man, have repeatedly raised the issue of the appearance of this hero on the silver screen.

In the comics, Kravinov's half-brother is also not just an enemy of Spider-Man, but his very first opponent, whom he faced on the pages of the comic. Dmitry Smerdyakov, nicknamed Chameleon, is a master of transformations who can copy the voice and appearance of any person - was introduced to fans in The Amazing Spider-Man # 1 comic, the very first issue about Spider-Man. In the story, Chameleon is a Russian spy trying to steal missile launch data.

Unlike his brother, Smerdyakov's character was honored to appear on the big screen, albeit in the form of a reference. Spider-Man: Far From Home 2018 features the character Dmitry, who - unlike his alter ego in the comics - is an ally of the protagonist.

Titanium-Man

  • First appearance: Tales of Suspense # 69, 1965
  • Fictitious name: Boris Bulsky, Kondraty Topolov

Two characters with a fictional Soviet biography are known under the name of the Titan Man. According to the comics Tales of Suspense, published in the 1960s, the first character, Boris Bulsky, is a native of the village of Makeevka, Ukrainian SSR. A former KGB officer, Bulsky later became the head of one of the Siberian camps, where he created a mechanical suit that gave the name to his character.

The name of the Titan Man was also borne by another character - Kondraty Topolov, who is better known in the comics under the pseudonym Gremlin. According to its creator Steve Englehart, the name was chosen also because of its consonance with the word Kremlin (in English - Kremlin).

Omega Red (Omega Red)

  • First appearance: X-Men vol. 2 # 4, 1992
  • Fictitious name: Arkady Rossovich
  • Screenings: Deadpool 2 (cameo)
  • Actor: Dakota Shipley

Arkady Rossovich is a kind of Soviet analogue of one of the main members of the X-Men team, Wolverine (concurrently, one of his main opponents). A Soviet serial killer, whom the KGB decided to turn into a kind of super-soldier, armed with mechanical tentacles implanted in his arm.

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Omega Red is ranked 95th Greatest Comic Book Villain by IGN and is widely recognized by X-Men fans. There have been several attempts to bring the image of Omega to the movie screen. So, for example, in the film "Deadpool 2" one of the inmates of the protagonist and was supposed to be Omega Red, but the scene with him did not appear in the final version. Fans can only be content with a second appearance of the character in the film.

Russian (The Russian)

  • First appearance: Punisher vol. 5 # 8, 2000
  • Screenings: "Chastener"
  • Actor: Kevin Nash

Finally - the character with the most Russian name among all that exist in the superhero universes. Russian is the enemy of the Punisher hero, who appeared on the pages of a comic book dedicated to him in 2000.

The Russian is a caricatured thug who has visited "all the hot spots of the world" - Lebanon, Iraq, Rwanda, East Timor, Chechnya - and he did it for fun.

In his fictional biography, Russian is a fan of superheroes. In the comic The Punisher (volume 5, # 10), the Russian declares that he would like to join the Fantastic Four, out loud dreams of the autograph of Spider-Man and calls himself a fan of the hero Thor, stating that he, possessing a big hammer, “looks like a real communist ". Finally, during a fight with the Punisher, he confesses that he is the founder of the fan club "Daredevil, a man without fear" in his native Smolensk.

His film version turned out to be much less talkative. In the 2004 film The Punisher, where he fights the main character, the role of the Russian is played by bodybuilder Kevin Nash.

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