Alexei Shostakov Red Guardian

alexei alanovich shostakov second version of red guardian, , created roy thomas , john buscema.

fictional character biography

alexei shostakov born in moscow, , husband of natasha romanova. both , wife became agents of soviets: latter became black widow while former became test pilot , kgb agent , trained soviet counterpart captain america red guardian .

alexei shostakov 1 of soviet union s acclaimed pilots. during world war ii on eastern front, shot down large number of luftwaffe fighter planes in aerial battles , credited helping soviet air force win air supremacy on skies of stalingrad , kursk. because of extraordinary skill, shostakov chosen secret , dangerous tests , new aircraft soviet union. included being first pilot test fly mig 15. soviet state controlled news media publicized , other missions of such aerial battles against u.s. air force on mig alley during korean war. result, shostakov decorated hero of soviet union. shostakov successful in private life, having married equally famous ballerina natalie (familiarly known natasha) romanova.

as cold war flared in 1950s, soviet premier nikita khrushchev realized soviet union needed own equivalent captain america. khrushchev chose alexi shostakov on yuri gagarin later become first man in space. kgb faked death , trained him in secret, keeping survival secret natasha. became master of hand-to-hand combat , highly skilled athlete. in addition, carried throwing disc on belt used against opponent. magnetic force returned disc after throwing. disc had yellow hammer , sickle symbol on , costume red star on chest symbolise soviet flag. while black widow became disillusioned kgb masters , defected united states, red guardian remained loyal , became more ruthless , vindictive. red guardian battled avengers chinese ally colonel ling, protect communist chinese secret weapon located @ secret military base @ unrevealed location in people s republic of china, encountering black widow , captain america (steve rogers). when black widow noticed familiar him, revealed identity her. shot , mortally wounded minutes later colonel ling while saving lives of black widow , captain america. buried under molten lava when laser blast caused eruption of long-dormant volcano.

some time later, life model decoy patterned after shostakov. destroyed in first battle black widow.

shostakov later revealed alive , had risen high in power within bulgaria ronin. became responsible plot capture natasha , try former wife crimes soviet super soldier. natasha foiled plan of daredevil , avengers.