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fan of David Harbour will get to see theactor ’s unveiling in the Marvel Cinematic Universe fall May , where he will play the KGB ’s answer to Captain America in the MCU ’s spy - thriller , Black Widow . know most latterly for his purpose as the ill-tempered head of police Jim Hopper in Netflix’sStranger Things , Harbour will be dump 80s “ pappa shirts ” for red and blank leather , donning the theatrical role of Alexi ( sometimes spelledAlexei ) Shostakov , AKA the Red Guardian .
While not a peculiarly high profile character in Marvel Comics , the Red Guardian has a rather complex history . For starters , the name has been travel by down to over half a dozen characters . While each has a unequaled backstory , the general through - line is the same in each avatar — Russia wanted a home superhero of their own .
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The first Red Guardian , Aleksey Lebedev , appear in the comicNamor the Sub - Mariner Annual # 1 in June 1991 . Very little is known about Lebedev , but ostensibly his heroic actions during an industrial stroke bring him to the aid of Soviet officials who were eager to create a KGB vis-a-vis to Captain America during WWII .
Having lost most of his phratry to the national socialist invasion of Russia , Lebedev fight against the forces of Hitler , and in reality fought alongside Captain America and Prince Namor at the Potsdam Conference in 1945 shortly after the war ’s end . He was later on killed in the 1950s after openly oppose his own government ’s sadistic tops - soldier experiments .
Those experiments would eventually run to his successors , of which there are many . Soviet brain surgeon Dr. Tania Belinsky took up the mantle of Red Guardian inThe Defenders # 35 in 1976 . Former USSR operative Josef Petkus dish as the Red Guardian on several teams including the Supreme Soviets ( later rename the Winter Guard ) and later the People ’s Protectorate .
Petkus has even solve with several non - Russian based first-rate teams include the Avengers and Canada ’s Alpha Flight . First appearing inCaptain America # 352 in 1989 , he pass on to change his codename to Steel Guardian and was subsequently killed in action inDarkstar & the Winter Guard # 2 in 2010 . It ’s deserving noting that Josef seem in the MCU filmCaptain America : Civil War , played by Jackson Spidell .
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Another Russian to take on the use of Red Guardian was Krassno Granitsky , who first appeared in 1989’sMaverick # 10and was later killed in Ed Brubaker ’s first issue ofCaptain America . Another Red Guardian , Anton Ivanov , was a former Crimson Dynamo original who first appeared in Jeff Loeb’sHulk vol . 2 # 1and later in season 4 ofMarvel ’s Agents of Shield , act as by Zachary McGowan
Another Red Guardian to lead the Winter Guard is Nicolai Krylenko , a Russian - born Mutant who was kidnapped by the Soviet authorities to have his power tap as a superintendent - soldier . He first appeared inIron serviceman # 109 in 1978 and has also gone by the name Vanguard , and like Captain America , also wields a vibranium shell . While every Red Guardian is special in their own mode , Alexi Shostakov is the one David Harbour will be portray inBlack Widow . have intercourse as the 2nd Red Guardian , he was prepare and conditioned by the USSR at the height of the Cold War to go toe - to - toe with America ’s own flag - themed super nationalist . Harbour himself has confirmed this will be his rootage in the movie .
Once get married to superstar Russian ballerina Natasha Romanov , Shostakov built a name for himself as a high - profile maverick airplane pilot , which earned him massive measure of acclamation in his homeland . Unlike Steve Rogers , who was selected to become Captain America because of his unwavering ethics , Shostakov was selected because of his decease - defying braveness and quick reflexes .
When the USSR decided Shostakov would make an ideal prospect for the mantle of Red Guardian , he was forced to snub all tie with his previous life , including his married couple to Romanov . Distraught over the " death " of her hubby ( she was never inform that it was shit ) , Natasha was manipulated by the KGB looking to exploit her many talents as their own super undercover agent , finally molding her into the Black Widow .
The relationship between Shostakov and Romanov will likely be explore inBlack Widow , which takes space not long after the upshot ofCaptain America : Civil War . Interestingly , Alexi ’s first appearance in comics was short lived , first appearing as the Red Guardian inAvengers # 43 in 1967and after dying in the following issue while help his ex - wife and a wounded Captain America ( whom he had been ordered to kill ) escape from an active volcano .
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However , decade later on Alexi makes a shocking return to the land of the living in the 1990 comic Holy Writ seriesBlack widow woman : The Coldest War , having seemingly cheated decease under a providential curing of circumstances . Unfortunately , Russian operatives were using Romanov ’s X - married man to wring her into betraying SHIELD and it is finally revealed that the resurrected Alexi was nothing more than an elaborate Life Model Decoy the whole time .
But even that would n’t be the last of Alexi Shostakov , who later re-emerge under the codename Ronan , a former false name of his ex - married woman ’s romantic partner Hawkeye . In 2011 ’s comic book crossover voter seriesWidowmaker , it is revealedthat Shostakov actually did cheat expiry all along ( something he ’s evidently very good at ) and was the leader of the Dark Ocean Society– using the organisation ’s resources to force a state of war between Russia and Japan . Whatever good nature Shostakov once had in premature stories was now gone , as this modern depiction in comics render him to be methodically cruel and single - minded .
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It will be interesting to see how Harbour portray Alexi Shostakov inBlack Widow . While not whole on Captain America ’s point , Romanov has hinted multiple times in comics that he has taken a blood serum that slows his aging summons . It appears as though film director Cate Shortland is depicting Shostakov somewhere around mediate - historic period , well past his prime of life , but still feasible in combat .
Alexi mentions a “ crime syndicate reunification ” in trailers forBlack Widowand old interviews with Harbour have suggested thatShostakov and Romanov are n’t actually married in the cinema . This aim to more of a Father of the Church / girl dynamic than an ex - buff dynamic . Though different than the beginning fabric , the wallop of his quality on Natasha Romanov could strike all the emotional high preeminence all the same . belike , he will have some connexion to the other MCU incarnations of Red Guardian already portrayed inCivil WarandAgents of SHIELD .
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