(Marvel characters born or based in countries currently or formerly ruled by communists)
By Sean McQuaid
Abomination (Emil Blonsky)
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish 90
Description: Yugoslavian spy who was accidentally mutated into the
physically grotesque and immensely strong super-criminal known as the
Abomination in the USA. Has become a sewer-dwelling recluse of late.
Airstrike (Dimitri Bukharin)
First Appearance: Iron Man 109 (as Crimson Dynamo V), Soviet Super-Soldiers
1 (as Airstrike)
Description: Russian soldier and former KGB agent whom the Soviet
government assigned to serve them as the new Crimson Dynamo wearing the
battle armor invented by Anton Vanko. Bukharin served the Soviets loyally
for years, both alone and as a member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers (who
expelled him after they renounced the Soviet government) and the People's
Protectorate. The military later confiscated the Dynamo armor after a
disastrous mission compromised Bukharin's reputation, but the People's
Protectorate retained Bukharin as a member and outfitted him with a new
suit of high-tech battle armor, giving him the new code-name Airstrike.
Auric (Zhao Kwan)
First Appearance: Alpha Flight 76
Description: Superhuman mutant adventurer trained by the communist Chinese
government to serve as a member of China Force, but later defected to Hong
Kong and then to Canada, where he served with the Canadian government
super-team Gamma Flight.
Note: Can't recall for certain, but Auric may have been slain in the ìHero
Killersî storyline from the Spidey annuals.
Beasts of Berlin
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish 60
Description: Gorillas who were endowed with human intelligence and the
power of speech by scientists serving East German communists. Later served
communist government of Hungary.
Black Widow II (Natlia Alianovna Romanova)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 52
Description: Costumed Soviet intelligence agent who defected to America
during her love affair with the adventurer Hawkeye and remains active in
the USA today as a freelance intelligence agent. Highly skilled acrobat and
martial artist armed with grappling line, electrical discharge weapon and
small explosives; wears a costume whose micro-suction cups enable her to
cling to walls and ceilings. Was a founding member and leader of the
short-lived Champions super-team. Has also served as a member of the
Avengers, which temporarily disbanded under her leadership. Formerly
romantically linked to Daredevil, Hawkeye, Hercules and Iron Man.
Blind Faith (Father Alexi Garnoff)
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual 1
Description: Russian mutant hero with hypnotic ability to control other
people's actions, beliefs or memories. A prominent dissident, Garnoff ran
an underground movement dedicated to protecting persecuted mutants in the
Soviet Union and became leader of one incarnation of the Soviet
Super-Soldiers.
Blizzard (Gregor Shapanka)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 45 (as Jack Frost), Iron Man 86 (as
Blizzard).
Description: Hungarian scientist who became a super-criminal in America
using cold-generating armor. Seemingly killed by alternate future Iron Man
(Arno Stark).
Bogatyri (translates as ìValiant Champions of Elder Daysî from Russian
folklore)
First Appearance: Avengers West Coast 87
Description: Team of Russian superhumans who remain loyal to the defunct
Soviet Union and wage war against the United States in its name. Members
include Doctor Volkh, Mikula Golubev, Svyatogor and Zvezda Dennista.
Cat (Shen Kuei)
First Appearance: Master of Kung Fu 38
Description: Hong Kong-based mercenary, martial arts master and freelance
intelligence agent who sometimes works for the communist Chinese
government, though he has since renounced government assignments. Recently
worked for Silver Sable's Wild Pack.
China Force
Description: Super-team founded and controlled by communist Chinese
government, but splintered under unrevealed circumstances due to a string
of defections. See various issues of Alpha Flight for their appearances,
somewhere in the 60s, I think.
Cold Warrior II (real name unrevealed)
First Appearance: War Machine 7
Description: Soviet cyborg soldier who spent thirty years in cryogenic
stasis prior to his recent revival by Soviet subversives who refused to
accept the dissolution of the Soviet Union and hoped to use him as a weapon
against the western world. He could drain the kinetic energy of his
surroundings and convert it to blasts of concussive force, creating
freezing temperatures in his immediate vicinity as heat activity drops. He
reportedly died shortly after his revival following a battle with Hawkeye
and War Machine.
Collective Man (Han, Chang, Lin, Sun and Ho Tao-Yu)
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes Contest of Champions 1
Description: Superhuman mutant quintuplets who have the power to merge into
a single being with the combined physical and mental abilities of all five
brothers; they can also enhance their powers thousands of times over for
very brief periods by psychically drawing upon the collective strength of
the Chinese people. The brothers have acted as agents of the communist
Chinese government for most of their lives, having been trained in the use
of their powers since childhood by communist scientists.
Colossus (Peter Nikolaievitch Rasputin)
First Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men 1
Description: Russian mutant adventurer able to assume a superhumanly strong
and durable armored form. Longtime member of the X-Men, recently serving as
a member of their British sister group, Excalibur.
Combine
First Appearance: Avengers 324
Description: Composite being formed by the merger of six terrorists in a
nuclear explosion. The terrorists (Soviet extremists Strokov, Voroshilov,
Illyich Prokvitch, Mendev, Kuryestan and their British accomplice Allanson)
had hijacked a nuclear arsenal in hopes of triggering a third World War
that would bolster the global economy, but they were stopped by an
international coalition of super-heroes whose alliance inspired the Combine
to conclude that the planet's future depended on international cooperation
and mutual dependency. Renouncing their former warmongering goals, the
Combine departed to ìgrow and learnî by exploring the multiverse. The
Combine was capable of absorbing and generating nuclear radiation, which it
could harness for feats such as energy blasts and teleportation.
Commissar
First Appearance: Avengers 18
Description: Massive robot used as a figurehead ruler and enforcer by the
dictatorial leaders of a small Asian communist state. Wrecked by the Avengers.
Concussion (Mikhail, last name unrevealed)
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual 1
Description: Russian mutant dissident with the ability to emit concussive
energy blasts from his hands. Member of Blind Faith's mutant underground.
Presumed dead after he was captured by the Soviet agent Firefox, who blew
off Concussion's hands before interrogating him about the mutant underground.
Crimson Dynamo (Anton Vanko)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 46
Description: Soviet inventor who created the high-tech battle armor that he
wore as the Crimson Dynamo in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the
armored American adventurer Iron Man. Defeated and captured, Vanko agreed
to betray his superiors and became a loyal employee of industrialist Tony
Stark (secretly Iron Man); when Soviet agent Boris Turgenov stole the
Crimson Dynamo armor in an attempt to discredit Vanko in the eyes of his
American friends, Vanko sacrificed his own life to stop Turgenov.
Crimson Dynamo II (Boris Turgenov)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 52
Description: Soviet agent who stole Anton Vanko's Crimson Dynamo armor for
himself but died in battle with Vanko.
Crimson Dynamo III (Alex Nevsky)
First Appearance: Iron Man 21
Description: Research assistant to Anton Vanko who was wrongly suspected of
being a traitor after Vanko's defection to the USA. Forced to flee to
America himself, Nevsky recreated and improved Vanko's Crimson Dynamo armor
and became the new Crimson Dynamo, unsuccessfully attacking Iron Man, whom
he blamed for his own and Vanko's misfortunes. After that defeat, Nevsky
fled to Vietnam, where he joined the Radioactive Man and Titanium Man in
forming a communist super-team called the Titanic Three. Eventually,
though, the Soviet government located Nevsky, assassinated him and
confiscated his armor.
Crimson Dynamo IV (Yuri Petrovich)
First Appearance: Champions 8
Description: Son of the infamous defector Ivan Petrovich, Yuri Petrovich
was given the Crimson Dynamo armor by Soviet intelligence so that he could
attempt to forcibly return his father and Ivan's longtime partner, the
Black Widow, to Russia. Yuri failed in his mission and was sent to a
Siberian work camp after surrendering the armor to Soviet authorities.
Crimson Dynamo VI (Colonel-General Valentin Shatalov)
First Appearance: Iron Man 255
Description: An ambitious Russian military officer and KGB agent who
engineered the discrediting of Dimitri Bukharin so that he could confiscate
Bukharin's Crimson Dynamo armor for himself, Shatalov became the new
Crimson Dynamo in pursuit of greater political power, forming the
short-lived Russian super-team known as Remont 4 and plotting to engineer a
Stalinist regime with himself as its head; however, Shatalov later found
himself discredited in a compromising mission like Bukharin before him, and
the Russian military confiscated the Crimson Dynamo armor.
Crusher (real name unrevealed)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 91
Description: Cuban scientist transformed by a serum into a giant,
rock-hard, immensely massive menace. Seemingly deceased. A new Crusher
(Juan Aponte) appeared in Daredevil 119.
Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna)
First Appearance: Champions 7
Description: Superhuman mutant adventurer who can tap the extradimensional
darkforce in a variety of ways, including the formation of mentally
manipulable solid objects, the projection of concussive force,
teleportation and the power of flight. Trained by Professor Piotr Phobos on
behalf of the Soviet government, she joined Phobos's other top students in
forming the Soviet Super-Soldiers, which began as a Soviet government
organization before they declared themselves free agents. Darkstar is the
daughter of the Russian scientist known as the Presence and the twin sister
of Vanguard. During an extended stay in the United States, she briefly
served as a member of the American super-team called the Champions before
they disbanded.
Destroyer (Charles Stanton)
First Appearance: Strange Tales 101
Description: Costumed, gun-wielding Soviet agent.
Devastator (Kirov Pterovna)
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk 186
Description: Soviet agent wearing armor that absorbs microwave energy and
converts it for use as blasts of heat or concussive force; his
solar-powered boot jets (with battery backup power) enable him to fly at
speeds just under Mach 1. The microwave energy that powers his suit is
transmitted from a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, requiring the suit's
wearer to maintain a line-of-sight position relative to the satellite to
avoid sudden power cut-offs. The original Devastator infiltrated and
attempted to destroy the US military's Hulkbuster Base but was killed in a
subsequent battle with the Hulk when his energy-regulating gauntlet
mechanisms were wrecked. His armor was designed by the Gremlin.
Devastator II (real name unrevealed)
First Appearance: Rom 44
Description: Soviet agent wearing armor that absorbs microwave energy and
converts it for use as blasts of heat or concussive force; his
solar-powered boot jets (with battery backup power) enable him to fly at
speeds just under Mach 1. The microwave energy that powers his suit is
transmitted from a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, requiring the suit's
wearer to maintain a line-of-sight position relative to the satellite to
avoid sudden power cut-offs. His armor was designed by the Gremlin.
Doctor Sun (true name unrevealed)
First Appearance: Tomb of Dracula 16 (as disembodied voice)
Description: Disembodied brain of a Chinese scientist intent on world
conquest. Later projected his consciousness into computers and robotic
bodies. Seemingly destroyed.
Doctor Volkh (Doctor Vladimir Orekhov)
First Appearance: Avengers West Coast 87
Description: One of the first Russian scientists to become a cosmonaut,
Orekhov gained the power of superhuman physical malleability after his
spacecraft passed through a strange radiation bombardment. He can stretch,
contract, expand and reshape his body at will. He named himself Volkh after
a shape-shifter featured in an old Russian poem. As Doctor Volkh, Orekhov
founded and leads and Russian super-team known as the Bogatyri who wage war
on the United States in the name of the defunct Soviet Union, to which they
remain loyal.
Electro
First Appearance: Captain America Comics 78
Description: Superhuman Russian assassin with electrical powers, active in
the late 1940s and 1950s. Once served as an operative of the Yellow Claw
and clashed with the 1950s incarnation of the Avengers.
El Toro
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish 54
Description: Dictatorial ruler of Santo Rico until he was deposed by
Giant-Man and Wasp; later served Hungarian communists and clashed with
Avengers. Wears horned helmet with which he rams his opponents like a bull;
its horns are coated with poison.
Elements of Doom
First Appearance: Avengers 188
Description: Rogue Russian scientific creations, the Elements of Doom are a
small army of monstrous humanoid creatures, each one composed of and named
after one of the known elements. Originally intent on transforming humans
into elemental beings like themselves, the Elements later tried to massacre
humans and other inferior life-forms. They have been defeated and destroyed
twice, once by the Avengers and once by the Thunderbolts.
Fantasma
First Appearance: Captain America 352 (as Fantasia), Avengers 319 (as
Fantasma)
Description: Superhuman adventurer and founding member of the People's
Protectorate who can perceive and manipulate people's ìbiofieldsî for a
variety of effects, including control of neural functions; telepathy;
intuition; hypnotism; illusion casting; and the ability to perceive the
emotions and intentions of others, even from a distance.
Firefox (Grigori Andreivitch)
First Appearance: Soviet Super-Soldiers 1
Description: Ruthless cyborg Soviet operative who wears guns in place of
his lost hands. Formerly affiliated with Remont-4 super-team organized by
the sixth Crimson Dynamo. Killed dozens of Russian mutants--including
Concussion, Iron Curtain and Mentac--in a crackdown against the Soviet
Union's mutant underground resistance movement.
Gargoyle (true name unrevealed)
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk 1
Description: Soviet scientist mutated by an atomic accident into a
physically grotesque, large-skulled humanoid of superhuman intelligence.
Was restored to human form by Bruce Banner, after which he died in the
explosion of a bomb he himself detonated, taking his Soviet superiors with
him in the blast. His son, the mutant Gremlin, took his place in the Soviet
hierarchy.
Golubev, Mikula
First Appearance: Avengers West Coast 87
Description: Russian mutant born with superhuman psychic powers, notably
telekinesis; his ability to mentally levitate almost any object inspired
his parents to name him Mikula in recollection of a Russian folklore hero
whose plough was too heavy for anyone but him to lift. As an adult, Golubev
joined the Bogatyri, a Russian super-team who wage war on the United States
in the name of the defunct Soviet Union, to which they remain loyal.
Gremlin (a.k.a. Titanium Man II)
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk 187 (as Gremlin), X-Men vs. Avengers 1
(as Titanium Man II)
Description: The mutant son of the superhumanly intelligent Soviet
scientist known as the Gargoyle, the Gremlin inherited his father's
grotesque, stunted physique and phenomenal genius. He became first a test
subject and then a research scientist in the service of the Soviet
government, achieving a position of great authority within the Soviet Union
while still a child. He created the armor worn by Soviet agents such as the
Devastator and the Soviet Super-Troopers, but was estranged from the Soviet
government when he learned that his father had died resisting Soviet
control (the Soviets had always told Gremlin that his father was killed by
the Hulk). The Gremlin became a free agent and joined the Soviet
Super-Soldiers after teaming with them to thwart Dire Wraith infiltration
of the Soviet government. He adopted and modified the Titanium Man battle
armor so that he could make a physical contribution to the team in addition
to his intellect, but this led to his accidental death in a battle with
American adventurer Iron Man, who was then seeking out and neutralizing
armored warriors in hopes of eliminating all duplications of Iron Man's
technology.
Iron Curtain (Simas, full name unrevealed)
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual 1
Description: Superhumanly strong Russian mutant dissident possessed of
invulnerable skin. Member of Blind Faith's mutant underground. Apparently
killed by the Soviet operative Firefox.
It the Living Colossus
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 14
Description: Hundred-foot, humanoid-shaped granite statue later reduced in
size to a height of thirty feet. Transformed and animated by an alien
consciousness and later inhabited by human minds, the Colossus was
possessed of near-limitless strength and durabilty and the power of flight.
The statue was originally created by Russian sculptor Boris Petroski to
protest the oppressive nature of the Soviet government. Aliens known as
Kigors first brought the statue to life. Special effects designer Bob
O'Bryan later reanimated the statue and used its form to act as a heroic
adventurer until It was wrested from his control and possessed by criminal
scientist Doctor Aloysius Vault, who died in battle with the Hulk.
Note: Despite It's apparent destruction at the hands of the Hulk, I've
heard It has since appeared in a Marvel Comics Presents story but I have
been unable to locate the specific issue thus far.
Jade Dragon (Dei Guan)
First Appearance: Alpha Flight 59
Description: Chinese patriot granted the mystical ability to assume a
dragon-like form by the mysterious Geomancer. In dragon form, Guan is
superhumanly strong, and can fly and breathe fire. Originally a ruthlessly
loyal servant of the communist Chinese military, Jade Dragon grew
disllusioned and ultimately refused to continue blindly following their
orders; however, he has not defected and he remains loyal to his country
despite his contempt for its government.
Karma (Xi'an Coy Manh)
First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up 100
Description: Vietnamese mutant adventurer with ability to seize control of
other people's minds and force them to carry out her mental commands.
Former founding member of the New Mutants.
Madame X (real name unrevealed)
Description: Communist spy and mistress of disguise who wields a gun that
shoots poison gas.
Magik (Illyanna Nikolievna Rasputina)
First Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men 1
Description: Young Russian mutant with latent teleportational powers that
emerged after she spent years in a limbo dimension learning sorcery while
only seconds passed during her absence on Earth. She later reverted to her
true physical age and lost all memory of her older self, but died from
exposure to the Legacy Virus. Her brother is the X-Men member known as
Colossus, and her older self served as a member of the New Mutants.
Mandarin
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 50
Description: Chinese would-be world conqueror armed with alien Makluan
technology and mystical resources. Has vied with the communists for control
of China. Trademark weapons are his Makluan power rings, which are capable
of cold projection, mind control, electrical projection, heat projection,
light projection, darkforce projection, disintegration beam projection,
vortex projection, concussive force projection and matter restructuring.
Recurring foe of Iron Man.
Mantis (full name unrevealed; last name presumably Brandt)
First Appearance: Avengers 112
Description: Vietnamese adventurer, martial artist and mentlaist who joined
the Avengers before learning that she was the Celestial Madonna fated to
bear a child of universal importance, after which she departed for outer
space with her Cotati mate. She has since returned to Earth, encountering
the Avengers as both friend and foe in circumstances as yet largely
unexplained.
Mentac the Living Computer (real name unrevealed)
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual 1
Description: Russian mutant dissident whose fifth-level mind is capable of
computer-like analysis. Member of Blind Faith's mutant underground.
Apparently killed by Soviet agent Firefox.
Mindsinger (Gregor Buhkarov)
First Appearance: Thor 300
Description: Superhuman adventurer with telepathic abilities and
shape-shifting powers. Mindsinger is one of the ìYoung Godsî, humans
mutated into higher forms by various goddesses to embody the height of
humanity's physical, mental and spiritual potential, so that they might
appease the god-like alien Celestials who would one day return to appraise
humanity.
MODAM
First Appearance: West Coast Avengers 36 (as Maria Pym), Solo Avengers 16
(as SODAM)
Description: Grotesquely mutated woman whose enormous brain gives her
potent psychic powers of a telepathic and telekinetic nature. MODAM first
appeared in the guise of Maria Pym as a servant of Hungarian communists,
and later claimed to be a creation of the terrorist group AIM who posed as
Maria to solicit the aid of Doctor Henry Pym. Later served the
super-criminal Superia.
Monsieur Khruul (full name unrevealed)
First Appearance: Avengers 121
Description: Vietnamese crimelord, uncle of the adventurer Mantis and
former employer of the original Swordsman.
Omega Red (Arkady, last name unrevealed)
First Appearance: X-Men (v2) 4
Description: Superhuman mutant criminal who formerly served as a
super-soldier operative of Soviet intelligence. Has superhuman strength,
speed, stamina, durability, agility and reflexes, and the ability to
secrete pheromones that kill those in his immediate vicinity; he can also
drain energy from the victims of these pheromones to sustain his own life
energy. Without that energy, he would be inert. Flexible carbonadium coils
imbedded in his arms can be used to ensnare his victims and serve as a
conduit for his pheromones; carbonadium resembles adamantium, but is more
malleable and less durable.
Peace Corpse
First Appearance: Avengers 319
Group of unauthorized Soviet terrorists (Strokov, Voroshilov, Illyich
Prokvitch, Mendev and Kuryestan) who hijacked a nuclear arsenal with the
aid of their British accomplice Allanson in hopes of sparking World War III
as a means of stimulating the global economy. All six Peace Corpse members
merged into a composite being known as the Combine after they were fused
together by a nuclear explosion, renouncing their warmongering plans and
departing to study the multiverse and themselves.
People's Protectorate
First Appearance: Captain America 352 (as Supreme Soviets), Avengers 319
(as People's Protectorate)
Known Members: Airstrike, Fantasia, Perun, Red Guardian (V) and Vostok.
Description: Super-team organized, sponsored and controlled by the Soviet
government, now presumably operating under the authority of the post-Soviet
Russian government. The People's Protectorate replaced the Soviet
Super-Soldiers, who renounced their former Soviet masters.
Perun (Valeri Sovloyev)
Perun is the Slavic god of thunder, possessed of vast superhuman strength,
stamina and durability; he can also generate bioelectricity which he
usually channels through a conductive medium such as an axe, though more
recently he adopted a hammer and sickle designed by Soviet scientists to
focus his bioelectric blasts and obey his mental commands. Perun is
apparently trapped in the form of family man Valeri Sovloyev, who
disappears when Valeri summons Perun back into being by touching an
enchanted icon. Sovloyev is understandably reluctant to periodically
surrender control of their shared existence, but is always persauded to do
so when Russia has need of Perun's power. Perun is a founding member of the
People's Protectorate.
Poison (Cecilia, last name unknown)
First Appearance: Web of Spider-Man Annual 4
Description: Cuban refugee who gained superhuman powers by merging with the
otherdimensional being Ylandris and became a costumed adventurer.Ylandris
eventually vacated Cecilia's body, but Cecilia retained their superhuman
powers, including superhuman strength, levitation and the ability to
reshape other people's flesh.
Presence (Sergei Krylov)
First Appearance: Defenders 52
Description: Power-mad Soviet scientist who mutated himself into a
dangerously radioactive super-being capable of generating and manipulating
vast amounts of nuclear energy. Mentally unstable, the Presence has acted
as an altruistic adventurer at times but is usually a menace motivated by
selfish ambition and irrational animosity. He is the father of the Soviet
mutant adventurers Vanguard and Darkstar. The Russian superwoman Starlight
was brainwashed into becoming the Presence's consort years ago.
Purple Man (Zebediah Killgrave)
First Appearance: Daredevil 4
Description: Soviet spy who accidentally gained the power to compel those
around him to do his bidding, becoming a super-criminal in the USA. Killed
by the Sub-Mariner while serving as an unwilling participant in Doctor
Doom's brief world conquest.
Radioactive Man (Chen Lu)
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery 93
Description: Scientist who transformed himself into a radioactive
superhuman in the service of communist China and has since become a
freelance super-criminal. Founding member of the Masters of Evil, and
briefly a member of the Vietnamese communist super-team known as the
Titanic Three. The Radioactive Man constantly generates nuclear radiation
and can absorb radiation from outside sources. He can channel his
radioactivity into superhuman strength, heat projection, hrad radiation,
force beams, impenetrable force fields, blinding light and hypnotic
luminescence.
Red Ghost (Ivan Kragoff)
First Appearance: Fantastic Four 13
Description: A Soviet scientist who gave himself the ability to render his
own body and other matter intangible at will. Originally an agent of the
Soviet government, he fell out of favour with them and became a freelance
super-criminal. He is assisted by his Super-Apes, three trained simians
whom he imbued with superhuman powers.
Red Guardian (real name unrevealed)
First Appearance: Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual 1
Description: Costumed Soviet operative trained and outfitted as the Soviet
counterpart to Captain America in the mid-to-late 1940s. Skilled athlete
and hand-to-hand combatant, and an expert marksman who carried a pistol.
Once worked alongside the All-Winners Squad.
Red Guardian II (Alexi Shostakov)
First Appearance: Avengers 43
Description: Costumed Soviet operative armed with throwing discs. Estranged
husband of the Black Widow, from whom he was separated so that he could
become the Red Guardian in the service of the state. Battled Black Widow
and Avengers on behalf of the Soviet government but sacrificed his life to
save them when he realized how dishonorable his Soviet superiors were.
Red Guardian IV
First Appearance: Black Widow: The Coldest War graphic novel
Description: LMD (android) duplicate of Red Guardian II, destroyed in its
first battle with the Black Widow.
Red Guardian V (Josek Petkus)
First Appearance: Captain America 352
Description: Costumed Soviet operative armed with a circular shield
composed of an unspecified, highly durable alloy. Highly skilled unarmed
combatant. Leader of the government-sanctioned super-team known as the
People's Protectorate.
Red Skull II
First modern Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man Annual 5
Description: 1950s Soviet subversive who adopted the masked identity of the
original Red Skull, who was then mistakenly believed to be dead. This Red
Skull has since been slain by a rogue Scourge under orders from the
original Red Skull.
Scarlet Beetles
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish 39
Description: Giant insects possessed of human intelligence and the power of
speech. The original Scarlet Beetle was a solitary entity, but a horde of
Scarlet Beetles were created to serve the Hungarian communists and clashed
with the Avengers.
Sibercat (Illyich Lavrov)
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual 1 (as Siberian Tiger), Soviet
Super-Soldiers 1 (as Sibercat)
Description: Russian mutant adventurer possessed of catlike physical
features and powers, such as superhuman agility and slashing claws. A
member of Blind Faith's mutant underground, he was also a member of Blind
Faith's Soviet Super-Soldiers for a time.
Silver (Jimon Kwan)
First Appearance: Alpha Flight 76
Description: Superhuman mutant adventurer whose eyes project beams that
drain heat from anything in their path. Trained by the communist Chinese
government to serve as a member of China Force, she later defected to Hong
Kong and then to Canada, where she served with the Canadian government
super-team Gamma Flight.
Note: Can't recall for certain, but Silver may have been slain in the ìHero
Killersî storyline from the Spidey annuals.
Soviet Super-Soldiers
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk 258
Known Members: Crimson Dynamo (V), Darkstar, Ursa Major, Vanguard, Gremlin
(a.k.a. Titanium Man II), Blind Faith, Sibercat, Stencil.
Description: A team of superhuman adventurers originally assembled by the
Soviet government as a counterpart to such American super-teams as the
Avengers, the Super-Soldiers quickly became an independent group, often at
odds with the Soviet authorities. Crimson Dynamo was expelled due to his
loyalty to the Soviet government, and Gremlin died in battle with Iron Man.
Soviet Super-Troopers
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk 187
Description: Soviet soldiers whose armor grants them superhuman strength,
the power of flight and the ability to project energy blasts. Their armor
was designed by the Gremlin.
Starlight (Doctor Tania Belinskya)
First Appearance: Defenders 35 (as Red Guardian III), Quasar 19 (as Starlight)
Description: Celebrated Russian neurosurgeon who led a double life as the
costumed crimefighter and political dissident known as the Red Guardian. As
the Red Guardian, Belinsky made an extended visit to the USA, where she
served as a core member of the Defenders for a time. Shortly thereafter,
she was abducted and brainwashed by the power-mad Soviet scientist the
Presence, who deemed Belinsky the only woman worthy of being his mate. He
mutated himself and Belinsky into extremely powerful, dangerously
radioactive superhumans, but she managed to resist his mind control long
enough to save the Defenders from him. She found herself unable to live
among normal humans due to her new radioactive power, though, and soon fell
under the Presence's influence again, joining him in a self-imposed outer
space exile. More recently, they returned to Earth, and the Presence's
schemes have brought them into conflict with heroes such as Quasar,
Darkstar, Black Widow and Jack of Hearts. As the Red Guardian, Belinsky
relied on her athletic prowess and natural fighting ability. In her new
superhuman guise as Starlight, Belinsky has superhuman strength, stamina
and durability and the capacity to generate seemingly limitless amounts of
radiation that she can harness for feats such as flight, energy blasts and
the sustained vitality of her physiology, even in hostile environments such
as outer space.
Starsky, Igor
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk 1
Description: Soviet scientist and spy who was unwittingly resonsible for
creating the Hulk when he sabotaged Bruce Banner's gamma bomb test.
Stencil (Colonel Viktor Krychev & Maria)
First Appearance: Soviet Super-Soldiers 1
Description: Russian mutant dissident who possesses the power to mentally
absorb the minds and consciousnesses of others; the absorption can be
permanent, leaving the victim brain-dead, but this action risks the
permanent disruption of Stencil's consciousness since lingering aspects of
the absorbed minds may assert themselves within her own consciousness. She
apparently already shares her mind with the consciousness of Colonel
Krychev, who periodically takes control of her body. Stencil was a member
of Blind Faith's mutant underground and the Soviet Super-Soldiers.
Surge (Lt. Illarion Pavlovich Ramskov)
First Appearance: Avengers 326
Description: Russian soldier who was mutated by exposure to radiation while
trying to contain the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He is now a superhumanly
strong, radioactive super-being capable of vaporizing solid matter,
generating brilliant light and firing concussive energy blasts. He has
resolved to use his powers for the good of the Russian people.
Super-Apes (Miklho, Peotor and Igor)
First Appearance: Fantastic Four 13
Description: Simians trained and endowed with superhuman powers by their
master, the super-criminal and former Soviet agent known as the Red Ghost.
Miklho is a superhumanly strong gorilla, Peotor is an orangutan with
magnetic powers and Igor is a shape-shifting baboon who can assume any
form he can imagine.
Svyatogor (Sasha Pokryshkin)
First Appearance: Avengers West Coast 87
Description: Russian worker who gained superhuman strength in a contained
nuclear power plant accident that also severely damaged his lungs and
limbs, forcing him to wear support mechanisms. His battlesuit enables him
to fire energy blasts. He became an adventurer called Svyatogor, named for
the mightiest of Slavic folklore heroes, and joined the Bogatyri, a Russian
super-team dedicated to making war on the United States in the name of the
defunct Soviet Union, to which they remain loyal.
Synthesizer (Arkady Tegai and Zoya Yasilievna)
First Appearance: Soviet Super-Soldiers 1
Description: Soviet research scientists who secretly collaborated with
Blind Faith's mutant underground, husband and wife Arkady Tegai and Zoya
Yasilievna have the ability to merge into a composite superhuman form
approximating Tegai's mind in Yasilievna's body. In their combined form,
they harness ìelectromagnetic sound emissionsî for effects such as flight,
luminescence and energy blasts.
Titanium Man (Boris Bullski)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 69
Description: Physically massive Soviet official who commissioned a suit of
super-powerful armor in imitation of the American champion Iron Man.
Wearing the armor, Bullski dubbed himself the Titanium Man and repeatedly
battled Iron Man in hopes of winning a propaganda victory, but was always
defeated. During a period when he was out of favour with the Soviet
government, Bullski joined a communist super-team known as the Titanic
Three in Vietnam, but that group broke up and Bullski returned to the
service of the Soviet government, ultimately suffering mental and physical
injuries in the line of duty. These injuries drove Bullski insane, and he
eventually died in battle with Iron Man and fellow communist agent the
Crimson Dynamo.
Torpedo II (Michael Stivak)
First Appearance: Daredevil 126
Description: Yugoslavian scientist who adapted an alien Dire Wraith design
to create an armored, jet-propelled battlesuit. He destroyed the plans for
the suit so that they would not fall into the wrong hands, but died in
action shortly thereafter. A subsequent Torpedo (Brock Jones) then used the
suit as a crimefighter, followed by the various adventurers known as Turbo,
who helped destroy the last of the Dire Wraiths. Michiko Musashi currently
wears the Torpedo suit as the adventurer called Turbo.
Unicorn (Milos Masaryk)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 56
Description: Soviet intelligence agent outfitted with high-tech energy
weaponry invented by Anton Vanko, the original Crimson Dynamo. Later went
rogue and became a freelace criminal after Soviet scientists endowed him
with superhuman strength and durability using an experimental
ìhyper-activatorî machine. This strength-augmenting process caused
accelerated cellular deterioration which drove the Unicorn insane, though,
and he was presumed dead after walking into the ocean.
Unicorn II
First Appearance: Soviet Super-Soldiers 1
Description: Costumed superhuman Soviet agent of unknown origins and
undetermined identity. Criminally insane and murderously violent, the
Unicorn has a third eye protruding from his forehead, through which he
channels destructive energy blasts. He was trained and outfitted by Soviet
officials under the direction of Valentin Shatalov so that Unicorn could
serve in Shatalov's super-team Remont-4.
Ursa Major (Mikhail [Urlokovitch] Ursus)
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk 258
Description: Mutant adventurer with the ability to transform into a
superhumanly strong bear. Trained by Professor Piotr Phobos on behalf of
the Soviet government and joined Phobos's other top students in forming the
Soviet Super-Soldiers, which began as a Soviet government organization
before they delcared themselves free agents.
Vanguard (Nicolai Krylenko)
First Appearance: Iron Man 109
Description: Mutant adventurer with the ability to repel any form of energy
directed toward him; he usually uses this power to repel attacks on his
person, though he can also use it for other purposes, such as flying by
repelling the force of gravity. Trained by Professor Piotr Phobos on behalf
of the Soviet government and joined Phobos's other top students in forming
the Soviet Super-Soldiers, which began as a Soviet government organization
before they delcared themselves free agents. Vanguard is the son of the
Russian scientist known as the Presence and the twin brother of Darkstar.
Vanguard was recently believed dead but has since turned up alive and
active once more.
Vostok
First Appearance: Captain America 352 (as Sputnik), Avengers 319 (as Vostok)
Description: Vostok is an artifical humanoid being described as ìan
amalgamation of human, alien and computer technologyî (he has also been
referred to simply as a synthezoid). At some point in the past, he was
apparently a human named Anatoly, but he is now a robotic adventurer who
serves with the People's Protectorate. He is equipped with long-range
sensory scanners, possesses the power of flight, and can mentally
manipulate and reshape all forms of machinery.
Yellow Claw
First Appearance: Yellow Claw 1
Description: Chinese scientist, criminal mastermind and would-be world
conqueror. Has pretended to serve the Chinese communist government in the
past but is actually interested solely in the pursuit of personal power.
Zvezda Dennista (Marya Meshkov)
First Appearance: Avengers West Coast 87
Description: While investigating the Siberian site where a huge fireball
exploded in 1909, geologist Marya Meshkov unearthed glowing fragments which
gave her the power of flight and the ability to generate heat, light and
flame from her body. She became a costumed adventurer known as Zvezda
Dennista (ìMorning Starî) and joined the Bogatyri, a Russian super-team who
wage war on the United States in the name of the defunct Soviet Union, to
which they remain loyal. Following the Bogatyri's defeat by the Avengers,
Zvezda Dennista worked solo as a mercenary in league with the Pacific
Overlords, but sided against them with the Avengers after realizing what a
global threat the Overlords posed.