365 Marvel Comics Heroes - Tumblr Posts
365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…
September 5th - Red Guardian
A few different heroes have occupied the mantle of The Red Guardian. The first was a Russian soldier named Aleksey Lebedev who demonstrated significant physical prowess and skills in combat. Hoping to emulate the heightened morale offered by Captain America, The Russian military outfitted Lebedev with a patriotic costume and sent him on daring missions. Dubbed the ‘Red Guardian,’ he would go on to aide the Allied Forces and fought side by side with The Invaders and The All Winners Squad. Lebedev died some time after the war under mysterious circumstances and it was intimated that he may have been assassinated for speaking out against Soviet governmental decisions.
Years later, Alexei Shostakov was selected to become the next Red Guardian. Shostakov was a celebrated test pilot and hero of the people. He was recruited into the KGB and asked to maintain a cover identity (which included an arranged marriage to the ballerina, Natasha Rominoff (the spy known as The Black Widow)).
Shostakov was subjected to vigorous training, equipped with a number of advanced weaponry and give a costume similar to that worn Lebedev.
One of the Red Guardian’s missions put him into conflict with The Avengers. His former ally, The Black Widow, betrayed him so to save the life of her love, Hawkeye. In turn, Shostakov ended up sacrificing his own life to save Rominoff.
The Soviet military would go on to use Life Model Decoys based on Shostakov’s likeness so to hide the hero’s death. This facsimile version of The Guardian would participate in further missions but was ultimately destroyed.
The next hero to don the guise of The Red Guardian was a young doctor named Tania Belinskaya. After her father was arrested and exiled to Siberia for his public denunciations of Soviet policies, Belinskaya decided to adopt the identity of The Red Guardian so to help other dissidents and to fight crime. Along with her proficiency as a physician, Belinskaya was additionally a highly accomplished martial artist and she proved a greatly capable hero. She later emigrated to the United States where she acted as a member of The Defenders. Following an encounter with the being known as The Presence, Belinskaya cast aside her role as the Red Guardian and changed her alias to ‘Starlight.’
Some time later, it was revealed that Alexei Shostakov had not died in battle with the Avengers. He resurfaced as the assassin Ronin, acting as a member of the Dark Ocean Society. This resulted in a confrontation with the Black Widows Natasha Rominoff and Yelena Belova.
The Alexei Shostakov version of the Red Guardian features in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, debuting in the movie, The Black Widow, and portrayed by actor David Harbor.
Aleksey Lebedev first appeared in the pages of Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #1 (1991); Alexei Shostakov first appeared in Avengers Vol. 1 #43 (1967); and Tania Belinskaya first appeared in The Defender Vol. 1 #35 (1976).