Red Guardian

Alexei Shostakov was a celebrated Soviet test pilot married to Natasha Romanoff before the KGB faked his death and turned him into the Red Guardian. The identity was built as a Soviet counterpart to Captain America, and Alexei was sent to protect the Psychotron, a hallucination weapon at a secret base in China.

The mission brought him into conflict with Natasha and the Avengers. Alexei revealed himself to Natasha, fought Captain America, then turned against Colonel Ling when Ling tried to kill Natasha and later tried to shoot Captain America from behind. The base was destroyed, Alexei was believed dead, but he later survived, abandoned the Red Guardian identity for a time, resurfaced under the Ronin name, and eventually returned to Red Guardian operations. He later joins Bucky Barnes' Thunderbolt's team.

Appearance: Red Guardian has fair skin. He has blue colored eyes. He has a tall, heavily muscular build with broad shoulders, defined pectoral and abdominal muscles, and thick thighs. He has a full brown beard and mustache that covers his lower face, jawline, and chin. He wears a form-fitting black helmet mask covering his head, leaving his eyes, nose, and ginger bearded jaw exposed, with a small grey ridge crest mounted vertically on the top center line.

He wears a tight bodysuit composed of red and black sections. A black panel covers his upper chest and shoulders, which is interrupted at the center by a red five-pointed star emblem containing a white five-pointed star inside it. A thick black vertical stripe runs straight down the center of his red abdominal area from the chest emblem to his waist. His right forearm is covered by a long, heavy grey metallic gauntlet, while his left forearm features a black tactical glove with a segmented wrist cuff. A black utility belt with a silver rectangular buckle and two rectangular pouches on the right hip is fastened around his waist.

The lower half of his bodysuit consists of red trousers featuring large black panels along the outer sides of his hips and thighs. Both of his legs are outfitted with large grey metallic greaves that include separate knee guards and shin plates extending down to his ankles. On his feet, he wears heavy black combat boots.

Personality: Alexei Shostakov is proud, disciplined, and shaped by loyalty to the Soviet system that turned him into Red Guardian. He begins as a loyal state weapon, but he is not blindly obedient when his handlers cross lines he cannot accept. His confrontation with Natasha and the Avengers exposes that conflict, and he ultimately chooses to protect Natasha instead of serving Colonel Ling’s orders.

Natasha Romanoff is his most important older bond, since their marriage was destroyed when the KGB faked his death and remade him as Red Guardian. Captain America is his defining rival because Alexei’s identity was built as a Soviet counterpart to him. Yelena Belova becomes his connection to Bucky Barnes' Thunderbolts, with Alexei joining the team alongside her and often acting as a messy father figure whose loyalty is real even when his behavior is embarrassing. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine draws the Thunderbolts into a dangerous mission, placing Alexei among other unstable antiheroes who are forced to confront their pasts together.

Alexei Shostakov is an accomplished pilot, trained spy, and skilled hand-to-hand fighter with extensive martial arts training.

His Red Guardian costume is lined with protective unidentified material. His main weapon is a metal belt-disc that he throws at enemies and recalls through magnetic devices built into the disc and belt.