The character of David Harbour in Black Widow is known as Alexei Shostakov, also known as the Red Guardian, and he was a breath of fresh air in the film, to say the least. But for starters, who is he, and what are his powers in the film? Will we be able to see him again in future projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Who is the Red Guardian in Black Widow?
Alexei Shostakov, portrayed by David Harbour, is also known as the Red Guardian and as seen in the film, he was really strong. He plays the pseudo-father of both Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova, and the fake husband of another Black Widow, Melina Vostokoff. Their faux family explains their different surnames as they only had to pretend that they were one as one of the missions of Alexei and Melina for General Dreykov.
He is a comical relief in the film and is a chatterbox having to tell various stories about him and his so-called rivalry with Captain America. It was also shown that he was a prisoner that Natasha and Yelena broke out. Before he escaped, he was talking to various prisoners while having a tattoo on his back and having an arm-wrestling challenge and when one questioned him about his stories about facing Cap, he lashed out and broke the player's arm.
Throughout, he had various stories about how he fished with his father, how he faced Captain America, how his adventures went on when he was in his prime years. However, he was stationed in Ohio by General Dreykov for an undercover mission and after that, he was imprisoned for the rest of his life had Natasha and Yelena hadn't taken him out of it.
What are the Powers of the Red Guardian in Black Widow?
To start, he shared on the plane after he got out of prison that he is the only super-soldier that Russia has and his abilities were put at bay when Dreykov imprisoned him. That, in itself, makes him as formidable a fighter as Captain America and Bucky being a super-soldier.
He has the skills of one as he has super strength, agility, and speed as well. However, his time in prison might have affected this as his powers were kept unused for a long time, and he kind of gained some weight making it harder for him to move. Still, his costume fits, so that is a plus, right?
One thing that he possibly lacks as against Cap and Bucky is that his mouth speaks first before thinking. Being the chatterbox that he is, he was darted multiple times and was taken down because he was overconfident, maybe, or that he did not think it through. Still, he was helpful in keeping the Taskmaster busy for quite some time, giving Melina, Yelena, and Natasha time to pull off taking down the Red Room for good.
See the Red Guardian in Black Widow now out in theaters and on Disney Plus Premier Access.
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