The Red Guardian (Russian: Красный страж, Krasnyy Strazh) is the name of several fictional characters (superheroes and supervillains) appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics: Aleksey Lebedev, Alexei Shostakov, Tania Belinsky, Josef Petkus, Krassno Granitsky, Anton Ivanov, and Nikolai Krylenko, as well as a villainous Life Model Decoy of Aleksei Shostakov. The Red Guardian is an identity that was created as the Soviet equivalent of Captain America, although its use has continued after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In the continuity of Ultimate Marvel, the Red Guardian is adapted as two separate characters: Captain Russia and Colonel Abdul al-Rahma. Several iterations of the Red Guardian have made scattered appearances in animated media and video games, with Anton Ivanov / The Superior and Alexei Shostakov appearing in live-action media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Zach McGowan portraying Ivanov (also adapting MODOK) in the fourth and fifth seasons of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016–2018) in a recurring role, and David Harbour portraying Shostakov in the film Black Widow (2021), and set to reprise the role in the upcoming film Thunderbolts (2024), as well as voice an alternate version of the character in the Disney+ animated series Marvel Zombies. Fictional character biography Aleksey Lebedev Aleksey Lebedev (Russian: Алексей Лебедев), the Golden Age version of the Red Guardian, first appeared in Namor, The Sub-Mariner Annual #1 (June 1991), created by writers Dana Moreshead and Mike Thomas, and artist Phil Hester. Very little is known of him, but he fought alongside Captain America (William Naslund) and the Sub-Mariner at the Potsdam Conference, in July 1945. He began his career during World War II, and met the All-Winners Squad (formerly the Invaders) on only one recorded occasion, clashing with them shortly after the war's end where he taunted Captain America (secretly the Patriot) that he was 'slowing down' after he was able to catch Captain America's shield. Like the other crusaders of the same name, he was created as a Soviet counterpart to Captain America. He was later apparently killed during the purges of the 1950s, opposing the brutal experiments that would later create his successor. Alexei Shostakov Alexei Andreevich Shostakov was the first version of the Red Guardian, and was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, first appearing in Avengers #43 (January 1967). Alexei Shostakov was born in Moscow, and was the husband of Natasha Romanova. Both