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Soviet Super-Soldiers
Soviet Super Soldiers #1 (November 1992) Cover art by Angel Medina and Jeff Albrecht
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #258 (April 1981)
Created by	Bill Mantlo Sal Buscema
In-story information
Member(s)	List Blind Faith Crimson Dynamo Darkstar Devastator Fantasia Gremlin Perun Red Guardian Sibercat Sputnik Stencil Ursa Major Vanguard

The Soviet Super-Soldiers (Russian: Советкие Суперсолдаты, romanized: Sovetskiye Supersoldaty) are a fictional team of super heroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #258 (April 1981). The team's storylines are a reflection of the American public's understanding of US/Soviet relations during the Cold War era.

Fictional team history

The Soviet Super-Soldiers were a superteam that was brought together by the Soviet government of Russia to be the counterpart of American teams such as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Professor Phobos founded this government program to locate and train superhuman beings in service of the state. The school's first student was Mikhail Ursus, who became known as Ursa Major. He was soon followed by siblings Laynia Petrovna and Nikolai Krylenko, who became known as Darkstar and Vanguard, respectively. These three mutants joined with Dmitri Bukharin, the fifth Crimson Dynamo, to form the initial lineup of the Soviet Super-Soldiers.

The Super-Soldiers played an active role as a pawn in a competition between Grandmaster and Death. The Soviet government sent the Super-Soldiers to Khystym to battle the Gremlin, and then fought Rom and Starshine. Allied with Rom and Starshine, the Soviet Super-Soldiers fought the Dire Wraiths. The team became allies of the Gremlin, and took over the Dire Wraith base in Khystym as the new Soviet Super-Soldiers headquarters. The Soviet Super-Soldiers later agreed to bring Magneto to justice. They fought the Avengers, and expelled the Crimson Dynamo as he was still loyal to the KGB. The Gremlin joined the team for a time while wearing the Titanium Man armor, but he was killed in action by (Tony Stark) Iron Man.

The three mutants Vanguard, Darkstar, and Ursa Major later decided to sever their ties with the Soviet government, and arrived at Avengers Island, and asked Captain America to help them seek political asylum in America. However, the three were beaten nearly to death, captured and returned to the Soviet states by the government-sponsored Supreme Soviets, who had been joined by the Crimson Dynamo. The comatose subconscious minds of the injured Vanguard, Darkstar, and Ursa Major formed a "Great Beast" that attempted to drain the life energies of the Supreme Soviets. Captain America stopped the Beast, and Vanguard, Darkstar, and Ursa Major regained consciousness and began recovering from their injuries.

Eventually, the team took on new members Blind Faith, Stencil, Sibercat and added former members of the Supreme Soviets: the third Red Guardian, Fantasia, Perun, Sputnik and the returning Crimson Dynamo. This team became known as the Winter Guard not long afterwards.

References

1. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Gilbert, Laura (2008). "1980s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 201. ISBN 978-0756641238. The Soviet Super-Soldiers, the Russian equivalent of the Avengers, were a team of super-powered individuals assembled by the Soviet government in this issue by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema.
2. Donovan, John (2013). "Cold War in Comics: Clobberin' Commies and Promoting Nationalism in American Comics". In Chambliss, Julian C.; Svitavsky, William; Donaldson, Thomas (eds.). Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men: Superheroes and the American Experience. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-1-4438-4803-9.
3. Mantlo, Bill (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Buscema, Sal; Milgrom, Al (i). "The Family That Dies Together...!" The Incredible Hulk, vol. 2, no. 259 (May 1981).
4. Mantlo, Bill (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Buscema, Sal (i). "To Hunt the Hulk!" The Incredible Hulk, vol. 2, no. 258 (April 1981).
5. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 402–403. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
6. Gruenwald, Mark; Mantlo, Bill; Grant, Steven (w), Romita, John Jr. (p), Marcos, Pablo; Layton, Bob (i). "A Gathering of Heroes!" Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, no. 1 (June 1982).
7. Gruenwald, Mark; Mantlo, Bill; Grant, Steven (w), Romita, John Jr. (p), Marcos, Pablo (i). "Chapter 2 First Contest: Frenzy In the Frozen North! Chapter 3 Second Contest: Ghost Town Showdown!" Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, no. 2 (July 1982).
8. Gruenwald, Mark; Mantlo, Bill; Grant, Steven (w), Romita, John Jr. (p), Marcos, Pablo (i). "Chapter 4 Third Contest: Siege In the City of the Dead! Chapter 5 Fourth Contest: Struggle in the Jungle! Chapter 6 Winner Takes None!" Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, no. 3 (Aug. 1982).
9. Mantlo, Bill (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Akin, Ian; Garvey, Brian (i). "Cry, the Mother Country!" Rom, no. 45 (Aug. 1983).
10. Mantlo, Bill (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Akin, Ian; Garvey, Brian (i). "Bestiary!" Rom, no. 46 (Sept. 1983).
11. Stern, Roger (w), Silvestri, Marc (p), Rubinstein, Joe (i). "Justice For All" X-Men vs. the Avengers, no. 1 (April 1987).
12. Stern, Roger (w), Silvestri, Marc (p), Rubinstein, Joe (i). "Uneasy Allies" X-Men vs. the Avengers, no. 2 (May 1987).
13. Stern, Roger (w), Silvestri, Marc (p), Rubinstein, Joe (i). "The Soviets Strike Back!" X-Men vs. the Avengers, no. 3 (June 1987).
14. Michelinie, David; Layton, Bob (w), Bright, M. D. (p), Layton, Bob (i). "Stark Wars Chapter 5: Red Snow" Iron Man, no. 229 (April 1988).
15. Gruenwald, Mark (w), Dwyer, Kieron; Milgrom, Al (p), Milgrom, Al (i). "Refuge" Captain America, no. 352 (April 1989).
16. Gruenwald, Mark (w), Dwyer, Kieron; Milgrom, Al (p), Milgrom, Al (i). "The Great Bear" Captain America, no. 353 (May 1989).
17. Nicieza, Fabian (w), Medina, Angel; Saltares, Javier (p), Albrecht, Jeff (i). "The Red Triangle Agenda" Soviet Super Soldiers, no. 1 (November 1992).
18. Busiek, Kurt (w), Chen, Sean (p), Cannon, Eric; Parsons, Sean (i). "Field of Honor" Iron Man, vol. 3, no. 9 (Oct. 1998).

External links

• Soviet Super-Soldiers at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Winter Guard at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

• Characters created by Bill Mantlo
• Fictional Russian people
• Marvel Comics superhero teams
• Marvel Comics titles
• Soviet Union-themed superheroes