The Soviet answer to Captain America
Alexei Shostakov was the Soviet Union's super soldier, built as a rival to Steve Rogers, and he has never gotten over it. He tells long stories about his glory days, insists he once fought Captain America, and squeezes into his old red suit long after it stopped fitting. He is loud, vain and a little ridiculous.
He is also, in his clumsy way, a father. During an undercover mission years ago he posed as the dad of a fake family in Ohio, alongside two girls who would grow up to be Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. That "family" is where his whole story starts, and the films treat it with more heart than you might expect from a comic relief character.
Alexei's titles in order
- Black Widow, optional on our list, but the place he is introduced.
- What If...?, optional. An alternate-universe animated appearance.
- Thunderbolts*, essential. His most important appearance.
- Marvel Zombies, optional. An animated series set in a separate, zombie-filled version of the universe.
- Avengers: Doomsday, essential and upcoming. Its plot has not been announced.
- Avengers: Secret Wars, listed on our timeline as an upcoming film. Its story has not been announced.
Turning points without big spoilers
Black Widow finds Alexei in a Russian prison, forgotten by the program that made him. Natasha and Yelena need him to reach the Red Room, and the reunion of this broken fake family produces the film's funniest and saddest dinner scene.
In Thunderbolts* he is out, aimless and driving a limousine, desperate to matter again. When Yelena gets caught up in a dangerous mess, Alexei throws himself into the idea of a new team, cheering everyone on like a proud coach. The film gives him real growth as a dad without turning him serious.
Marvel Zombies is a what-if style detour, so treat it as fun extra viewing rather than part of his main story.
Who Alexei is tied to
His daughter figure Yelena Belova is the most important relationship he has, and every one of his films comes back to it. In Thunderbolts* he shares the screen with Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, whom he admires a little too openly, and with John Walker, a disgraced former Captain America whose ego makes him a natural sparring partner. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the powerful official pulling strings behind that team, is someone Alexei badly underestimates.
David Harbour as Red Guardian
David Harbour plays Alexei in the live-action films. He commits fully to the bluster, the thick accent and the tight costume, then turns around and lands an honest moment about fatherhood. That switch between clown and wounded dad is the character.
Harbour is best known as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things. He also led the action comedy Violent Night and played the title role in a reboot of Hellboy.
Suggested watch order
- Black Widow, for his introduction and the family backstory.
- Thunderbolts*, his essential chapter.
- Marvel Zombies, only if you like animation and alternate takes.
Keep an eye on Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars for what comes next. If you skip Black Widow, Thunderbolts* still works, though his relationship with Yelena will mean less. Other Thunderbolts* teammates are in our character index.