Winter Guard

Current Roster

• Red Widow
• Vanguard
• Vostok
• Crimson Dynamo (Bukharin)
• Darkstar (Petrovna)
• Perun
• Chernborg

Origin

The Winter Guard was born from the remains of two of Russia's most powerful teams, namely the Soviet Super Soldiers and The Protectorate. The initial line-up included Fantasma, Sibercat, Powersurge, Vanguard, Vostok, Steel Guardian, and Darkstar. The Winter Guard was a team formed by the new Russian Government, but free of the past of the Cold War.

Creation

The Winter Guard was created by Kurt Busiek and Sean Chen and first appeared in Iron Man Vol.3 issue 9 (1998).

Major Story Arcs

A New Powerfull Team

The Winter Guard made it's way into America where they first revealed themselves as the newly formed team. The team fought alongside the Avengers during a number of crisis. They where seen protecting their homeland during the events of Maximum Security also held off the forces of Kang when he assaulted the earth in an attempt to conquer it. At one point, Darkstar left the team for an unknown period of time to join the X-Corperation, a team of mutant with branches all over the world.

Death of a Teammate

After Darkstar's apparent death during a mission with the X-Corperation in Paris, the team began to experience greater discord among its members. Vanguard, Vostok, Powersurge, Fantasma, Steel Guardian, and Sibercat resigned in disgust - and were considered 'missing' by the Russian government. Ursa Major and Crimson Dynamo (Dmitri Bukharin) remained. Red Guardian (Krassno Granitsky) who had briefly teamed up with Maverick to stop mobster, Ivan Pushkin, was brought on to replace Steel Guardian in the roster, but he was later killed.

After this incident and the tragic death of Darkstar, the Russian Executive Security Committee saw value in the public reputation established by The Winter Guard and stepped in to help reassure the Russian people that the Winter Guard was still as robust as ever.

The New Guard is Born

Quickly, they assembled an elite pool of candidates that would step into the shoes of Russia's most iconic heroes if they were ever to fall in battle. After elaborate physical and psychological testing, a sixth hero stepped into the role of Red Guardian. Sasha Roerich became the second Darkstar when it was clear that she best matched the 'power profile' of the original Darkstar.The Russian government also took elaborate steps to reclaim all of the rogue Crimson Dynamo armors that had been used for illegal purposes (the armors used by Gennady Gavrilov, and the 9th, 10th, and 11th Dynamos, and the Airstrike armor, etc...).

As Dmitri Bukharin reached his retirement age, he was given his own personal suit of armor as a reward for extraordinary service and he was assigned as the Winter Guard's new liaison. Qualified test pilot, Boris Vadim stepped into to fill his shoes as the 12th Crimson Dynamo.

This 'NEW' WINTER GUARD is supported by the Russian Executive Security Committee - they are given the same status and glory that the Avengers or Fantastic Four had - they are the 'officially sanctioned team' - their headquarters is stationed in the old Dire Wraith Science Citadel (which they just call 'The Citadel'). Their supersonic aircraft is called the Sovereign.

Unlike other superhero teams, The Winter Guard currently has a rotating pool of candidates to fill one of four roles on the team: Darkstar, Crimson Dynamo, Red Guardian, and Ursa Major. The current roster consists of a third Darkstar, seventh Red Guardian, thirteenth Crimson Dynamo and the one-and-only Ursa Major.

Meeting the Hulk

Recently, the Winter Guard encountered She Hulk, Doc Samson and General Thunderbolt Ross who were investigating the death of Emil Blonsky aka the Abomination.

The Winter Guard and Return of Dark Star

Over the last several months, the team has tussled with Iron Man, War Machine, the Lady Liberators, the Skrulls, the Mandarin, Presence, Igor Drenkov and Remont Six.and the Dire Wraiths.

International Super-Tension

The Russian superteam, The Winter Guard, was revived due to increased international superhuman activity. The Avengers were now answering to Wakanda and operating from the North Pole, while Namor led the Defenders of the Deep against the surface countries. Russia’s last straw was when the Defenders attacked Russian submarines in the Black Sea.

During a possible vampire uprising, Darkstar and Vanguard were placed on the border of Russia and Ukraine to stand guard. There, they were approached by an emaciated Dracula looking for sanctuary. The siblings had Dracula locked up until he could make a deal with Moscow to turn the irradiated land of Chernobyl into a new vampire nation.

With the help of Gorilla-Man, the Winter Guard are able to arrest She-Hulk for crimes against Russia. They rushed her through a trial and locked her up in The Red Room so they could turn her into an asset. However, this was all part of Jen's plans. The Agents of Wakanda had collected intel that political upheaval in Atlantis was caused by Russia, and they had a plan to use their mole in the Avengers to kidnap She-Hulk and turn her into their patsy. Jen, ultimately, volunteered to go through Red Room training, confident she could not be broken. After she escapes, she heads to Atlantis and absorbs the gamma radiation from a Winter Guard bomb, undoing Russia’s plans for global upheaval.

Manhunt for Red Guardian

Red Guardian teamed up with Yelena to retrieve four hard drives containing records linking the USSR to corruption. Alexei was previously tasked with destroying them, but instead, he hid the hard drives where he could retrieve them later if he ever had to leak them to the Russian people. The two were consider high priorities by the Russian security council, so when they crossed the broder it got the attention of Russia’s current super team, The Winter Guard.

Alexei narrowly escaped his first encounter by sabotaging Crimson Dynamo’s suit and sowing dissent by claiming to have a mole on the team. Unfortunately, when he arranged to retrieve the drive from Dracula, Dracula had invited the Winter Guard as well, hoping to play both sides. He was able to convince Dracula with his patriotic musings, but once he had the drive, he betrayed Yelena, leaving her behind to deal with the Guard while he ran off with his "populist fantasy."

With a lead from Yelena, Vanguard and Red Widow catch up with Alexei as he is leaving the country from Lukomorye State Park, near the Mongolian border. Although Alexei has the drop on both of them, Vanguard is able to use his shield to destroy the case containing the hard drives. Despite Alexi getting away, Vanguard is still given a hero's welcome for securing his nation's secrets.