Crimson Dynamo | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Tales of Suspense #46 (Oct 1963) |
Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Don Heck (artist) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Varies |
Abilities | Varies with each version, but usually includes: resistance to damage, super-strength, electrical discharges and flight. The 8th version could also be piloted by remote control using only its helmet |
The Crimson Dynamo (Russian: Красное Динамо, Krasnoye Dinamo) is the name of several fictional characters in the Marvel Comics Universe, most of whom have been supervillains. The various Crimson Dynamos have been powered armor-wearing Russian or Soviet agents who have clashed with the superhero Iron Man over the course of his heroic career. The original Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Tales of Suspense #46.
Contents |
Incarnations
Anton Vanko
The first Crimson Dynamo was also the creator of the armor: Professor Dr. Anton Vanko. A Soviet scientist of Armenian birth with a PhD, Vanko was the world's foremost expert on electricity. He built a suit that was wired up to perform electric miracles, making him a human dynamo. The Crimson Dynamo battle-suit allowed him to control electricity in all of its forms, allowing him to fire devastating bolts of electricity. It also allowed him to fly.
Vanko was a vain man, but he redeemed himself in the end. In their first encounter, the Crimson Dynamo battled Iron Man.[1] After being tricked by Iron Man (who made him believe that his Soviet handlers were going to kill him though earlier Vanko's superior implied he was going to kill Vanko, anyway), Vanko defected to the U.S. and went to work for Tony Stark as one of his chief scientists. Soon the Soviets came to kill him for real. They sent their top agent, the Black Widow, and her one-time partner, Boris Turgenev, the latter of whom stole the armor and became the second Crimson Dynamo. Vanko died saving Iron Man by firing an unstable experimental laser light pistol at Boris, killing himself as well.[2]
Vanko's heroic sacrifice was re-visited in the mini series Enter the Mandarin where it's revealed that the Mandarin's son, Temugin was witness to Vanko and Turgenev's death.
Boris Turgenev
Boris Turgenev, the second Crimson Dynamo, had a very short career in the super villain game. In his first and only appearance[2], Turgenev came to the United States with his one-time partner, the Black Widow, to kill Anton Vanko, Tony Stark, and Iron Man. Stealing the suit, he almost carried out his mission, virtually defeating Iron Man. But he was killed by Vanko, who, sacrificing his own life for the cause of freedom, fired an experimental and unstable new laser pistol, killing Boris.
Alex Nevsky
Although often mistakenly referred to as the second Crimson Dynamo, Alex Nevsky (also known as Alex Niven) was actually the third man to go by the Crimson Dynamo name. Introduced as the American Alex Niven, he was Cord Industries' hot new scientist, but he was scheming from the start, aiming to take down Tony Stark.[3]
But his story actually began behind the Iron Curtain. The protégé of Professor Anton Vanko, he admired and respected the brilliant scientist, who created the Crimson Dynamo battle-suit. After Vanko defected to the West, all who knew the traitorous genius were tainted under suspicion of disloyalty. Nevsky's promising career was ruined and he fled. In exile, Nevsky learned to hate the government that he had once loved, the government that turned on him so quickly without proof. He also sought vengeance against the man who toppled his mentor: Iron Man. He also wanted to destroy Stark, because the capitalist had exploited Vanko.
His plan was fairly simple: As Alex Niven he would go to work for Cord Industries, using his brilliance to help the struggling company beat out Stark Industries in the marketplace. He would then go after Iron Man, besting him with a new and improved Crimson Dynamo armor. (He actually fought two different men inside the IM armor: Eddie March and Tony Stark.) He also worked against Stark by romancing Janice Cord, with whom he later fell in love for real.
After he donned the Crimson Dynamo armor in public,[4] his old Soviet masters sent the Titanium Man to kill him. When the Titanium Man killed Janice, Niven blamed Iron Man for the tragedy and swore to avenge her.[5] Although he held Titanium Man just as responsible for Janice's death, Niven was forced by circumstance to partner with him and Radioactive Man in Vietnam, where all three Communist-aligned fugitives formed the Titanic Three.[6] Nevsky also defected to Vietnam and lived in Saigon. Nevsky made an unsuccessful attempt to kill Iron Man[7]. Fleeing the battle, Nevsky disappeared soon thereafter. He was assassinated by the KGB, who confiscated his armor for their own purposes.[8]
Yuri Petrovich
Yuri Petrovich, the fourth Crimson Dynamo, was the son of the Black Widow's partner Ivan Petrovich. When Western agents (presumably Americans) failed to convince Ivan to defect to the West, they assassinated Yuri's mother; in the chaos that followed, Ivan and Yuri each believed the other dead. Yuri was brought to the West, where Soviet agents, posing as Westerners, indoctrinated him to hate the West. When the Black Widow and Ivan defected to the United States, Yuri was "rescued" by the Soviets, returned to Russia, and trained as a KGB assassin. He was given the Crimson Dynamo armor and sent to kill the Widow and Ivan. Yuri and his allies (his girlfriend Darkstar, the Griffin, Rampage, and the original Titanium Man) fought the Widow and her teammates, the Champions. When Yuri learned of the true nature of his "Western" captors, he went berserk. Darkstar teamed with the Champions in order to subdue Yuri, and after he and his other allies were defeated, he was returned to Russia, convicted by the Soviet government, and exiled to a Siberian labor camp.[9]
Dmitri Bukharin
Dmitri Bukharin, the fifth Crimson Dynamo, was given his armor by his masters in the KGB. He joined the Soviet Super-Soldiers, but was expelled when his teammates learned of his loyalty to the government that had betrayed them. He later joined the Supreme Soviets, a group of superhumans who were loyal to the Soviet government; the group became the People's Protectorate after the USSR dissolved. When the government confiscated his armor, he was given a new suit of armor and adopted the codename Airstrike.
Valentin Shatalov
Valentin Shatalov, a Colonel-General in the Soviet Army and KGB agent, first appeared in Iron Man #255 (April 1990) . He used his rank to obtain the Crimson Dynamo from Dmitri Bukharin for his own use. He was a member of Remont 4. He and his allies (the cyborg Firefox and the original Unicorn) revived the original Titanium Man and fought the Soviet Super Soldiers and a group of Russian mutant exiles. He was later apparently allied with the Red Skull, although this may have been yet another Crimson Dynamo.
After the death of the first Titanium Man, which was blamed on him in a political move, Shatalov was relieved of his duties as Crimson Dynamo.
Seventh Crimson Dynamo
Wearing the former armor of Dmitri Bukharin, this Dynamo's skill with the armor was minimal, and he was deftly handled by both Nick Fury (whom his employer had earlier brainwashed) and Captain America.
Gennady Gavrilov
The Eighth Crimson Dynamo was Russian collegiate Gennady Gavrilov, who found the helmet of a suit designed by Anton Vanko - a 'Beta unit', based on but improved over the original, with its very own recharging satellite in orbit. Believing the helmet to be a sophisticated gaming system, Gavrilov caused the dormant armor to awaken and make its way towards the helmet, inadvertently leaving a trail of destruction. He would eventually, if briefly, wear the entire armor in a standoff with the Russian military. He kept the armor afterwards, but it is unknown if he ever wore it again.
Ninth Crimson Dynamo
Very little is known of this new Dynamo. Exactly what the armor is capable of and who is inside of it are both presently not disclosed by the storywriters. Presumably, his armor was either given it or had it upgraded by Tinkerer. This version first appeared in the Secret War miniseries, written by Brian Michael Bendis. In this storyline, this version is united with various other technologically inclined villains against the Avengers. The above battle continued, even after the Fantastic Four arrived to assist the heroes. Eventually Lucia von Bardas caused all of the villains' armors' energies to join together in a chain that would have caused a massive explosion. The chain reaction was broken up by S.H.I.E.L.D. when Daisy Johnson killed Bardas. Crimson Dynamo and the other villains that survived were taken to hospitals.
Tenth Crimson Dynamo
The next Crimson Dynamo appearance was in Iron Man vol. 4 #7. The full capabilities of this version of the armor remain unrevealed, though it appears to include a high degree of resistance to injury, super strength and explosives. Crimson Dynamo robbed a bank in New York only to be attacked by Iron Man, who knocked the villain through a wall. Dynamo grabbed a nearby construction worker and Iron Man hit him with a full repulsor burst that stopped the villain's heart. Iron Man then restarted the Dynamo's heart before turning him over to the authorities. It was later revealed that this armor had been bought on the black market, and that the designs for Crimson Dynamo-based technology have been for sale for a while.
Eleventh Crimson Dynamo
The eleventh Crimson Dynamo was a member of the Alpha Gen Soviet Super-Soldiers and was put into cryogenic stasis where it would remain until it was awakened after a nuclear explosion was detected. After the Cold War ended, the base where it was positioned was abandoned, leaving him and his comrades. During a fight between the Order and the Infernal Man, Order member Corona set off an enormous explosion which was detected as a nuclear blast, activating the Soviet Super-Soldiers. They confronted the Order on their way to California. On Dreknov Island, Calamity found the three men controlling the Soviet Super-Soldiers. Unable to kill the three sleeping men due to moral values, Supernaut was sent to finish them off. Aralune, sensing they only had one chance left, ate the bomb and absorbed the blast. The blast apparently destroyed the Crimson Dynamo.
Boris Vadim
In the first issue of the 2008 Hulk series, a S.H.I.E.L.D.-sanctioned team consisting of Iron Man, Doc Samson and She-Hulk were investigating the scene of the apparent murder of the Abomination. However, the crime scene being in Russia and Emil Blonsky apparently considered a Russian citizen, the partly-American military team is confronted by the Winter Guard. This new Crimson Dynamo attacks Iron Man, revealing that this version of the Dynamo had never previously encountered the armored hero.[10]
Recently in War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD, the new Crimson Dynamo was seen ignoring orders from his superiors and helping War Machine defeat invading Skrulls. He parted on good terms with Rhodes.[11] He later flees to the United States seeking political asylum and joins the Red Hulk's mercenary group to hunt down Domino only to end up engaging X-Force.[12]. Some time later, while battling the mutated Igor Drenkov, Vadim was devoured.[13]
Galina Nemirovsky
Vadim was later replaced as Crimson Dynamo by a young woman named Galina Nemirovsky.[14]
Federal Dynamo
In Black Widow: Deadly Origin #2, the Widow encounters a Federal Dynamo at a military base. He refers to the Federal Dynamos as a rank, and hopes to be promoted to Crimson Dynamo one day. While the armor bears resemblence to some of the earlier Crimson Dynamos, the armor was mainly grey and blue.[15]
Powers and abilities
The Crimson Dynamo wears an armored battle-suit that serves as an exoskeleton, providing the wearer with superhuman strength and durability. The suit's outer layer was composed of a carborundum matrix alloy, and is equipped with hand-blasters that can fire high-frequency electrical bolts, small missiles contained in the back shoulder area of the battle-suit, computers and radio transmitter and receiver, boot jets that allow flight. Subsequent versions of the battle-suit have featured upgrades of various kinds, by the Gremlin and other Russian scientists. As Crimson Dynamo, Valentin Shatalov's version of the armor was equipped with a powerful chest-mounted fusion-caster weapon.
Other versions
Civil War: House of M
In the House of M, Crimson Dynamo was a member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers.[16]
Ultimate Crimson Dynamo
The Ultimates featured a Chinese Dynamo, named Alex Su, as a member of The Liberators. Based on similar technology to Tony Stark's Iron-Tech he is unable to exit his armor, having been fused inside, but can supposedly use it to control up to 50 giant-sized drone versions (which are revealed to be piloted independently.) He is apparently killed when Tony Stark vaporizes him while piloting the Iron Man Six aircraft.
Major Valentin Shatalov appears in Ultimate Fantastic Four #47. He is based in a shack in Siberia, and has apparently been out of contact with his superiors for a long time, becoming entirely self-sufficient. When he is given the order to activate his armor he has forgotten correct procedure, and his contact was not even sure he was still alive. Reed Richards reports that this Crimson Dynamo is an "Eastern Bloc version of Iron Man", making the latest Ultimate version extremely similar to the original character. He has joined forces with the Fantastic Four to defeat the Red Ghost.
In other media
Television
- Crimson Dynamo appeared in the Iron Man portion of The Marvel Superheroes. The episode he appeared in was based on his first comic book appearance. In fact some of the stills are actual comic book panels.
- Crimson Dynamo appeared in two episodes of the Iron Man animated series voiced by William Hootkins and later by Stu Rosen. In "Not Far From the Tree," he worked with an A.I.M.-made clone of Howard Stark. In "The Armor Wars" Pt. 1, Tony Stark's discovery about Dynamo using Stark technology as part of his armor ignites the animated version of the Armor Wars. He wore the Crimson Dynamo armor associated with Valentin Shatalov; however, Stark referred him as "Yuri" in the episode.[citation needed]
- Two versions of the Crimson Dynamo have appeared in Iron Man: Armored Adventures, voiced by Mark Oliver and Brian Drummond. In this version, the Crimson Dynamo armor was initially a monochromic white and red armor designed for space travel by Project Pegasus.[17]
- The first Crimson Dynamo appears in the episode "Iron Man vs. the Crimson Dynamo" and was piloted by an astronaut named Ivan Vanko, Vanko was a cosmonaut stranded in space in very close orbit to the Sun for two years. He crashlanded on a bridge and took a beeline for the Project Pegasus headquarters, after several failed attempts from Iron Man to stop him, he paid a visit to Project Pegasus to find out Vanko's reasons for targeting the building. A doctor, Anton Harkov told Tony the story of leaving him in space, and that Vanko was out for revenge. While breaking through the building Vanko reveals one of his causes of his anger is that Harkov "took my [Vanko] family from me." Pepper then does a search for Vanko's family. One last attempt by Iron Man to save Harkov allows Pepper enough time to bring in Vanko's family. After seeing his family he abandons his attempts of revenge.
- The second appearance of the Crimson Dynamo was one of Stane's bodyguards, O'Brien, in the episode "Seeing Red". Stane acquired the suit from Harkov in order to capture Iron Man, and analize his suit. After learning of Harkov's betrayal, Tony becomes enraged, after managing to escape he threatens to "burn Project Pegasus to the ground." The armor is defeated when Tony uses his new Dynamo-Buster armor, and he infects Project Pegasus' computers with the Technovore virus. Tony in turn regards this as one of his first "true" enemy defeats.
- Crimson Dynamo appears in The Super Hero Squad Show voiced by Jess Harnell. This version is based on the sixth Crimson Dynamo, and teams with Melter in a plot to frame and destroy Iron Man. This Dynamo speaks in severely broken english ("I am Crimson Dynamo", "I am break you"), referring to himself in the third person, and often calling random things weak (for example, "Interpersonal relationships are for the weak! Crimson Dynamo am strong!").[citation needed]
Music
- Crimson Dynamo appears in the song Magneto and Titanium Man by Paul McCartney and Wings.
Film
- Mickey Rourke will play the villain Whiplash, the film version of which will include elements from the Crimson Dynamo, in Iron Man 2.[18] His alter ego will be named Ivan Vanko, who in the film will be the son of Anton Vanko, the original Dynamo in the comics.
Video games
- Crimson Dynamo is the main villain in The Invincible Iron Man for Game Boy Advance.
- Crimson Dynamo is a member of the Masters of Evil in the videogame Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by Robin Atkin Downes. The Crimson Dynamo in-game is Valentin Shatalov, the sixth Crimson Dynamo, however the armor is not any existing one, but resembles a smoothed-out version of the eighth Crimson Dynamo (though he mentions he has had upgrades). He is a member of Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil and assists M.O.D.O.K. and Mysterio in the attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Omega Base. Crimson Dynamo has special dialogue with Iron Man (who mentions to Iron Man that his new armor can defeat him). A VS simulation disk involves fighting Crimson Dynamo in Asgard.
- Crimson Dynamo appears in Marvel Super Hero Squad voiced by Jess Harnell.
- The Crimson Dynamo is set to appear as a villan in the video game adaption to Iron Man 2.[19] The recent trailer revealed that General Valentin Shatalov will appear as an ally of Roxxon Energy Corporation and will wear the Crimson Dynamo armor.
References
- ^ Tales of Suspense #46
- ^ a b Tales of Suspense #52
- ^ Iron Man volume 1 #15
- ^ Iron Man #21
- ^ Iron Man #22
- ^ Avengers #130
- ^ Iron Man #73
- ^ According to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- ^ Champions #8-10
- ^ Hulk #1
- ^ Invincible Iron Man #35
- ^ Hulk #14
- ^ Hulk: Winter Guard #0
- ^ Hulk: Winter Guard 1 (1) (December 2009), Marvel Comics
- ^ Black Widow: Deadly Origin #2
- ^ Civil War: House of M #2
- ^ Comics Continuum
- ^ Michael Fleming, Marc Graser (2009-03-11). "Mickey Rourke set for 'Iron Man 2'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001114.html. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ "Iron Man 2 Teaser Trailer". youtube. 2009-07-21. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td-4CGK_0Lw. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
External links
- The Crimson Dynamo at Marvel.com
- Ninth Crimson Dynamo at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Anton Vanko at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe; links to other Dynamos
- Anton Vanko chronological timeline on miniseries author's site
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