Crimson Dynamo

powers	Armored suit grants: Superhuman strength Flight Invulnerability Electric and laser blasts Smokescreen Backpack rocket launcher

Crimson Dynamo (Russian: Багровое Динамо, Bagrovoe Dinamo; also Красное Динамо (Krasnoe Dinamo)) is the name of several characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics who have all been powered armor–wearing Russian or Soviet agents who have clashed with the superhero Iron Man over the course of his heroic career.[1]

Publication history

The Anton Vanko incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Tales of Suspense #46 (October 1963), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck.[2]

The Boris Turgenov incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964), and was created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Don Rico.

The Alex Nevsky incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Iron Man #15 (July 1969), and was created by Archie Goodwin and George Tuska.

The Yuri Petrovich incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in The Champions #7 (August 1976), and was created by George Tuska and Tony Isabella.

The Dimitri Bukharin incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Iron Man #109 (April 1978), and was created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Carmine Infantino.

The Valentin Shatalov incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Iron Man #255 (April 1990), and was created by Glenn Herdling, Fabian Nicieza, and Herb Trimpe.

The seventh Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Captain America (vol. 3) #42 (April 2001), and was created by Dan Jurgens.

The Gennady Gavrilov incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Crimson Dynamo #1 (October 2003), and was created by John Jackson Miller and Steve Ellis.

The ninth Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Secret War #3 (October 2004), and was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Gabriele Dell'Otto.

The tenth Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Iron Man (vol. 4) #7 (June 2006), and was created by Daniel Knauf, Charles Knauf, and Patrick Zircher.

The Boris Vadim incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Hulk (vol. 2) #1 (March 2008), and was created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.

The Galina Nemirovsky incarnation of Crimson Dynamo first appeared in Hulk: Winter Guard #1 (February 2010), and was created by Steve Ellis and David Gallaher.

Fictional character biography

Anton Vanko

Anton Vanko, the first Crimson Dynamo, was also the armor's creator. A Soviet scientist of Armenian birth with a Ph.D. in physics, Vanko was one of the world's foremost experts on electricity. At the behest of the USSR, Vanko built a powered exoskeleton capable of performing incredible feats. He also designed the Unicorn's helmet and instructed the Russian agent in its use.[3]

As the Crimson Dynamo, Vanko was sent by the Soviet Government to sabotage Stark Industries and defeat his American counterpart Iron Man in battle.[4] Vanko's armor allowed him to generate and control electricity in all of its forms, such as firing devastating bolts of lightning and flying using electromagnetic propulsion. Unlike Iron Man, who at the time had to regularly charge the chest plate powering his suit (and keeping him alive), the Crimson Dynamo was powered by a self-sustaining generator.

After losing to Iron Man, Vanko defected to the United States out of fear that his superiors would kill him for failing.

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 and 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 the 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

An alternate universe version of Yuri Petrovich / Crimson Dynamo from Earth-58163 appears in House of M as a member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers.[28]

Heroes Reborn

An alternate universe version of Anton Vanko / Crimson Dynamo from a pocket dimension created by Franklin Richards appears in Heroes Reborn as a member of Loki's Masters of Evil.[29]

Marvel Zombies

An unidentified alternate universe version of Crimson Dynamo from Earth-2149 appears in

In other media

Television

The Anton Vanko and Boris Tyrgenev incarnations of the Crimson Dynamo appear in the "Iron Man" segment of The Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Tom Harvey.[33]
The Yuri Petrovich incarnation of the Crimson Dynamo appears in Iron Man, voiced by William Hootkins in "Not Far from the Tree" and by Stu Rosen in "The Armor Wars".[34] This version is a former KGB agent whose armor is made from Stark Industries technology. In the episode "Not Far from the Tree", Petrovich works with A.I.M. and a clone of Howard Stark to kill Tony Stark and take control of Stark Industries, only to be defeated by Iron Man. In "The Armor Wars", Petrovich breaks off from A.I.M. in an unsuccessful attempt to restore the Soviet Union with other former KGB agents by destroying a nuclear power plant, giving his life to do so.

External links

The Crimson Dynamo at Marvel.com
Anton Vanko chronological timeline on miniseries author's site

References

Jeff Rovin. The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains Facts on File, 1987^
Tom DeFalco, Peter Sanderson, Tom Brevoort, Michael Teitelbaum, Daniel Wallace, Andrew Darling, Matt Forbeck, Alan Cowsill. The Marvel Encyclopedia DK Publishing, 2019^
Tales of Suspense #56 (August 1964)^

Valentin Shatalov

Valentin Shatalov, a Colonel-General in the Soviet Army and a KGB agent, is the sixth Crimson Dynamo. He used his rank to obtain the Crimson Dynamo armor from Dmitri Bukharin for his own use. He was the founder of Remont-4, a group of Russian superhumans who sought to return the Soviet Union to Stalinism. Shatalov and his allies (the cyborg Firefox and the original Unicorn among others) recruited the original Titanium Man to their cause. The Remont-4 fought the Soviet Super Soldiers and a group of Russian mutant exiles in addition to plaguing Iron Man.[14]

In Shatalov's first appearance as the Crimson Dynamo, he was in a training session with Devastator in Russia at the same time Iron Man had encountered an out-of-control mutant dubbing himself Freak Quincy in Los Angeles. Quincy's out-of-control powers tapped into Devastator's satellite uplink from the other side of the world, and he managed to switch the minds of Stark and Shatalov. His unfamiliarity with the Iron Man armor resulted in Shatalov firing pulse bolts that destroyed Quincy's arms, although the mutant survived. After Stark and Shatalov struggled to maintain each other's identities, Shatalov was able to get the hospitalized Quincy to recreate the transmission that switched their minds. Out of respect for Stark, Shatalov did not reveal Stark's identity.[15]

Sometime after the fall of the Soviet Union, Shatalov received an upgraded Crimson Dynamo armor. Less bulky than Bukharin's model and with silver accents, this was the first Crimson Dynamo armor that was not completely crimson. Shatalov later met Tony Stark in person, when the latter traveled to Russia to oversee the opening of the first Stark Enterprises branch in the country, and revealed to Stark that he had kept his identity as Iron Man a secret. Stark's trip to Russia was interrupted by the rampage of the Titanium Man, Boris Bullski, who still could not accept the new Russia, and saw Stark's presence in his homeland as an affront to everything he believed the U.S.S.R. stood for. As the Titanium Man fought Iron Man, Black Widow, and Crimson Dynamo, Shatalov's leg was broken. He begged Iron Man not to finish the fight with Bullski, as he felt having the American Avenger take down a former Soviet hero would be too damaging to his country's morale. Stark volunteered to wear the Dynamo armor in Shatalov's place, and with radio assistance from Shatalov and the Widow, fought Bullski. When Bullski refused to surrender, Shatalov overrode Stark's control of the Dynamo armor, firing a blast that killed Bullski. Shatalov took the fall with his superiors, who had wanted to recover Bullski alive, and he was relieved of his duties as the Crimson Dynamo.[16]

Other Crimson Dynamos

Like many of Iron Man's Cold War-era villains, the Crimson Dynamo fell into a degree of obscurity after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Since Shatalov, there have been seven people to bear the Crimson Dynamo mantle, almost all of them anonymous, short-lived, or otherwise unremarkable foes.

Gregar Valski

The seventh Crimson Dynamo, Gregar Valski, was defeated by Nick Fury and Captain America.[17] He wore Dmitri Bukharin's former armor, though his skill piloting it was minimal.

Gennady Gavrilov

In Marvel Epic's six-issue 2003 series Crimson Dynamo, Russian collegiate Gennady Gavrilov becomes the eighth Crimson Dynamo after he finds the helmet of a "Beta unit" designed by Anton Vanko 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 afterward.[18]

Crimson Dynamo IX

The ninth Crimson Dynamo appeared in the Secret War miniseries as a member of Lucia von Bardas's army of villains which she gathered to defeat the Avengers. This Crimson Dynamo's armor was created by the Tinkerer.[19]

Crimson Dynamo X

The tenth Crimson Dynamo is introduced in Iron Man (vol. 4) #7 (June 2006), where he is apprehended by Iron Man after attempting to rob a bank. 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.[20] This Crimson Dynamo was later slain by the Punisher.[21]

Crimson Dynamo XI

The eleventh Crimson Dynamo was a member of the "Alpha Gen Soviet Super-Soldiers", a group of Russian superhumans put into cryogenic stasis after the Cold War ended. During a fight between the Order and the Infernal Man, Order member Corona set off an enormous explosion which awakened the Super-Soldiers. This Crimson Dynamo was apparently destroyed by Order members Supernaut and Aralune.[22]

Boris Vadim

Boris Vadim, the twelfth Crimson Dynamo, first appears in the premiere issue of Hulk vol. 2 (March 2008). A S.H.I.E.L.D.-sanctioned team consisting of Iron Man, Doc Samson and She-Hulk encounters the Winter Guard, a Russian superhero team of which Vadim is a member, while investigating the apparent murder of the Abomination in Russia.[23] Vadim later flees to the United States seeking political asylum, joining the Red Hulk's mercenary group.[24] Some time later, Vadim was killed by a mutated Igor Drenkov.[25]

Galina Nemirovsky

Galina Nemirovsky replaced Boris Vadim to become the thirteenth Crimson Dynamo.[25] She is considered by her Russian masters to be one of the best Crimson Dynamo pilots ever and was a graduate of their "Federal Dynamo" program. As Dynamo, Galina battled the Presence, the Dire Wraiths, Warlord Krang, Iron Man, and the Remont Six.[26] Galina was apparently recruited by Mandarin and Zeke Stane to join Iron Man's other villains in a plot to take down Iron Man. Mandarin and Zeke Stane gave Galina a new Crimson Dynamo armor.[27]

character name	Crimson Dynamo
publisher	Marvel Comics
debut	Iron Man #15 (July 1969)
creators	Archie Goodwin George Tuska
alter ego	Alexander Nevsky
species	Human
homeworld	Earth-616
alliances	Titanic Three

Publication history

Fictional character biography

Anton Vanko

Powers and abilities

Other versions

Civil War: House of M

Heroes Reborn

Marvel Zombies

In other media

Television

External links

References

Boris Turgenov

Alexander Nevsky

Yuri Petrovich

Dmitri Bukharin

Valentin Shatalov

Other Crimson Dynamos

Gregar Valski

Gennady Gavrilov

Crimson Dynamo IX

Crimson Dynamo X

Crimson Dynamo XI

Boris Vadim

Galina Nemirovsky

Gregar Valski

Gennady Gavrilov

Crimson Dynamo IX

Crimson Dynamo X

Crimson Dynamo XI

Boris Vadim

Galina Nemirovsky

Ultimate Marvel

Ultimate Universe

Marvel Cinematic Universe

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