Black Widow star David Harbour would love to set up a Cold War brawl between Red Guardian and Captain America somewhere down the line.
When asked by Inverse about any Marvel Cinematic Universe characters he wants Alexei Shostakov to interact with, Harbour immediately singled out his direct cultural antithesis. "I truly think the real fun thing about him is his hatred and jealousy around Captain America," he explained. "The fact the old Captain America isn't around anymore, but that Anthony Mackie's Falcon has taken up the mantle, I would love to see the two of them square off. I feel like he hates the mantle as much as he hates the man. He wants to be victorious over this ideology. I'd love to see him square up against deeply American characters like Falcon, like Captain America."
A Black Widow promo, titled "Prison Break," provided a glimpse at Red Guardian's abilities as the aging Soviet super-soldier counterpart to Captain America. While trying to escape captivity, Shostakov kicks a large metal door off its hinges and uses his super-agility to jump massive heights up a prison wall. However, the clip ends with him getting shocked by a guard before he can rendezvous with Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova.
While Shostakov harbors disdain for Captain America, the character's legacy as both super-soldier and patriotic symbol has since become a topic of critical analysis during Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the show, Sam Wilson's decision to give Steve Rogers' shield to the United States government results in John Walker assuming the mantle, only for his tenure as a replacement Captain America to go horribly wrong. During this time, Bucky Barnes also introduces Sam to Isaiah Bradley, a Black U.S. veteran who received the super-soldier serum before being incarcerated and experimented on by the government. Despite learning about this dark side of the super-soldier program, Sam ultimately takes up Rogers' shield and title as his own, with the final episode seeing him don a new Captain America costume and defeating the Flag Smashers.
Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O-T Fagbenle as Mason and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff. The film arrives in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access July 9.
Source: Inverse