As powerful and all-around formidable as he might appear in the comics, Black Widow‘s version of Red Guardian through Stranger Things actor David Harbour turned the character into the flick’s comic relief.
The former superhero is whimsical and somewhat incompetent throughout the narrative, but his most egregious lie will leave even the most die-hard MCU fans baffled. By that, of course, we’re referring to when Alexei claims to have gone toe-to-toe with Captain America in the 80s. Not only that, he apparently bested Steve and took his iconic shield when he went on a mission to steal “nuclear codes” from the US government.
As most of you will already know, Red Guardian is essentially the Soviet Union’s version of Cap that served the motherland with pride as one of their most acclaimed agents. But since the MCU version of Steve Rogers got frozen in a lake in 1945 and didn’t make a comeback until 2012, this story falls apart pretty quickly.
Enthusiasts are currently bursting with speculation about what Red Guardian really meant and whether he actually fought a version of Captain America at the height of the Cold War. I mean, he might appear as egotistic and self-centered, but lying about something this important might be a step too far.
And yet, there’s nothing to suggest it actually happened. One possible explanation is that the retired hero is much older than he claims, and he actually fought Cap during World War II. But considering the fact that the US and the Soviets were allies, this doesn’t make much sense.
What were your thoughts on this when you watched Black Widow? And do you think we’ll ever get to the bottom of this alleged showdown between the two super-soldiers? Sound off below.
