Marvel Announces “Winter Guard” Series 

Syfy Wire, Marvel Comics have announced a four-issue “Winter Guard” series, written by Ryan Cady (“Heroes Reborn: Hyperion & the Imperial Guard,” “Infinite Dark”) with art by Jan Bazaldua (“Loki,” “X-Force”). The book will see Red Guardian (Alexei Shostakov) and White Widow (Yelena Belova) on the run from the Kremlin, and the premier Russian superheroes of the title.

The first issue will release in August, a month after the

movie, starring David Harbour as Alexei, and Florence Pugh as Yelena. Cady told Syfy Wire, “Fans of the

movie should find our Yelena Belova and Red Guardian pretty familiar – though in this cat and mouse series, they’re the ones on the run. They’ve crossed back over the border, and now they’re Russia’s most wanted; the top of the Winter Guard’s hit list.”

Cady hinted the politics of present day Russia will play a role in the book’s themes, stating, “Alexei Shostakov is a washed up super soldier, a national symbol that’s incredibly disillusioned with his past. Yelena is an assassin that’s sick of being used by the world’s one percent for their own gain. They’re on a ‘destroy the oligarchs at all costs’ mission, which puts them at odds with anybody invested in their homeland’s current power structure… So, damn near everyone.”

Officially introduced in 1998, the Winter Guard traditionally consists of Crimson Dynamo, Darkstar, Vanguard, and Ursa Major. It has recently expanded in the pages of Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness’s “Avengers” to include two Slavic gods — Perun and Chernobog — and the mysterious new Red Widow. Cady said “a lot of them are more sympathetic toward Red Guardian and Yelena than they should be,” but Red Widow — who represents the team on the Russian Security Council — will be “taking this mission a little [more] personally” than most of the legacy characters.

For more from Cady until August, as well as an unlettered preview of the first issue, head to Syfy Wire.

, meanwhile, will release in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on July 9.

Chris is the news manager of Multiversity Comics. A writer from London on the autistic spectrum, he enjoys tweeting and blogging on Medium about his favourite films, TV shows, books, music, and games, plus history and religion. He is Lebanese/Chinese, although he can\'t speak Cantonese or Arabic.