Rocket Red () is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

appearing in the

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. Created by

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

and

Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist o ...

, he first appeared in ''

Green Lantern Corps The Green Lantern Corps is a intergalactic Peacekeeping, peace keeping agency appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the plan ...

''#208 (January 1987), appearing shortly afterward in ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

'' in issue #3 (July 1987); Rocket Red was inducted into the Justice League in ''Justice League'' #7 (November 1987). The term "Rocket Reds" refers to any member of the Rocket Red Brigade; the name in the singular is used to refer to the three individual characters named Rocket Red who were members of the Justice League. These comprise the original Rocket Red #7 (later revealed as an android), Dmitri Pushkin (Rocket Red #4), and Gavril Ivanovich.

Fictional character biography

Dmitri Pushkin

Dmitri Pushkin (Rocket Red #4) joins the Justice League International after Rocket Red #7 is revealed to be a Manhunter. A kind-hearted and jolly man with a taste for American culture, Pushkin serves with the Justice League International for many years. In the 2005 series ''

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'', Pushkin is killed while protecting the Justice League's members. He has remained dead since, but was temporarily resurrected as a

Black Lantern The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of wikt:corporeal, corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of d ...

during the '' Blackest Night'' event in 2009.

Gavril Ivanovich

The second Rocket Red, Gavril Ivanovich, is a renegade member of the group who sports outdated armor and beliefs. Despite this, he joins the Justice League after helping them battle

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

. In ''

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'' continuity reboot, Ivanovich is part of a superhero team founded by the

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and led by Booster Gold. He is later killed in an explosion during a press conference introducing the team.''Justice League International'' (vol. 3) #7 (March 2012)

Powers and abilities

The Rocket Reds were originally created for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

by Kilowog and the Rocket Red Brigade — normal human beings enhanced using "forced evolution" and armored battle suits — proudly defended the USSR. Their abilities included super strength, invulnerability, flight, the ability to project powerful energy blasts, and "mecha-empathy", the ability to sense and control computers and machines.

In other media

Television

* An unidentified Rocket Red resembling Dmitri Pushkin makes non-speaking appearances in ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'' as a member of the

. * The Dmitri Pushkin incarnation of Rocket Red makes a non-speaking appearance in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth!" as a member of Justice League International. * The Dmitri Pushkin incarnation of Rocket Red appears in the ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen T ...

'' episode "Leverage", voiced by

Steve Blum Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series ''Cowboy Bebop''; Amon from ''The Legend of Korra''; Heatblast, Ghostfreak, and ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is a new member of the Rocket Red Brigade.

Merchandise

* Rocket Red received an action figure in

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

's DC Universe: Justice League Unlimited Fan Collection toy line. * Rocket Red received an action figure in Mattel's Signature Series, available through Mattel's online outlet at MattyCollector.com.

References

{{Justice League characters Groups of fictional characters Characters created by Judd Winick Characters created by Steve Englehart Comics characters introduced in 1987 Comics characters introduced in 2010 DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics robots Fictional Soviet Army personnel Fictional Soviet people Fictional technopaths Soviet Union-themed superheroes