The Russian (Ivan Vassilovitch Dragovsky;
Russian: Иван Васильевич Драговский) is a
supervillain appearing in
American comic books published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. He is an enemy of the
Punisher and
Spider-Man.
Kevin Nash portrayed the character in the 2004 film ''
The Punisher'' while Billy Clements portrayed him in the 2024
Marvel Cinematic Universe film ''
Deadpool & Wolverine''.
Publication history
Created by
Garth Ennis and
Steve Dillon, the character made his first appearance in ''
The Punisher'' Vol. 5, #8 (November 2000).
The Russian debuted off-panel in ''
The Punisher'' Vol. 5, #8, was fully introduced in the following issue, and appeared in every subsequent one up until his death in Issue #11. In the following series, the character was resurrected as a
cyborg, and was featured in ''
The Punisher'' Vol. 6, #1-5.
The Russian received profiles in ''Marvel Encyclopedia'' #5, ''All-New
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' #9, and ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z'' #9
Fictional character biography
The earliest known sightings of the Russian occurred while he was vacationing in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
in the 1980s. He subsequently traveled the world, inserting himself into various conflicts for fun and profit; locations he is said to have fought in include
Lebanon,
Iraq,
Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
,
East Timor,
Chechnya, the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
, and
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
(where he
consumed a man on a bet). The Russian's activities led to him being wanted dead or alive by numerous law enforcement agencies, as well as criminal organizations such as the
yakuza.
The Russian is contacted at his home in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
by American crime lord
Ma Gnucci, who offers him ten million dollars to kill the
Punisher. The Russian agrees to the deal, boards a Russian airliner to North America, crashes it above Canada, and crosses the border into New York City, where he is briefed by Gnucci.
The Russian is then brought to the Punisher's current address, and engages the
vigilante, their fight (which the Russian dominates) bringing them into the apartment of the Punisher's neighbor, Mr. Bumpo. The Punisher burns the Russian's face with a hot pizza that Bumpo had been dining on, trips him, and then throws Bumpo on top of him. The Russian asphyxiates under Bumpo, and has his head cut off by the Punisher, who uses it to intimidate what remains of Gnucci's forces into surrendering.
The Russian's remains are recovered by General Kreigkopf, who resurrects him as a
cyborg using technology stolen from
S.H.I.E.L.D. He is given experimental hormone treatments to stabilize his body, causing him to develop breasts (which he adores) and an implied form of
menstruation. To test the Russian's capabilities, Kreigkopf approves his request to return to New York City to kill the Punisher, who the Russian throws off of the
Empire State Building. The Punisher is saved by
Spider-Man, and in the battle that ensues he wields the superhero as a human shield, and uses his web-shooters to knock the Russian off of the skyscraper. The Russian survives crashing through the street below and being hit by a subway train, and retreats to Kreigkopf's base on Grand Nixon Island. The Russian is repaired, and denied another chance to face the Punisher.
The Russian is placed on a
Boeing 747 full of soldiers that Kreigkopf intends to have attack the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
in
Brussels. The Punisher, who had tracked the Russian down, forces the airplane to crash into Grand Nixon Island's fuel depot; the Russian emerges from the wreckage as the only survivor. When Kreigkopf improvises his attack plan by ordering that a French airplane carrying a nuclear warhead be hijacked, the Punisher boards the aircraft, followed by the Russian. The Punisher blows out the back of the Russian's head by shoving a gun into his mouth, then chains him to the atomic bomb and drops it on Grand Nixon. The island and all of the criminals on it are obliterated, as is the Russian.
Powers and abilities
In his first storyline, the Russian possessed tremendous strength and durability; he singlehandedly wipes out a Bravo Force team, unintentionally crushes a man with a friendly gesture, smacks the Punisher with a toilet he had ripped out of its foundation, and tears apart a revolver, while also being unfazed by being kicked in the crotch, stabbed in the stomach, and bludgeoned with a chair. Additionally, he alludes to surviving freefalling from an airplane, and being repeatedly shot in the head. Despite his nigh-invulnerability, the Russian was sensitive to heat, becoming enraged when the Punisher successfully injured him with a stove, and a hot pizza.
When General Kreigkopf resurrected the Russian, he had his body augmented with plastics and
adamantium, replaced most of his organs with ones taken from animals, and gave him olfactory sensors that increased his sense of smell to the level of a
bloodhound.
Obsession with American culture
In his initial comic appearances, the Russian was shown to have an obsession with
American pop culture. His first thoughts upon being offered $10 million to kill the Punisher was a realization of how many pairs of
Levi's and
Compact Discs he could buy with that amount. The Russian is also a self-confessed
superhero fan. He is the president of "The
Daredevil, Man Without Fear, Fan Club" of
Smolensk. He also wished to gain autographs from the
X-Men, the
Fantastic Four, and
Spider-Man. He also believes
Thor would make a good
communist because of his big hammer.
Other versions
Marvel MAX
An alternate universe variant of the Russian makes a cameo appearance in ''
The Punisher'' (vol. 7) #75.
Marvel Noir
An alternate universe variant of the Russian appears in ''
Punisher Noir''. This version is a mercenary and former soldier. Following
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he was sent after Frank Castelione, who shoves a grenade into the Russian's pants and leaves him for dead in their ensuing fight. Years later, the Russian, now identifying as female, assists
Jigsaw and
Barracuda in murdering Frank on mob boss
Dutch Schultz's behalf. After Frank's son, Frank Castelione Jr., grows up to become the Punisher and kills Barracuda and Jigsaw, he confronts the Russian at the
Bronx Zoo, where the latter is mauled by alligators before Castelione Jr. kills her and frames her as the Punisher.
In other media
Film
* The Russian appears in ''
The Punisher'' (2004), portrayed by
Kevin Nash. After being hired by a crime lord named Howard Saint to kill the eponymous character, the Russian withstands everything the Punisher throws at him and nearly beats him to death until the latter distracts him with a pot of boiling water before knocking him down a flight of stairs, which causes the Russian to break his neck.
* An alternate timeline variant of the Russian appears in ''
Deadpool & Wolverine'' (2024), portrayed by an uncredited Billy Clements.
Video games
The Russian appears as a boss in ''
The Punisher'' (2005), voiced by
Darryl Kurylo. He works with General Kreigkopf to combat the eponymous character until the Russian is killed by a nuclear device that was smuggled into Grand Nixon Island.
References
External links
Russianat Marvel Wiki
Russianat Comic Vine
*
{{Punisher
Characters created by Garth Ennis
Comics characters introduced in 2000
Cyborg supervillains
Fictional assassins in comics
Fictional cannibals
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional mercenaries in comics
Fictional murdered people
Fictional resurrected characters
Fictional Russian people
Fictional transgender women
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics cyborgs
Marvel Comics LGBTQ supervillains
Marvel Comics male supervillains
Punisher characters