How many people have been the Crimson Dynamo?

The Crimson Dynamo has been one of Iron Man’s villains for a very long time. Remember in Iron Man 2 when they were debating whether anyone else could replicate Tony Stark’s technology? This was the culmination of the Soviet’s attempt. Rather than having one singular pilot, though, the Crimson Dynamo has had quite a few indeed.

1) Anton Vanko. A brilliant Armenian scientist was sent by the Soviets to build technology that could rival that of Iron Man. Working directly underneath him was Nevsky and Turgenov. While Vanko was sure one of them was spying on him for the government, he secretly diverted funds for preparations on a Mark II for the Crimson Dynamo, one with more advanced weapons and technology.

When Turgenov reported Vanko’s success, the Soviets sent Vanko to disrupt Stark Industries and to kill Iron Man. Before he left, Vanko hid the Mark II’s helmet and disguised the robot as a tractor in a remote location. In America, due to Stark’s superior technology, Vanko’s effort was fruitless and in the end he was persuaded to defect.

2) Boris Turgenov. When the Soviets found out about the loss of Vanko, they sent Turgenov and Black Widow to retrieve both Vanko and the Crimson Dynamo armour. While Turgenov was initially successful in fending off Iron Man, Vanko employed an experimental laser against the Crimson Dynamo suit, which exploded and killed both Turgenov and Vanko.

3) Alex Nevsky. One of Anton Vanko’s protégés, Nevsky felt disheartened after Vanko’s defecting to the United States. He blamed Tony Stark and Iron Man for the capitalist system that benefited them both, discrediting Vanko in the same process. He donned the Crimson Dynamo suit to kill Iron Man and to discredit Tony Stark. After trying three times, even partnering up with Titanium Man, the KGB eventually ended up assassinating him and taking the Crimson Dynamo armour back into their possession.

4) Yuri Petrovich. Under a pseudonym, the son of Ivan Bezukhov was sent as the Crimson Dynamo, along with Titanium Man, to retrieve a few defectors, including Black Widow. When he failed to complete this mission, and was the only one to return home, the Soviets banished him to a Siberian work camp for his failure, taking the Crimson Dynamo suit back once more.

5) Dmitri Bukharin. Former KGB Agent, Bukharin was tasked to join and spy on the Soviet Super Soldiers for the government. He’s battled Iron Man, the Hulk and Jack of Hearts, and was eventually found out to be a spy so was forced to become the Crimson Dynamo by himself for a time. He later became a part of the Supreme Soviets, still loyal to the government, but eventually wished to retire. The Soviets rejected his resignation, keeping him on in his own capacity as Airstrike instead.

6) Valentin Shatalov. Wishing for Russia to return to its communist past and glory, Shatalov brought together a group of villains for this endeavour. Very early on, however, he realised the futility of such an attempt with all the politics involved and quickly disbanded the group. After a freak power surge forced Shatalov and Stark to switch bodies, Shatalov made the most of this time to download Iron Man secrets before Tony Stark forced them to switch back.

7) Tony Stark. After tensions started rising in Russia, post-mind-transfer, Stark agreed with Shatalov that he would wear the Crimson Dynamo suit to make things appear normal. Having suffered a broken leg in the new Mark V suit, Shatalov was unable to fight the Titanium Man himself, which is why Stark agreed to stand in. Shatalov instead controlled the suit remotely.

8) Gennady Gavrilov. Finding the hidden Mark II Crimson Dynamo helmet made by Anton Vanko, Gavrilov put it on, believing it to be an advanced gaming system. The dormant armour made its way back to the helmet, leaving destruction in its wake. Gavrilov briefly donned the armour to fend off the Russian military and kept the suit afterwards. Tony Stark also helped in this endeavour.

9) An unidentified individual. With the help of the Tinkerer, Phineas Mason, an unidentified person to S.H.I.E.L.D. has been piloting a new resurfaced version of the Crimson Dynamo. This version has also tried to have been used as a human bomb against New York. Watch out, Avengers, there’s a new threat in town.

Considering the Crimson Dynamo has been going since 1963, I’d say nine aliases isn’t half bad. Were you surprised to see Tony Stark’s name on this list? Would you also like to see the Crimson Dynamo on the big screen? Share your thoughts below.