Winter Guard is a 2021 Marvel four-issue mini-series written by Ryan Cady, with art by Jan Bazaldua. It's spinning off from The Avengers (Jason Aaron).
White Widow and Red Guardian are being chased by the Winter Guard across Russia. The Winter Guard is eager to prove themselves equal to the task while Red Guardian hopes to reveal a host of state secrets. Who will triumph and survive in Russian versus Russian!
Tropes in Winter Guard:
- Antagonist Title: Per Marvel's advertising
, the main characters of the book are the White Widow (Yelena Belova) and the Red Guardian (Alexei Shostakov), while the Winter Guard are the ones being sent after them. - Ambiguously Human: Natasha and Yelena theorize that the Red Widow is not even human, since she's different from every other operative of the Red Room they have seen so far.
- Bears Are Bad News: The opening pages of the first issue, per Marvel, include the White Widow fighting Ursa Major, a Russian member of the Winter Guard who can transform into a bear.
- Broken Pedestal: Vanguard and Crimson Dynamo admired the Red Guardian, and they dislike that he has turned on the nation they swore to protect.
- The Bus Came Back: After not appearing with the rest of the Guard since their debut, Perun and Chernobog reappear alongside the rest of the team.
- Full Episode Flashback: Issue 1 happens three weeks before the whole Winter She-Hulk incident.
- Fugitive Arc: Per Marvel's advertising, the book is about Red Guardian and White Widow's "quest to obtain and reveal Russian state secrets" while Russia makes them fugitives and sends the Winter Guard after them.
- Main Characters: Red Guardian and White Widow.
- Physical God: The two Slavic gods on the team, Perun and Chernobog.
- Spin-Off: Of The Avengers (Jason Aaron).
- Sympathy for the Devil: Yelena admits that she doesn't hate the Winter Guard, she just pities them.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Crimson Dynamo is supposed to be leading the team, but Red Widow usually gives the orders from above, to the dismay of the rest of the Guard.
