Black Widow star David Harbour reveals which of Red Guardian's many tattoos are his favorites. Marvel's Phase 4 has finally produced its first movie with Black Widow, the long-awaited solo film centered on Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff. Set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, the new movie sees Natasha revisit her Russian roots when her younger sister Yelena (Florence Pugh) reaches out about a new matter related to the Red Room training program. In order to take down the Red Room once and for all, Natasha must unite with the spy family she spent her childhood with.
Harbour's Red Guardian, aka Alexei Shostakov, is a key member of this family. By the time Black Widow catches up to the present day, he's sitting in a Russian prison reminiscing about the glory days when he was his country's version of Captain America. Red Guardian sports some unique tattoos and even is in the process of getting one on his back when Black Widow picks up with him. Fans might have only gotten to see a handful, but Harbour has pulled back the curtain on a few others.
In an interview with Variety following Black Widow's release, Harbour shared which Red Guardian tattoos are his personal favorites. Naturally, he had to mention the "Karl Marx" knuckle tats, but there are a few other gems, including his top pick. Harbour said:
Oh god yes. My favorites were, he has “Karl Marx” written on his knuckles, like “love” and “hate,” which I thought was just hilarious. I love that. That was a last-minute addition. He’s got a picture of [Vladimir] Lenin’s head on his abdomen. There’s a very intricate Russian gang tattoo that I felt looked a little bit too Nazi eagle. I didn’t want people to get distracted by that, so we put these little parapets on it that made it our own. There’s all these Russian words that were very personal to me. Then on his neck is a special custom tattoo we had built that is Rachel Weisz’s face in a bob haircut when she was younger. It says “Melina” underneath that. That was probably my favorite one because I love Rachel Weisz.
Black Widow is positioned as Natasha's movie, but it's produced two scene-stealers as well with Alexei and Pugh's Yelena. In the case of the former, Red Guardian has become the MCU's latest comedic standout, and one can argue his many eccentric tattoos contribute to that. Through those designs, Harbour and the rest of the creative team have made a fully formed character. Red Guardian has lived through a lot of adventures by the time Black Widow begins, and the tattoos on his body are just a hint of what contributed to the character he is today.
It seems likely that Red Guardian will pop up again in the MCU, but so far nothing has been confirmed. Harbour has said he's heard some rumblings about another appearance, so don't be surprised if Alexei shows his face in the future. With Yelena sticking around for the time being, it stands to reason other members of the Black Widow cast will continue to make their mark on the MCU. Perhaps in the future, audiences will learn the stories behind Red Guardian's many, many tattoos.
Source: Variety
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July 13, 2021 at 12:26AM
