Obscure Marvel fancast of the day: Harm Verwegen as Nikolai Krylenko aka Vanguard! Nikolai and his twin sister Laynia were born in Minsk just after the Soviet Union softened its stance on mutants. While the previous practice had been to kill them at birth, it was later decided that they could be put to better use serving the state. To this end, Laynia and Nikolai were taken away at birth by the government and given to a scientist who served the state, Professor Phobos, to raise at his Super Soldier School in Moscow. Laynia and Nikolai were given different last names (Petrovna and Krylenko) and not told they were related, so that their familial loyalty would not override their loyalty to the USSR. They were raised and trained in a trio alongside an older boy called Mikhail Uriokovitch Ursus, though Professor Phobos had other students besides them. Each of them manifested different powers and took on a codename to reflect those powers. Mikhail could transform into a massive bear, and called himself Ursa Major. Laynia could control the Darkforce, and thus was called Darkstar. Nikolai had a field around him that could repel kinetic, gravitronic, and electromagnetic energy, and so he was called Vanguard. Originally, Vanguard required a special cybernetic hammer and sickle he would cross over his chest to channel his repulsion power, but has since learned to use his abilities without them. The trio grew up to become special operatives in the Soviet government, and were often manipulated by it. During one mission, they discovered two shocking truths—Professor Phobos had been trying to drain his students of their energy, including themselves, and that the villain known as The Presence was the biological father of Laynia and Nikolai, making them siblings—twins at that! Vanguard also died in one adventure, though he was revived, as is often the case for comic book characters. Vanguard is a hot-headed, impetuous man who prefers to hit first and ask questions later, if at all. This makes him easy for the Russian government to manipulate, despite his rage every time he discovers he’s been misled, and his vows for it to never happen again. He’s also got a streak of anti-American sentiment, and as of the 90s he longed for the previous Communist order. That said, he’s still a heroic good guy, just with very different ideology than the typical United States reader would have. He is also extremely protective of his sister Darkstar, perhaps because she’s the only family he has.
