delving into her mysterious past. Fans have gotten little information about Natasha's life before ing SHIELD and the Avengers, but now, as she revisits the Red Room that trained her, they'll learn a lot more.
Harbour plays Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian in Black Widow, Natasha's pseudo-father and Russia's equivalent of Captain America. Comic book fans have already noted that his big screen backstory is different than Stranger Things, and fans are eagerly awaiting the show's fourth season, especially since Harbour was recently confirmed to return.
During a recent interview with EW, Harbour opened up a bit more about his MCU character. After mentioning he thinks Alexei is the best character in the MCU, he went on to explain why that was an appropriate thing to say. Harbour's explanation went like this:
I think I’m biased, but I think it’s the best character in all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I mean, he is a narcissist, so it’s very appropriate that I’m playing him and that I think that. But he’s just got so many layers. On one level, he’s your classic superhero badass character, but then when you meet him, he has this need to be liked, and he wants to be thought of as funny and a big shot — which he isn’t.
Considering how Rachel Weisz and Florence Pugh in rounding out Natasha's pre-Avengers family.
Despite being Russia's version of Captain America, Alexei sounds very different than Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and that's a good thing. Making his character too similar to Steve's would feel like rehashing something that's already been done before. Instead, Harbour's comments suggest a fresher take on the character, and one who will play a pivotal role in Black Widow. Provided Black Widow keeps its release date, fans only have to wait another month and a half to see Harbour's Red Guardian in action.
Source: EW
