Melina Vostokoff (Earth-616)

Iron Maiden
Name	Melina Vostokova (birth name); Melina Vostokoff (anglicized name)
Current Alias	Iron Maiden
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Former member of the Femizons; Thunderbolts former partner of Black Lotus, Blackbird, Damon Dran, "Deadshot" Darrance, Wrangler, N'Kama, Snapdragon, Kono Sanada, Superia, KGB, Black Widow Ops Program
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	5′9″ (1.75 m)
Weight	145 lbs (65.77 kg)
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Serov, Sverdlovsk Oblast, U.S.S.R.
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	Russian
Occupation	Assassin, mercenary, former agent of espionage for Russian government
Education	Foreign Intelligence Service training
Base of Operations	Formerly Femizonia Island, formerly Damon Dran's undersea base
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Ralph Macchio, George Pérez
First	Marvel Fanfare #11 (July, 1983)
First	Marvel Fanfare #11 (July, 1983)

You knew me once as Melina Vostokoff. We both toiled in the service of the Soviet state then -- before you defected to the west, and I became an independent agent. For years, my achievements went unnoticed, overshadowed always by the more flamboyant exploits of the Black Widow. Now I shall avenge those slights -- and destroy you in the process.

—Iron Maiden[source]

History

Iron Maiden

The origins of Melina Vostokoff (Russian: Мелина Востокова) are mostly unknown. Her path shared similarities as a member of KGB with that of the legendary Soviet spy known as the Black Widow, though with considerable less prominence. As the Black Widow defected to the West, Vostokoff became an independent assassin and mercenary, the mysterious Iron Maiden. For years, she nurtured a deep grudge and hatred against the Black Widow due to being forced to live in her shadow.

Iron Maiden was one of a group of assassins hired by Damon Dran to hunt down the Black Widow. Unlike her unskillful associates, the Iron Maiden was a match for the Widow. On the verge of overpowering her rival, she was interrupted by Jimmy Woo and a squadron of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who backed the Black Widow up. Vostokoff fled unaware she had a tracker implanted by the Black Widow. Being followed into the sewers by Woo and the Widow, she ambushed them, but Woo used an energy blaster to blow a hole in the floor she was standing on, which generated a powerful whirlpool and sucked her down to the next level. As the Black Widow confronted Dran, the Iron Maiden was not a problem anymore.

Femizons

Iron Maiden was recruited into the army of superhuman female criminals, the Femizons, gathered by Superia as part of her plot to sterilize the rest of the world and gain power for her potential nation of all women. She was part of the army that defeated and captured Captain America and Paladin when they tried to sneak aboard the ship to Superia's island Femizonia. Vostokoff was part of the small group that still stayed by Superia, as her lieutenants following the defeat of her initial plot.

She accompanied Superia and the other remaining Femizons to Boca Caliente for the A.I.M. Weapons Expo. When Superia attempted to execute A.I.M.'s head Alessandro Brannex to take over A.I.M. for her own uses, her group into conflict with M.O.D.A.M. and the other security forces of A.I.M. In addition, the assassination failed because Superia did not realize Brannex was an artificial creature, an Adaptoid. M.O.D.A.M. overpowered Superia and Blackbird, and Iron Maiden was unable to reach her to even try to stop her.

When the U.S. became embroiled in a Superhuman Registration Act, Iron Maiden attempted to obtain a fake identity and sneak into Canada. She was pursued by Fixer, Joystick, and Mach IV of the Thunderbolts. Joystick brought her down while the Fixer and Mach IV made wagers on the fight. She was taken into custody.

Remont 6

In Russia, Iron Maiden revamped the group of Soviet-aligned revolutionaries known as Remont 6. Under her leadership, the group raided an A.I.M., attracting the attention of the Russian team of super-agents known as the Winter Guard. Iron Maiden expressed her confusion regarding Red Guardian's hypocrisy in not supporting her cause. She was knocked out by Ursa Major. Ultimately, her entire team was apprehended, being publicly exposed as terrorists to promote the Winder Guard's popularity.

Stark Industries

Vostokoff eventually got free and returned to her activities as a freelancer mercenary. She was at some point contacted by Phil Coulson, with whom she had had previous contact, about the Axiom protocols in Paris. She refused to give him information, but had her mind read by his lover Lola Daniels.

At some point, she was hired as an enforcer by the Stark Industries Board of Directors, led by Eric Lynch. Her assignment was to retrieve technology patented by Stark Industries found in the possession of Riri Williams, who had reverse-engineered it. In Chicago, she invaded Williams' family home with agents in search of pieces of technology. While being confronted by Williams, Vostokoff was informed the illegal interaction was being recorded on video, forcing a retreat. However, the suspicious Williams decided to relinquish the technology and let Vostokoff take it as she had intended. As part of a ruse, Williams was able to secretly reacquire the items.

Attributes

Power Grid

Abilities

Master Martial Artist: Vostokoff has mastered many fields of hand-to-hand combat.

Master Assassin: Vostokoff is heavily skilled in assassination techniques.

Master Spy: Vostokoff is a dangerous secret agent trained in espionage, stealth, disguise, infiltration, and demolitions.

Weapons Expert: Vostokoff is an expert with most weapons and vehicles.

Multilingual: Vostokoff is fluent in Russian, English and many other languages.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Iron Maiden Armor: A flexible metal costume enhances Vostokoff's strength and durability.
  • Superhuman Strength: The suit doubles Vostokoff's strength, enabling her to lift 1000 lbs.
  • Superhuman Durability: The suit protects her from impact, penetrating injury and energy attack.

Weapons

Internal weapons of the Iron Maiden armor.

Trivia

• An iron maiden is a supposed torture device consisting of a small iron cabinet covered with spikes on its interiors. The codename references the metallic armor she has always been seen in and echoes the tortured nature of Vostokoff's origins.

See Also

• 15 appearance(s) of Melina Vostokoff (Earth-616)
• 3 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Melina Vostokoff (Earth-616)
• 1 minor appearance(s) of Melina Vostokoff (Earth-616)
• 1 mention(s) of Melina Vostokoff (Earth-616)
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Melina Vostokoff (Earth-616)
• 11 image(s) of Melina Vostokoff (Earth-616)
• 2 quotation(s) by or about Melina Vostokoff (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Iron Maiden at the Marvel Appendix