Marvel Database
Register
Advertisement

History

Colonel Ling was a Communist military leader affiliated to the Eastern powers. He was both the boss of the Black Widow when she served Russia believing that her husband had died and, at the same time, he spent years training indoctrinating the Widow's husband as the Red Guardian, Russia's counterpart to Captain America.[2] The Widow eventually defected to the United States and started a romance with the superhero Hawkeye.

Ling also constructed the Psychotron, a machine theoretically capable of inducing madness via illusions.[3] Initially stationary, the Psychotron lied in Ling's volcano base. When the American security agency S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered this, they sent the Widow as their undercover agent - she pretended to have defected to Russia to get a chance to sabotage the Psychotron.[2] Ling met her but, distrusting her, he asked minion Doctor Yen to use the Psychotron on her. It was not enough to defeat her, however.[3]

Ling then met with General Yuri Brushov, wanting him to convince of the advantages of combining Brushov's submarines with the Psychotron. Brushov was skeptical of this, but he insisted he wanted to see the Red Guardian fighting Captain America. Brushov also convinced Ling to release the Black Widow after she passed a loyalty test.[2]

Hawkeye and his friend Hercules tracked the Widow to Ling's base, only to be captured when they arrived; however, the other Avengers followed them there. Once there, Captain America of the Avengers had a chance to fight the Red Guardian. Brushov was unsatisfied with the Guardian's performance, which moved Ling to affect the otherwise fair fight - to the Guardian's chagrin.[2]

Meanwhile, the Widow took her chance to sabotage the Psychotron. Ling tried to shot her, but the Guardian took the bullet for her. Ling shot again, but his aim was spoiled because Hawkeye had released himself and was joining the fight, defeating Brushov. Hercules then joined and helped the unconscious Avengers, particularly as the base was burning due to the fight. Ling, injured, tried to shot Captain America once more, but the Guardian refused to allow that and, with his last breath, diverted Ling's shot. This caused an explosion in the base that took the Guardian's and Ling's lives.[2]

See Also

Links and References

References

Advertisement