The Soviet Super-Soldiers were a superteam that was brought together by the Soviet government of Russia to be the counterpart of American teams such as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Professor Phobos founded this government program to locate and train superhuman beings in service of the state. The school's first student was Mikhail Ursus, who became known as Ursa Major. He was soon followed by siblings Laynia Petrovna and Nikolai Krylenko, who became known as Darkstar and Vanguard, respectively. These three mutants joined with Dmitri Bukharin, the fifth Crimson Dynamo, to form the initial lineup of the Soviet Super-Soldiers. The Super-Soldiers played an active role as a pawn in a competition between Grandmaster and Death. The Soviet government sent the Super-Soldiers to Khystym to battle the Gremlin, and then fought Rom and Starshine. Allied with Rom and Starshine, the Soviet Super-Soldiers fought the Dire Wraiths. The team became allies of the Gremlin, and took over the Dire Wraith base in Khystym as the new Soviet Super-Soldiers headquarters. The Soviet Super-Soldiers later agreed to bringMagneto to justice. They fought the Avengers, and expelled the Crimson Dynamo as he was still loyal to the KGB. The Gremlin joined the team for a time while wearing the Titanium Man armor, but he was killed in action. The three mutants Vanguard, Darkstar, and Ursa Major later decided to sever their ties with the Soviet government, and arrived at Avengers Island, and asked Captain America to help them seek political asylumin America. However, the three were beaten nearly to death, captured and returned to the Soviet states by the government-sponsored Supreme Soviets, who had been joined by the Crimson Dynamo. The comatose subconscious minds of the injured Vanguard, Darkstar, and Ursa Major formed a "Great Beast" that attempted to drain the life energies of the Supreme Soviets. Captain America stopped the Beast, and Vanguard, Darkstar, and Ursa Major regained consciousness and began recovery from their injuries. Eventually, the team took on new members Blind Faith, Stencil, and Sibercat, and added former members of the Supreme Soviets: the third Red Guardian, Fantasia, Perun, and Sputnik, and the returning Crimson Dynamo. This team became known as the Winter Guard not long afterwards.
