Did Alexei Shostakov fight Captain America as the Red Guardian in Black Widow? David Harbour seems to have the answer to this question. He claims there is some truth to Alexie’s war stories about fighting captain America-to a certain point, he believes.
Some undeniable facts
Even if David isn’t lying entirely, although astute observers wonder how the two of them even crossed paths because Captain America was frozen in ice when the Red Guardian was active, and by the time he got defrosted, Alexei gets imprisoned in Russia.
However, Inverse notes that David sarcastically stated, “I will say they are absolutely true, one hundred percent,” when asked about Alexei’s battle stories. David also ironically added, referring to himself, “Part of the amusing thing about Alexei is that I wasn’t actually interested in reality. He doesn’t even know if he’s lying.”
When red guardian reunited with his daughters
After being imprisoned by Dreykov and spending decades in captivity, Black Widow catches up with an older and plumper, Red Guardian. He’s reunited with his adopted daughters Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. He can’t help but talk about his bravery and how he fought Captain America by pushing him out the window.
David Harbour chuckles and says, “Sometimes as an actor, I’ll have to identify the reality because I’ll know ‘if’ the character is lying, but Alexei simply believes it to be true.”
Red Guardian v/s Captain America
However, Cate Shortland, the Director, didn’t reveal much when asked about a Red Guardian v/s Captain America fight. She only agreed with Harbour that Alexei indeed believes his stories to be true. Also, she mockingly stated that even she wants to see red guardian fight Captain America. As a result, Alexei would poop his pants and sob in a corner. As funny as it sounds, we all can’t deny that could likely happen.
Harbour clarifies further, “There’s a thing, confabulation, where people blatantly believe their lies to such an extent that even when confronted with reality, they can’t process it, it just doesn’t make sense to them. I think Alexei is quite similar. He lives this truth which is completely independent of what other people have seen or heard.”
Despite David’s statements, it’s best not to jump to conclusions. He could suggest that he trusts his character. However, it’s worth noting that Red Guardian has proved multiple times in Black Widow that he’s pretty frank. He speaks what’s on his mind, even if it’s uncomfortable or rude to others. Even though Alexei isn’t great at articulating his thoughts, nevertheless, he is pretty direct. Therefore, it would be unusual for him to cook up this story, notably when he easily defeated his fellow prisoners in arm wrestling.
Black Widow is streaming in theatres and is available on Disney+ too. Watch and determine for yourself if Red Guardian really could take down Captain America as he claims.
