- "Will we see Moscow?"
"Moscow? It's a city buried in the past." - ―Anatoly Ranskahov and Vladimir Ranskahov[src]
Moscow is the capital city and the most populous federal subject of Russia, and was the capital city of the Soviet Union. The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center in Russia and Europe.
History[]
World War II[]
HYDRA Desertion[]
Moscow marked as one of HYDRA's targets
In 1943, Johann Schmidt and his HYDRA division went rogue, separating themselves from the Nazi regime. According to one of HYDRA's maps, Moscow was among the European cities planned to be invaded following the destruction of the United States of America.[1]
United States Embassy[]
Jack Thompson contacted a man who met in primary school that had been destined to the United States embassy in Moscow, in order to search for Leet Brannis. Thompson's contact discovered that Brannis was a member of the Soviet 478th Rifle Division during World War II, and that the entire battalion was wiped out during the battle of Finow in Germany. The contact informed Thompson that Brannis was declared deceased in 1944 with the rest of his battalion.
Thompson contacted him again to determine if the man whose hotel room key was found near the Brannis' corpse was also Russian, and the contact managed to identify him as Sasha Demidov, another member of the Soviet 478th Rifle Division that was declared deceased but turned out to have survived.[2]
Birth of Whiplash[]
Ivan Vanko living in Moscow
Anton Vanko settled in Moscow after being deported from the United States in 1967 accused of spying and sent to Siberia imprisoned. His son, Ivan Vanko, settled with him after he served fifteen years in prison for selling plutonium to Pakistan.
Anton died years later in extreme poverty, blaming his situation on Howard Stark and his family. Ivan then created his Whiplash Armor using his father's blueprints for an Arc Reactor, as a weapon to be used to kill Howard's son, Tony Stark. Upon finishing the armor, Ivan met an agent of the Ten Rings to obtain a forged ID and travel documents for confronting Stark in Monaco.[3]
Aborted S.H.I.E.L.D. Mission[]
- "Hello, Hank. You're supposed to be in Moscow."
"I took a detour." - ―Howard Stark and Hank Pym[src]
In 1989, Hank Pym was assigned by S.H.I.E.L.D. to go to Moscow. However, Pym instead took a detour through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research and development laboratories, uncovering Howard Stark's attempt to replicate the Pym Particles formula. Pym was furious about the attempt to duplicate his work, and resigned from S.H.I.E.L.D. on the spot instead of heading to Moscow to complete his assignment.[4]
Black Widow's Mission[]
Natasha Romanoff on the streets of Moscow
Natasha Romanoff was tasked by S.H.I.E.L.D. to go undercover in Moscow and approach Mikhail Fjodorov to interrogate him about missing bootleg Stark Industries tech from Hammer Industries. During her mission, Sofia killed Fjodorov and blamed Romanoff as the culprit. Natasha was forced to flee to the hotel she was staying, while the Moscow City Police began cordoning the area of the assassination and emitting an arrest warrant for Romanoff.
While Phil Coulson began setting an extraction in Gorky Park, Romanoff was attacked at her hotel by four mercenaries from Eaglestar hired by Sofia, who was carrying a SIM card so that Romanoff could contact her after defeating the mercenaries. Sofia agreed to reveal the location of the technology to compete with Romanoff for the mantle of the "Black Widow", but only under the condition that she works alone and without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s support.
Romanoff subsequently took herself offline, and, as roads, trains and airports were under surveillance for Fjodorov's murderer, she left Moscow riding a Railbike to use the high-speed rail connecting the capital to Sochi.[5]
Hand's Activities[]
Establishing themselves around the world, the Hand set up shell companies in several cities, including Moscow. In 2015, the Hand shut down their holdings in Moscow and transferred all resources to Midland Circle Financial.[6]
Grant Ward's Flight[]
- "I'll be in Moscow soon enough with a day off. Come see for yourself."
"I wish I could, but I'm not going to Moscow." - ―Airline Stewardess and Grant Ward[src]
When Grant Ward discovered that the Von Strucker Family Vault was in Zepkow, he booked a flight to Moscow because it was the only flight he could find that passed over it. Ward would flirt with a hostess on the plane before informing her of his plan and subsequently destroying the plane's door, parachuting out and landing in Zepkow.[7]
Helmut Zemo's Plan[]
Having escaped from the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre in Berlin, Helmut Zemo went to the airport and flew to Moscow. Once there, he drove to the HYDRA Siberian Facility to enact the final stages of his plan to end the Avengers.[8]
Blackout[]
- "Four cities blacked out in five hours – London, Los Angeles, Moscow and Miami."
- ―Phil Coulson to Alphonso Mackenzie[src]
In 2017, Moscow was blacked out by the Watchdogs, who were posing as Inhumans in an attempt to draw them out of hiding. Moscow was one of the first cities targeted due to the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. had relocated Inhumans to the city. Thankfully, the first blackout in Miami was stopped by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who then spread the solution worldwide, restoring power to Moscow.[9]
Secret Invasion[]
Nick Fury's Visit[]
- "Let's see, large Black man, Moscow. Well, it could either be Nick Fury, or the ghost of Paul Robeson."
- ―Sonya Falsworth to Nick Fury[src]
To be added[10]
Chase of G'iah[]
To be added[10]
Bombing of Vossoyedineniye Square[]
To be added[10]
Rescue of Brogan[]
To be added[10]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Captain America: The First Avenger
- ↑ Agent Carter: 1.03: Time and Tide
- ↑ Iron Man 2
- ↑ Ant-Man
- ↑ The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes
- ↑ The Defenders: 1.03: Worst Behavior
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 3.08: Many Heads, One Tale
- ↑ Captain America: Civil War
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4.03: Uprising
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Secret Invasion: 1.01: Resurrection
