Ivan Illyich Gort (New Earth)

Stalnoivolk
Mainstream Universe‎, 1986‎-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Ivan Illyich Gort
Main Alias	Stalnoivolk
Other Aliases	Steel Wolf
Affiliation	Red Shadows, KGB, Suicide Squad, Partner of Major Zastrow
Base Of Operations	Siberia, Russia
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	Soviet · Russian
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Special operative
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6' 2"
Weight	275 lbs (125 kg)
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Grey
Origin
Universe	New Earth
Creators	John Ostrander · Joe Brozowski
First Appearance	Firestorm Vol 2 #67 (January, 1988)

Stalnoivolk, the Steel Wolf, was a Soviet super-soldier.

History

Origin

Ivan Illyich Gort was born in Russia in the early 1900s. As a young man, he participated in a series of secret experiments that gave him superhuman physical characteristics. He was created to serve as a symbol of Soviet resistance during World War II and given the code name Stalnoivolk (translated as Steel Wolf). It was the Russians' intent to create an army of such men, but General Secretary Joseph Stalin destroyed the formula that created him and had all of the scientists involved with the project killed. Stalin feared that an army of Stalnoivolks might pose a threat to his rule, so he made sure that there could only be one, one that he could control. Ivan proved to be fiercely loyal to Stalin and was intricately involved in Stalin's purges in the Ukraine. After the war, Stalnoivolk was discredited and sent to Siberia where he lived as a peasant for decades.

Reactivation

Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin assigned Major Zastrow to locate Stalnoivolk. They wanted to reactivate him for use against super-powered threats outside the U.S.S.R.—specifically, the American super-hero Firestorm.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Superhuman Durability: Gort is incredibly resilient. He withstood a direct hit from a .44 caliber bullet and the nuclear explosions of Firestorm.
• Superhuman Stamina: It was shown how he was chopping wood without outerwear, not paying attention to the frost.
• Superhuman Strength: Increased strength allows him to throw a person into the next block, make titanic jumps, break a person's neck with a slight movement of his hand, break through a strong wall, throw cars and climb buildings, clinging to them.
  • Superhuman Leaping Ability
• Decelerated Aging: despite his advanced age, Ivan Ilyich had not aged at all. Except that the hair turned gray.

Abilities

• Military Protocol
• Weaponry
• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Steel Wolf is a ruthless, highly trained, highly skilled special agent, fighter, and assassin.
• Deception
• Tactical Analysis
• Multilingualism: Ivan Illyich can speak both Russian and English.

Notes

• Ivan holds himself to old hardliner communist dogma, and believes that every Russian leader since Stalin has been incompetent and ineffective.

Related

• 23 Appearances of Ivan Illyich Gort (New Earth)
• 5 Images featuring Ivan Illyich Gort (New Earth)
• Quotations by or about Ivan Illyich Gort (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Ivan Illyich Gort (New Earth)

Footnotes

Firestorm Villain(s) This character, team or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of Firestorm and any of his supporting cast or members of the Firestorm Matrix. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Firestorm Villains category."

Suicide Squad member This character is or was a member of the Suicide Squad, a team of imprisoned super-villains who perform high-risk missions for the U.S. Government in exchange for commuted sentences, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Suicide Squad members" category.