Darkstar made her first appearance in Champions #7 in August 1976. She was created by writer Tony Isabella and artist George Tuska. Her introduction came during the height of the Cold War, a period when Marvel Comics was actively introducing more international characters to reflect a global readership and geopolitical landscape. The creation of Soviet-based heroes and villains was a common trope, but Darkstar, along with her twin brother Vanguard, was designed with more nuance than a typical one-dimensional antagonist. Her initial role was to serve as an adversary for the Los Angeles-based Champions, sent to bring the defecting Black Widow back to the U.S.S.R. However, Isabella and subsequent writers quickly established her as a character with a strong moral compass. Her decision to defy her orders and join the Champions was a significant moment, transforming her from a state operative into a genuine hero and showcasing a complexity that would define her character for decades to come. She represented a more humanized view of the “other side” of the Iron Curtain, a patriot who valued justice over blind obedience.
The origin of Darkstar is a tale of mutation, government manipulation, and the enduring bond of family, though its specifics differ greatly between the primary comic universe and its (thus far) absence in the MCU.
Laynia Petrovna was born in Minsk, in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, along with her twin brother, Nikolai Krylenko. They were the children of Sergei Krylov, a brilliant nuclear physicist who would later become the powerful and insane radioactive being known as the Presence. The twins' mutant powers manifested during their adolescence. While Nikolai developed superhuman speed and the ability to generate a powerful force field, Laynia found she could access and control a mysterious, dark energy from another dimension. Recognizing their potential, the Soviet government took the twins into its custody and trained them at a special school for superhuman operatives. There, Laynia was given the codename Darkstar, and Nikolai became Vanguard. They were molded into model agents of the state, loyal to their homeland and its communist ideals. Their first major mission was a public relations disaster and a personal turning point. They were dispatched to the United States as part of a team called the Soviet Super-Soldiers, tasked with capturing and returning the high-profile defector Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, who was then a member of the Champions. During their confrontation with the Champions in Los Angeles, Laynia and Nikolai were exposed to the corruption and cruelty of their commanding officer, Colonel Ling. They saw that the Champions fought for justice, not for a specific government's agenda. When Ling threatened to detonate a hidden nuclear device in the city, Darkstar and Vanguard turned against him, helping the Champions neutralize the threat. Disillusioned with their government's methods, they requested and were granted political asylum in the United States. Darkstar officially joined the Champions, serving as a full-fledged member and a hero in her adopted country until the team eventually disbanded. This period was formative, exposing her to Western culture and heroic ideals outside of state control, though she always remained deeply proud of her Russian heritage.
As of the current timeline, Laynia Petrovna, a.k.a. Darkstar, has not been officially introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her name and powerset have not appeared in any film or Disney+ series. However, the film Black Widow (2021) laid the potential groundwork for her future introduction by formally establishing a version of her iconic team. The film's post-credits scene and narrative core revolve around the Red Room's legacy and introduce other Russian super-operatives, including Alexei Shostakov (Red Guardian) and Antonia Dreykov (Taskmaster). More importantly, Alexei boasts of his past glories as Russia's premier hero and mentions other super-soldiers from his era. At one point, he arm-wrestles a fellow prisoner named Ursa, who is clearly the MCU's version of Ursa Major, another core member of the Winter Guard in the comics. This group—Red Guardian, his “family” of Black Widows (Natasha and Yelena), and Ursa Major—forms a de-facto, proto-Winter Guard. Darkstar's absence from this lineup is significant. It raises several questions for fans:
The MCU has previously hinted at the Darkforce Dimension, most notably in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (through the character of Marcus Daniels/Blackout) and Cloak & Dagger, where the dimension was a central plot element. This confirms that the source of Darkstar's powers exists within the MCU's cosmology, making her eventual introduction entirely possible. If and when she appears, her origin will likely be adapted to fit the established MCU narrative, perhaps as a newer operative from a post-Soviet program, or as a latent Inhuman or mutant whose powers are just now emerging in the post-Blip world.
Darkstar is an Omega-level mutant 1) with a wide array of powers stemming from her psionic connection to the Darkforce Dimension.
Not Yet Depicted. As Darkstar has not appeared in the MCU, her powers and abilities within that continuity are unknown. However, we can speculate on a potential adaptation based on how the MCU has handled similar concepts:
Her twin brother is, without question, the most important person in Laynia's life. Their shared origin, their simultaneous power manifestation, and their joint service to Russia have forged an unbreakable bond. They are almost always seen serving on the same teams. Laynia is often the more measured and thoughtful of the two, tempering Nikolai's impulsive and sometimes hot-headed nature. They have defied their government together, faced their villainous father together, and even died and returned to life in each other's service. Any threat to Vanguard is a threat Laynia will stop at nothing to neutralize.
During her defection to the United States, Darkstar found an unlikely family in the Champions of Los Angeles. She developed a strong professional respect and friendship with Black Widow, her fellow Russian expatriate. She also formed bonds with Hercules, who admired her warrior spirit, and Iceman, with whom she shared the experience of being a young, powerful mutant learning to control their abilities. This period was crucial for her development, proving that heroism transcended national borders and ideologies.
While there have been many Crimson Dynamos, Dmitri Bukharin was the version with whom Darkstar served the longest on the Soviet Super-Soldiers and Winter Guard. Their relationship was one of professional, soldierly camaraderie. Dmitri often acted as the team's field leader, and he relied heavily on Darkstar's power and moral judgment. Together, they represented the core of Russia's superhuman defense for years, a partnership built on mutual respect and shared duty.
Darkstar's greatest and most tragic enemy is her own father. After a lab accident turned him into a being of pure, living nuclear energy, Sergei Krylov became obsessed with a mad vision: to transform all citizens of the U.S.S.R. into a collective consciousness of radioactive beings like himself, which he believed would usher in a new golden age for his nation. He has repeatedly tried to forcibly convert his own children, seeing their powers as key to his plans. These confrontations are deeply personal and horrific for Laynia, forcing her to fight the man who gave her life to save the country he claims to love.
These shapeshifting alien invaders were the cause of one of the greatest tragedies in Darkstar's life. During a major confrontation, the Winter Guard member Fantasma was replaced by a Dire Wraith. This imposter used Fantasma's powers to open a portal to the Darkforce Dimension and seemingly consume Darkstar, killing her in a brutal and shocking fashion. This event deeply traumatized Vanguard and the entire team. Even after Laynia's eventual return, the Dire Wraiths remain a source of intense hatred and a reminder of her own mortality.
(Champions #7-17, 1976-1978) This is Darkstar's foundational arc. Sent to America to apprehend Black Widow, she is instead confronted with the moral compromises of her mission. After witnessing the honor and heroism of the Champions and the ruthlessness of her own commanders, she and Vanguard make the life-altering decision to switch allegiances. Her time with the Champions was a cultural and ideological awakening, forcing her to define her heroism on her own terms, not the state's. The series explored her struggles with a new language, her friendships with heroes like Hercules and Iceman, and her first taste of freedom, setting the stage for the complex character she would become.
(Incredible Hulk #258-259, 1981) In this critical storyline, Darkstar and the Soviet Super-Soldiers are forced to confront the monstrous truth about their origins. They track the source of a massive radiation anomaly to the “Forbidden Zone” in Siberia, only to discover their father, Sergei Krylov, now the god-like being known as the Presence. The story culminates in a harrowing battle where Laynia and Nikolai must fight their own father to stop him from transforming a nearby town's populace into a radioactive hive mind. It is a deeply personal conflict that cemented the Presence as her arch-nemesis and explored the psychological trauma of her family history.
(Hulk Vol. 2 #1, Hulk: Winter Guard #1, 2008-2010) This storyline marked a significant and dark turning point. During a battle with a Dire Wraith, Darkstar was tragically killed, her body seemingly absorbed into the Darkforce Dimension. Her death devastated her brother Vanguard and sent shockwaves through the Winter Guard. Sometime later, a new version of Darkstar mysteriously appeared. It was eventually revealed that the original Laynia Petrovna had indeed died. The Presence, in a twisted act of love, used his vast power combined with the ambient Darkforce energy that lingered at the site of her death to create a perfect replica of his daughter from pure Darkforce. This new Laynia possessed all of the original's memories and personality but was now fundamentally a being of living shadow. This revelation added a layer of existential horror to her character, as she was forced to grapple with the fact that she was a living echo of a dead woman.