Mikhail Ursus (Earth-3988)

Ursa Major (Mikhail Uriokovitch Ursus) is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Comics universe, and a former member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers. His first appearance was in Incredible Hulk #258.

Born in Blagoveshchensk, Mikhail Ursus was one of the first known mutants born in the Soviet Union in the 20th Century to survive past childhood. Up until the time of his birth, the Soviet government had killed all mutants at the first manifestation of their superhuman powers. In Mikhail's case this was at a young age and he was abandoned in the mountains, growing up amongst the animals of the forest and presumably using his shape-changing power to survive.

Due to the efforts of scientist Piotr Phobos, the government was made to see the potential value of superhumans serving the state and Phobos soon opened a private school to train mutants. Mikhail Ursus was among the first of the many mutants trained by Professor Phobos. Unknown to both his students and the Soviet government, Phobos had built a device to siphon off energy from his students to give himself artificial powers of his own. The process tended to kill the subjects after a time, and Phobos explained their deaths as training casualties. When the second Red Guardian discovered Phobos's scheme, he managed to overpower her and went into hiding, but not before giving two of his students, Darkstar and Vanguard, graduation 'gifts' through which he could continue to siphon their power.

Following certain field work, Mikhail, Darkstar and Vanguard (the three best-trained students of Phobos's school) were reunited and organized by the government into the elite Soviet Super-Soldiers, a team of Soviet government agents. Ursus was given the code name Ursa Major (though he is also known as 'Major Ursus'). The first mission of the Soviet Super-Soldiers was to investigate the contained radioactive area of Khystym known as the Forbidden Zone and to stop the Presence. There they encountered the Hulk, and discovered that their former teacher Professor Phobos was engaged in a project to radioactively contaminate all of the Soviet Union in order to foster the birth of more mutants whose powers he could eventually siphon. The Soviet Super-Soldiers, aided by the Hulk, thwarted Phobos's plan and brought him before the government to stand trial.

Although the Super-Soldiers resolved to remain together as a team, they vowed to never again unquestioningly serve the state. They have subsequently undertaken one government mission, but generally act independently. They were based in a scientific fortress in the region of Khystym.

Ursa Major later battled the Red Ghost alongside the Soviet Super-Soldiers.With the Soviet Super-Soldiers, he was dispatched to capture Magneto, and battled the X-Men and the Avengers. With Vanguard and Darkstar, Ursa Major later attempted to defect to the United States, but they were beaten comatose by the Supreme Soviets. Later, Ursa Major followed Vanguard into the employ of General Tskarov, a communist sympathizer who wanted to undermine American business along the East coast. They only agreed, however, in order to find the missing Darkstar, who (as Ursa later discovered) was in fact being experimented on in Tskarov's own laboratory. Ursa, Darkstar, and Vanguard then joined the Black Widow and Daredevil in defeating Tskarov. Ursa Major is one of the few mutants in the world to retain their powers after Decimation. Ursa Major returns as part of the Winter Guard, helping them and War Machine fight off a Skrull attempt to steal Russian nuclear bombs. Despite orders to the contrary, the entire Guard assists War Machine in killing or driving off the invaders.

He was later seen in a Russian gulag, forced to battle Bucky Barnes, who had been surrendered to the Russian government for alleged crimes as the Winter Soldier, convicted in absentia. When asked by the prison warden why Ursa Major had been incarcerated, Colonel Rostov replied "it's not too difficult to find treason or corruption charges on any government agent."

Later released by, Winter Guardian, to join him for Darkstar and Crimson Dynamo form the newest incarnation of Winter Guard. Mikhail was the first Russian mutant to suffer a Secondary Mutation when they fought the Squadron Sinister wanted to use the power of The Presence technology to bring the entire population of their ruined world to Earth in the process sacrificing the entire area where Russia and he would was waging a battle to the death with Hyperion. The mutation manifested itself at a critical moment in which Ursa Major was nearly torn in half by being double of Superman and Mikhail suddenly had maximized their powers and gained the ability to transform the form of bear a humanoid beast teriantropic Were-Bear Kodiac more 4 feet by muscular body greatly golden brown hyper sharp claws that could be covered with an alloy of organic adamantium a metallization process similar to Colossus. Suddenly Mikhail gained super strength, omega level, the same level of superhuman, supreme alike, Hulk, Juggernaut, The Thing, Red Hulk, Sasquatch, Skaar, Thor, She-Hulk, Red She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel and had a chance to turn the tables in the fight against Hyperion in which he was taking a beating and striking back with full force just wiped the floor with the face of the double of Superman. Mutation of Secondary Mikhail proved to have been an opportune time when he used to release the other members of the Winter Guard and bearing the hammer Perun destroyed the device with which the Squadron Sinister planned to do the transfer which would destroy the bouncing jet from Winter Guard Earth from the Russia stratosphere and dealt a blow Titanic with the hammer Perun that made the device a dimensional implosion swallow the Squadron Sinister back to his world as he was rescued by Darkstar.

Powers and Abilities

Ursa Major has the mutant ability to transform himself into a large anthrophomorphic bear. While in this form, Ursa Major retains his human intelligence, personality and ability to speak, though his personality does become more feral and he begins to lose control over his human intelligence if he remains in his transformed state for several hours consecutively. Ursa Major was trained by the Soviet Military, and trained in the use of his powers by Professor Phobos, being a graduate of Professor Phobos's mutant training school. While transformed, Ursa Major possesses superhuman strength, stamina and resistance to physical injury to a much greater degree than an actual bear of similar size possesses. His strength is sufficient enough to allow him to engage in a one-on-one battle with The Hulk and survive. His senses are also heightened to a superhuman degree, particularly his sense of smell that he can use to track a target by scent. Also, like a real bear, Ursa Major possesses non-retractable claws. These claws are relatively blunt, as they are with an actual bear, but can be used as effective weapons when coupled with his great strength.

Mikhail had become the "army of one Bearman Kodiac" Winter Guard becoming one of the mutants increased physical strength of the planet. His secondary mutation to a lycanthrope Werebear Kodiac Giant gave him besides vast super-strength that allowed him to jump up to 300 meters tall (about two football fields up or forward) Hulk-style. His strength is such that it is capable of lifting up to 1,250 tons (the equivalent of a huge ocean liner). Ursa Major has great knowledge of combat hand-to-hand and a high degree of dominance in military strategy of the Russian army, his secondary mutation changed its appearance now it resembles a giant, werebear kodiac massively muscular of the reddish brown he can now use their hands to manipulate objects and their claws and skeleton through a process of bio-metallization similar to Colossus can be transmuted into organic Adamantium, he now has a healing factor that instant heals wounds at the exact moment are made, and his super-senses animals, hyper-acute, as, vision,hearing, smell amplified at superhuman levels. Realizing your new potential needed to be trained so that he could make him the greatest advantage in battle Mikhail entered a series of intensive training alongside heavyweights Heroes like Wolverine, Thor, The Thing affectionately nicknamed "Great Little Bear" by Wolverine he learned new techniques. Their claws are now hyper-sharp and combined with his super strength far more deadly than those of Wolverine.