Tania Belinskaya (Earth-3988)

Tania Belinskaya (Russian: Таня Белинская) is the daughter of Dr. Andrei Belinsky, a leader of a Soviet dissident movement that protested repressive policies of the Soviet Union.

As a child, Tania aspired to serve the greatest need of her country. Her ambition in life was to serve others, and no sacrifice was too great to achieve her goal. Tania was secretly lonely. She never knew real friendship until she joined the ranks of the Defenders.

At a young age, Belinskaya had already become one of the world's greatest and most renowned neurosurgeons. After her father was exiled to Siberia for his public denunciations of Soviet policies, Belinskaya decided to adopt a secret identity in order to help other dissidents and to fight crime. Belinskaya named herself after the deceased Red Guardian and took a similar costume.She was the third person to use the name.

Doctor Strange obtained permission for Belinskaya to come to the United States to perform a complicated operation on Nighthawk, returning his brain to his body after Gorilla-Man had removed it. Richmond was abducted from the hospital by Plant Man, and Tania teamed up with the Defenders to help rescue him. She remained with the team for their battles against Nebulon and the Headmen, helped free the Valkyrie from prison, fought the Assassin of the xenophobic Committee for Free Emigration, and helped rescue Nighthawk's former girlfriend Trish Starr from Shazana's control.

She was forced to return to the Soviet Union by Sergei Krylov, the Presence. Krylov was planning to transform himself and saw Tania as his ideal mate.He used his mind control on her, and after exposure to cobalt radiation and a nuclear explosion, both were transformed into beings of nuclear energy. The Defenders fought both of them until Tania was able to break Presence's mind control on her. Tania had herself placed on an isolated research facility to not harm others.

Tania was held in isolation in order to not irradiate other people. She dreaded the thought of a lifetime spent in solitary confinement. The Soviet authorities informed Tania that the Presence returned to the 'Forbidden Zone' and apparently released a Giant Amoeba. Approaching the area was too dangerous for normal humans, so they asked Tania to take the mission and stop the Presence. Released from her cell, the Red Guardian discovered that the Amoeba was actually threatening the Presence's life. The two radioactive beings joined forces against the monster. Tania and Sergei discovered that they did have feelings for one another, and became a couple.

The two worked together against Professor Phobos, and then left the planet hoping to make themselves inert. The enigmatic Stranger found the two. They were later released by Quasar.

Tania was attempting to keep Presence in check after a confrontation with the Avengers and the Winter Guard.

The two eventually separated when Starlight joined the Winter Guard alongside the Presence's son, Vanguard. She then joined his splinter group, the Protectorate, looking for a way to bring Darkstar back to life. After passing through Limbo and back to Earth, the Protectorate and Winter Guard confronted the Presence and their traitorous member, the Dire Wraith Fantasma. Shortly thereafter Starlight was to be named as the official leader of Winter Guard, a position analogous to that of Carol Danvers the Captain Marvel, who she accepted as being the Winter Guard leader to this day.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Tania is able to generate, store, and release massive amounts of nuclear energy.

She has used this energy for powerful blasts, flight and heat shields.

She has used beams from her eyes to attack an opponent.

She has vast superhuman strength on par with Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers

She has virtual invulnerability and is impervious to the most powerful attacks.

She has a hyper accelerated healing factor that allows she to recover from damage that can overcome your invulnerability.

She has the power of molecular restructuring of matter and can transmute any organic or inorganic element into whatever she wishes.

She has Cosmic Awareness.

Abilities

Tania is one of the world's foremost neurosurgeons. She has considerable skill in hand to hand combat and acrobatics.

She speaks fluent English and Russian.

Strength level

Starlight is able to lift 79 tons

Weaknesses

She is constantly giving off radiation

Paraphernalia

Weapons

As the Red Guardian, Tania used a throwing disc carried on her belt buckle.

Notes

Tania's footsteps are irradiated, and glow in the dark