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"And with you, an Avenger under my control, I can finally come out of the shadows using the only natural resource that the world has too much of. Girls."
General Dreykov (Russian: Дрейков) was a high-ranking officer in the Soviet Armed Forces and the overseer for the Red Room, where he would select young girls to be trained to become Black Widows. During this time, Dreykov had turned Alexei Shostakov into Red Guardian, but chose to send the super soldier on undercover missions, and eventually betrayed him. Eventually, Dreykov was tracked down by Natasha Romanoff, who attempted to kill him, only for Dreykov to survive, while his young daughter, Antonia Dreykov almost being killed, causing Dreykov to turn her into Taskmaster, becoming his greatest weapon.
Having gone into hiding in the Red Room Academy, Dreykov had continued overseeing his Black Widows, using Melina Vostokoff's research to amass his army. When he learnt that Yelena Belova had betrayed them and stolen the Red Dust, Dreykov sent Taskmaster to stop Belova from releasing the Black Widows out of his control, putting him back into conflict with Romanoff and Shostakov. Romanoff was able to track down Dreykov, leading to the destruction of his entire base and the Red Room programming, before Dreykov was killed in a helicopter explosion by Belova.
"He takes more every day. Children who don’t have anyone to protect them. Just like us when we were small. Maybe one in twenty survives the training, becomes a Widow. The rest, he kills. To him, we are just things. Weapons with no face that he can just throw away."
A high-ranking Soviet Armed Forces officer, Dreykov was put in charge of the Red Room, a top-secret Soviet training program that turned young women into the world's deadliest spies.[1] Dreykov's associate, a woman known only as Madame B., managed the program for him, training the young girls.
Dreykov eventually discovered Natasha Romanoff, a child living in Russia, and saw a great potential in her.[3] He then made a deal with Romanoff's family to purchase her. However, Romanoff's mother was against it and began searching for her daughter. Noticing her persistence and fearful of the Red Room's existence being exposed, Dreykov ordered her to be assassinated. Dreykov subsequently had her body buried in an unmarked grave, as to keep her true identity from ever being revealed.[1]
"General Dreykov, my friend? Gives me glory… Soviet Union’s first and only super soldier. I could have been more famous than Captain America. Then he buries me in Ohio on that stupid mission."
Having gotten word that Alexei Shostakov had completed his mission in the United States of America, and had managed to destroy the North Institute, Dreykov traveled to Cuba to personally congratulate him. Upon seeing him, Dreykov commented that the Red Guardian had returned, with Shostakov noting that he had returned triumphant, as they shared a hug and kiss, before Shostakov handed Dreykov the computer chip that he had stolen.
Dreykov and Shostakov then looked to Melina Vostokoff, who was being taken away for medical treatment, having been shot during their escape, as Shostakov commented on her strength. However, just as Dreykov commented on Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova's potential, they witnessed Belova being grabbed by the soldiers, resulting in Romanoff stealing one of their guns and threatening to shoot them if they dared to touch her sister again, which had impressed Dreykov.
Dreykov had then witnessed Shostakov calming Romanoff down, despite her desperate pleas for Belova not to be put through the Red Room Academy. Once Shostakov had managed to get the gun away from Romanoff, Dreykov ordered his soldiers to knock them unconscious, before having them moved into a truck, in order for them to be taken to the academy, and begin their training with the Red Room to become Black Widows, with Dreykov noting that Romanoff had a fire inside her.[1]
Following the mission to destroy the North Institute, Dreykov took the young Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova, and forced them into the Red Room Academy. There, Dreykov had them separated, as they both underwent the training, and eventually became successful killers and members of the Black Widows. At the same time, Dreykov chose to betray Alexei Shostakov, and had him sent to the Seventh Circle Prison, with Shostakov being unsure of why Dreykov betrayed him.
In order to continue building his power and influence around the world, Dreykov would meet with the leaders of Russia, from Boris Yeltsin to Vladimir Putin, both of whom he would be photographed with. Dreykov would also take meetings with the leaders of the United States of America, being photographed at the White House during his meetings with Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and figures of later administrations like Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State.[1]
By 1998, Dreykov and his men had been investigated by Nick Fury and the Skrull spy Varra, with Varra ensuring him that Dreykov's men would be on their heels with her information.[4]
Dreykov moved his base of operations to Budapest, where he had set up an office to conduct his work with the Red Room. While working in this office, Dreykov was visited by his young daughter, Antonia, who had just returned from school. However, once he had gotten up to greet his daughter, Dreykov was almost killed, when a bomb planted by Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton was detonated, destroying the office in a massive fireball, with Dreykov and Antonia still inside.
Dreykov being almost killed in an explosion
Dreykov and Antonia barely survived the blast, with Antonia's face disfigured from the burns, which horrified Dreykov, as he could barely look at his daughter's scars.[1] This event would haunt Romanoff, who had chosen to detonate the bomb, despite knowing that Dreykov's innocent daughter would likely be killed.[5] In order for her to deal with the pain, Dreykov then inserted a chip into the back of Antonia's neck, giving Dreykov full control of her mind and body.[1]
Creating Taskmaster[]
"When your bomb exploded, it nearly killed my Antonia. I had to put a chip in the back of her neck. In the back of her neck. Look at her. You find it difficult to look at her. I, too."
Following the destruction of his office, and the near death of himself and Antonia, Dreykov gained full control of his daughter's mind and body with the chip he had installed in the back of her neck. With Antonia under his control, Dreykov discovered her skill for mimicry, as she trained in the Red Room Academy, and became a formidable assassin, able to use her enemies' skills against them.
Impressed with her talents for killing, Dreykov gave Antonia the code name of Taskmaster, putting her in charge of the Black Widows, under his instructions. With Taskmaster unable to make choices for herself, Dreykov had her train by studying videos of the Avengers in combat, including the fight between Hawkeye and Black Panther, so she could use their tactics in combat. Dreykov would choose to only unleash Taskmaster on important missions, as he knew that she would never fail him, as she was his perfect assassin.
In order to avoid a further assassination attempt from Natasha Romanoff, Dreykov moved his base of operations to the Red Room Academy, which stayed floating in the clouds, as he made no further public appearances, leading Romanoff to believe that he was dead. From here, Dreykov continued to work with Melina Vostokoff to perfecting the mind control of the Black Widows, developing control levels where Dreykov would be able to force the women to commit suicide, while he had also continued building his control of the world leaders.[1]
Dreykov ordered Yelena Belova and Ingrid to bring a team to Morocco, where they would kill Oksana and retrieve the Red Dust, which could free Black Widows from Dreykov's control. However, Oksana used the Red Dust on Belova, causing her to desert the Red Room. Ingrid contacted Dreykov about Belova's betrayal and asked permission to activate the Taskmaster Protocol, which Dreykov granted.[1]
"You wouldn't be so glib if you had any notion of the scope of what I built. I own this world. Me!" "You seem desperate to impress me." "I don't need to impress you. I don't need to impress anyone."
Dreykov received a message from Melina Vostokoff, who revealed that Natasha Romanoff had arrived at her Homestead with the rest of their family. Dreykov ordered everyone be captured and brought back to the Red Room Academy, as he invited Vostokoff into his office. However, Dreykov immediately recognised Vostokoff was actually Romanoff in disguise, but chose not to immediately expose her.
Maintaining the charade Dreykov asked Romanoff about their family reunion, asking about Yelena Belova and if she was the only one effected by the Red Dust, which Romanoff confirmed. Dreykov ordered that the situation with the Red Dust be resolved, and ignored Romanoff's attempts to argue this, as he forced her to sit. Dreykov ordered that Belova's brain should be cut out so they could identify the weakness within her.
As Romanoff, still maintaining the guise of being Vostokoff, asked what was to happen to her, Dreykov called her a traitor to the Red Room, as he claimed to have given her a home and love, when Romanoff had nothing. Dreykov explained that he wanted to use Vostokoff's techniques to completely control Romanoff's mind, to have one of the Avengers as his slave and assassin, with Romanoff asking if he wanted to speak to her first.
Dreykov revealed he knew he was being deceived, as he pulled off the Photostatic Veil which Romanoff was wearing, explaining that looking into the eyes of his own creation meant that no mask could hide her identity. As Taskmaster immediately aimed a gun at Romanoff, Dreykov ordered her to stand down, calling Romanoff his new toy. Dreykov questioned what Romanoff's plan was, as she claimed her plan was to kill him.
Romanoff asked Dreykov the name of her mother. Dreykov began telling the story of her mother's death, although at the end simply said that her grave read "Unknown," angering Romanoff. Romanoff attempted to enrage Dreykov by questioning if he felt anything at all, while mentioning that she was responsible for the death of his daughter, Antonia, but Dreykov instead laughed at her.
Dreykov thanked Romanoff for giving him his greatest weapon, before he revealed to Romanoff that Taskmaster was Antonia, who had survived the explosion in Budapest years earlier, surprising Romanoff. As they looked as Antonia's scared face, Dreykov told Romanoff that he had to put a chip into the back of his daughter's neck to control her, while noting that he found it difficult to look at his daughter's face.
Dreykov explained that his daughter was a perfect mimic, who had the skills to fight exactly like the Black Widows. Horrified by everything she was seeing, Romanoff questioned if Antonia could hear her, as Dreykov mocked this, questioning if Romanoff wanted to make Antonia feel better for what happened to her, but insisted that if she wanted to say sorry, she should have thought of this before blowing her up.
Dreykov told Taskmaster to leave, ordering her to find and kill Vostokoff, Belova and Red Guardian. Once they were alone, Romanoff pulled a gun on Dreykov, claiming it was a mistake to remove the one person who could have prevented her from killing Dreykov. However, Romanoff found herself unable to kill Dreykov, due to a pheromonal lock which Dreykov had implanted in all Black Widows, as he mocked her efforts.
Dreykov taunted Romanoff, taking the gun from her and firing it into the air, as well as taking her knife when she tried to stab him. Romanoff questioned how Dreykov was able to control her, as he explained about the pheromnal lock, before threatening to hit her. Dreykov noted on his disappointment in Vostokoff, expressing his regret that he needed Taskmaster to kill her, before mocking Romanoff's plan to have him arrested.
As he watched Vostokoff attempt to hack into the Academy's systems, Dreykov casually locked her out. Instead of being intimidated, Romanoff began mocking Dreykov's plan to make her his mind controlled slave, calling it pathetic. While Dreykov tried to insist that he was fighting the true war in the shadows, Romanoff claimed that he actually hid in the dark and noted that Dreykov's influence was overinflated by him.
Despite Dreykov trying to claim that he had fifty people across the planet who could make his plans come to light, Romanoff told hm to stop talking, which enraged Dreykov, as he screamed at Romanoff not to tell him to stop. When Romanoff mockingly told him to shut up, Dreykov punched her in the face, although Romanoff continued mocking him, despite Dreykov punching her again, while she called him weak, much to Dreykov's annoyance.
Wanting her to shut up, Dreykov punched Romanoff to the ground and kicked her down. Dreykov insisted that Romanoff would not be so light hearted if she knew what he had built, before Dreykov used his coded ring to log onto his computer to show off his achievements, insisting he owned the world. Dreykov told Romanoff that the world's leaders answered to him and his Black Widows, showing Romanoff how many Black Widows he controlled.
Dreykov bragged that these girls were trash who had turned into weapons at his control, insisting that he had given them a purpose as Black Widows, telling Romanoff that he had the power to give one command that could starve the population, crash the stock markets or start wars between nations. Dreykov told Romanoff that he would finally be able to come out of the shadows now that he had an Avenger under his control.
With Dreykov claiming that girls were a resource that the world had too much off, Romanoff questioned if he controlled all of this from his desk, which Dreykov controlled. However, Romanoff began laughing at Dreykov, as she thanked him for his corporation. Dreykov then witnessed Romanoff slam her face into his desk, in order to break her nose and stop the pheromonal lock from working, allowing Romanoff to punch Dreykov.
However, Dreykov was able to activate his alarm, calling upon the Black Widows to help him, while the Academy's engines were being damaged by Vostokoff, causing Dreykov's office to shake as the Academy began to crash. Romanoff continued mocking Dreykov, as she kicked his face into his desk, while telling Dreykov that he had taken her childhood and choices in his attempts to break her, as she drew her Baton to kill him.
However, Dreykov was saved as his Black Widows arrived and attacked Romanoff, dragging her away from him with a hooked harpoon. Having collected his glasses and closed his desk, which logged him of the system, Dreykov ordered his Black Widows not to leave the room until Romanoff was dead, telling them to make her suffer, before making his own escape, confident that he had the situation under control.[1]
Failed Escape and Death[]
"She's on the wing! Move! What are you waiting for?"
Leaving Natasha Romanoff to die at the hands of his Black Widows, Dreykov was collected by his soldiers, who dragged him away to escape. However, along the way, Dreykov realized that he had left his coded ring inside his office, which would give Romanoff access to his network of Widows, as Dreykov demanded that they go back, only for his guards to continue pulling him towards safety.
Having gotten outside, Dreykov was able to board his dual-air propeller aircraft with his armed soldiers, as they prepared to escape before the Red Room Academy began to freefall from the sky, as Melina Vostokoff destroyed one of its engines. Dreykov got on board, prepared to leave his Black Widows, as well as Taskmaster on the academy as it burnt and fell from the sky.
However, during his escape, Dreykov noticed Yelena Belova jump onto the wing of the aircraft, as she had prepared to destroy the aircraft by throwing her baton into the engine. Despite Dreykov's attempts to warn his soldiers about her, Belova plunged her electroshock baton into the plane's engine, causing it to lose control and crash. The plane caught fire and exploded, incinerating Dreykov and all of his soldiers in the explosion, as the burning wreckage fell hundreds of feet to the ground.[1]
Personality[]
"Look at them. These girls were trash, they are thrown out into the street. I recycle the trash, and I give them purpose. I give them a life."
A textbook sociopath, Dreykov was an abusive, fierce, calculating, ruthless, controlling and brutal individual, who lacked almost any form of empathy for the livelihoods of his subordinates and former allies. This extended to Alexei Shostakov, who he had sent to Seventh Circle Prison for criticizing the Russian government, and even his own daughter, Antonia, who he repurposed to be his "greatest weapon" following the Budapest Operation, showing a complete disregard for her care and well-being. He had no remorse for trafficking the innocent girls around the world to join his Red Room Program, and subjecting them to treatments in the program, including brainwashing and sterilization, all in the name to propose a greater and more formidable army of Black Widows.
For what he did not have in strength, Dreykov made up with cunning and intelligence. He had a deep misogynistic streak, seeing girls as merely weapons to be used and thrown away when it suited his agenda of world domination. Dreykov saw them as nothing more than a natural resource and "trash" that were waiting to be recycled. Despite his narcissism, Dreykov had a very fragile ego, shown when he quickly lost his temper and screamed at Natasha Romanoff after she confronted him about his weaknesses and insecurities. He also was extremely cowardly, as whenever he lost control of a situation, he was left begging for mercy and desperately trying to shield himself.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
"There is a pheromonal lock. Smelling my pheromones prevents you from committing violence against me."
Dreykov was able to apply a pheromonal lock inside all of his Black Widows and Red Room personnel, which enabled immunity of harm from them while perceiving his smell.
Mind Control: Dreykov, with the help of Melina Vostokoff, was able to implement a mind control network over his Widows, with Yelena Belova describing it as being fully conscious, but unable to distinguish which part is you. The control levels seem to vary from person to person, as Belova did not seem to be aware of her actions until after she was freed, while Ingrid was able to understand Dreykov's commands and say out loud that she did not want to follow through with them.
Abilities[]
"It's my network of Widows that help me control the scales of power. One command, the oil and stock markets crumble. One command, and a quarter of the planet will starve."
Dreykov was a strategist who was able to maintain global control for decades using agents placed around the world. He amassed enough power to manipulate the world to his advantage, and used his influence to gain wealth and power by starting wars and stealing information.
Bilingualism: Dreykov was fluent in his native Russian, as well as English.
Dreykov took Natasha Romanoff's handgun at her while she was unable to use it on him. He taunted her by firing the gun in the air before placing it down.
Knife: Dreykov took Natasha Romanoff's knife from her after she found herself unable to stab him.
Other Equipment[]
Coded Ring: Dreykov used a coded ring to access the computer from which he control the Black Widows and gave his orders to the Red Room. Natasha Romanoff stole the ring from Dreykov and used it to release information about the Red Room to the public.
Facilities[]
"The real war was fought here, in the shadows." "You didn't fight in the shadows, you hid in the dark."
Dreykov ran the Red Room out of its academy, where he would stay in his office and give orders to agents and Black Widows. He confronted Natasha Romanoff in the academy while Melina Vostokoff caused it to crash land. Dreykov attempted to leave the facility, but Yelena Belova blew up his plane before he could, killing Dreykov.
Dreykov's Budapest Office: Dreykov used an office in Budapest to run his operations, where his daughter would visit him after school. Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton blew up the office with Dreykov and his daughter inside, leading to them being thought dead. However, they survived, and his daughter became disfigured, leading Dreykov to put her through the Taskmaster Protocol.
Dreykov is not based on any one character from the comics, rather he is an amalgam of various characters. Due to the constant retcons, as well as the vague nature of who exactly ran the Red Room, Dreykov is likely meant to serve as a singular villain to all of the various named Russian agents such as Alex Sterelny, Grigor Pchelintsov and Ivan Petrovich.
His use of pheromones to prevent the Widows from attacking him is similar to that of Vassily Ilyich Ulyanov, an assassin hired to kill Widows who also used a similar perfume. Like Dreykov, Romanoff defeated him by breaking her nose.
Dreykov was first mentioned in The Avengers, making him the first main antagonist in an MCU film to be mentioned before his debut, the second being Xu Wenwu (the "Mandarin") and the third being Ego.
Behind the Scenes[]
Ray Winstone disliked having to participate in the reshoots for Black Widow due to feelings that the film's producers were criticizing his performance. At one point, Winstone considered to leave the project and make Marvel Studios recast him, but eventually obliged to finish the reshoots to avoid Marvel taking legal action against him if he didn't follow his contract.[6]
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