Have you heard of the russian superhero-movie "Guardians"?

[DetlefK]

It's based on a soviet-era superhero-comic that in turn was a rip-off of the Fantastic Four. Each superhero represents a region of Russia:
Sexy blonde water-woman is the european part. (Not Caucasus. Native Caucasians are dark-haired. More like Ukraine and Belarus.)
Black-whirlwind-ninja-dude is the far-eastern part.
And there is an Earthbender and a Were-Bear with a gatling-gun, but I don't know what regions they represent.

The movie launched in Russia in February 2017 but got bad reviews for boring story and bad CGI. The CGI is actually not that bad considering a budget of $5 million, but there's not much leeway if the story is bad.

And the story is... Super-villain and his army of show up out of nowhere and attack Moscow and the russian army is outmatched. The superheroes must save Russia from the invaders. With lots of punching and splosions and swagger. But this time it's personal because the super-villain is (I guess?) also the guy who gave them their powers.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/russias-guardians-vfx-reel-shows-how-the-man-became-the-1794984953
After a great start, the movie bombed at the russian box-office and further releases seem unlikely.

[exboyfil]

1. I saw the trailer and I hope it ends up on Netflix soon

The idea of a speedster with edged weapons is great. The Flash has started to do it.

I think people should appreciate the movie for what it is. I like low budget that has a heart. For example check out Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies. They didn't even have enough money to put the cast on horseback for even one shot. Still the movie has far more heart than the big budget Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

[packman]

2. I saw the entire movie

on one of those watch free movies online sites. Not bad, a bit wordy/talky but effects were decent enough to watch. One guy with super speed and wicked blades slices and dices, an invisible woman, a character with psychic powers to lift objects and another guy who turns into a bear (Russia, you know). A lot of blood and guts.

[JHB]

3. Maybe they should talk to Disney...

Marvel has its own stable of Russian supers who could be worked into a Russian-audience movie or series. Ursa Major, Darkstar, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, Vanguard, and a few others. Most started off as Cold-War era villains, but have had some more sympathetic development since.

It's the sort of thing that might be right for "localized" development, if it didn't inevitably have to cut Vlad and/or friends in on a piece of the action.

[DetlefK]

4. There is a chinese supervillain-turned-superhero, but I forgot his name.

He reluctantly became a superhero as a member of the Thunderbolts. His superpower is something with radioactivity. If Disney/Marvel want to pander to China, he's an option.

Marvel has a whole world of B-list and C-list supervillains that have gone unused so far. (Crossbones was the only one who showed up and he's dead.) I really hope we get more guys like Stiltman, The Asbestos-Lady and Paste-Pot Pete in future movies.