MAGADAN
Real Name: Vasili Dassaiev
Identity/Class: Human mutate;
active from 1961
(and presumably at least 2-3 decades before that) and then in stasis for
multiple decades until the modern era;
Russian
(both Russi and the former Soviet Union/U.S.S.R.)
Occupation: Terrorist, spy
Group Membership: Leviathan
(Contessa Valentina Allegro de
Fontaine, Orion/Viktor Uvarov), Hookworms,
others);
formerly Great Wheel (Aquarius/John
Garrett, Aries/Leonardo da Vinci, Cancer/Viktor Uvarov,
Gemini/Nick Fury, Leo/Daniel
Whitehall, Libra/"Dum-Dum" Dugan, Pisces/Shoji Soma,
Sagittarius/Wolfgang von Strucker, Scorpio/Jake
Fury, Taurus/Cornelius
Van Lunt, Virgo/Thomas Davidson)
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Druid (Sebastian Druid), Nick Fury, John Garrett, Hydra (Baron Strucker, Hive, Kraken/Jake Fury, Madame Hydra/Viper/Ophelia Sarkissian, others), Silver Samurai (Kenuichio Harada), Shoji Soma
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Boris," Capricorn
Base of Operations: Ursa Major base, Siberia;
formerly Long Winter base, Siberia
First Appearance: Secret Warriors I#11 (February, 2010)
Powers/Abilities: Magadan had superhuman strength
and endurance, and he could regenerate from extremely grievous wounds;
however, a bullet to the head was sufficient to kill him.
He wore armor based on Brood
technology.
Height: 6'2" (approximate)
Weight: 225 lbs. (approximate)
Eyes: Green
Hair: Brown
History:
(Secret Warriors I#25 (fb)
- In 1961, Vasili Dassaiev and his colleague Viktor Uvarov,
both members of the Soviet subversive organization Leviathan, were among a
number of prominent members of the international intelligence community
who were summoned to the Brotherhood of the Shield's Pieta base in Italy
by the immortal Leonardo da Vinci. Each attendee at this meeting - the
Zodiac Event - was designated with a zodiac symbol; Dassaiev's was
Capricorn.
As da Vinci explained that he had summoned them there
to seek out lost treasures from across the globe to aid them in their
struggle, Dassaiev stood up to leave, prompting Hand grandmaster Shoji
Soma to taunt him; shamed, Dassaiev stayed. Da Vinci then sent Dassaiev,
Daniel Whitehall, John Garrett, and Soma to Giza, Egypt, where they found
a buried Brood starship. Extracting its power core, they were attacked by
a horde of Brood drones. Led by Whitehall, who activated his Kraken armor,
the four battled through the hostile aliens and secured the device. Taking
it back to Pieta, they combined it with the stasis chambers another group
had recovered to create an augmentation device; before it could be
activated, however, Dassiev and Uvarov double-crossed them, seizing the
device in the name of the Soviet Union.
A month later, Dassiev and Uvarov had set up the augmentation device in a Siberian Leviathan base, and the former had apparently already enhanced himself with the chamber and donned Brood armor to become Magadan.As his men were loaded into the chambers, he planned to create an army; however, Strucker and Soma's Hand ninjas chose that moment to attack, and grievously wounded Uvarov. Magadan loaded Uvarov into the machine to save his life, unaware that Strucker and Soma had stolen the Brood power cell; while Uvarov was healed, the power to do so was drawn from the men already in the chambers, transforming them into monstrous Hookworms instead of the super-Soviets Magadan had envisioned.
(Secret Warriors I#26 (fb) - Magadan, hunting for the power cell, attacked the Hand in Japan; Shoji Soma refused to give him the cell's location, and Magadan killed him.
(Secret Warriors I#12 (fb) - Magadan himself went into
stasis with the rest of Leviathan, where he and they remained for
decades.
Eventually, in modern times, he and several troops were awoken with the task of finding the power cell to reactivate all of Leviathan when Jacob Fury (who had infiltrated Hydra as the Kraken) informed them that the cell was in the possession of Clan Yashida, inside a special box
(Secret Warriors I#11) - Magadan and a squad of Leviathan troops assaulted the Clan Yashida stronghold in Agarashima, Japan, searching for the box. He had a Hookworm interrogate the Silver Samurai, but found that the cell was gone.
(Secret Warriors I#12) - Magadan's troops returned to Long
Winter (a former KGB base used by Leviathan) from a raid on Hydra with
the Viper as their captive. They brought her before Magadan, who asked
her where the cell was - when she cursed him, he told th
e Hookworms to "make
it scream." The Hookworms probed her mind, and told him that
while the Viper did not know where it was, Madame Hydra (who was
secretly Leviathan operative Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine)
did.
(Secret Warriors I#13) - Magadan's men informed him that a Hydra jumpship was en route to Long Winter. He ordered them to let it land, and he brought Viper to greet its pilot - Madame Hydra, who had come bearing the cell.
(Secret Warriors I#14) - Magadan threw the horrified Viper to the floor, where Madame Hydra shot and seemingly killed her. After shedding her Hydra costume, Fontaine told Magadan what she knew of Hydra, and asserted Leviathan's superiority. Soon, the pods were ready, and Leviathan's troops began to awaken - the first was Orion. He assumed command of Leviathan and told Magadan and Fontaine to prepare to settle their scores with Hydra and the West.
(Secret Warriors I#16) - Magadan, Orion, and Fontaine attended a summit at Hydra's Crown base in Kyoto. Orion demanded Hydra's total surrender and absorption into Leviathan; agreeing to no such thing, Baron Strucker instead ordered the Gorgon to attack. As the leadership of the two factions brawled, Leviathan forces assaulted the Crown. The Crown was destroyed, and both Hydra and Leviathan incurred massive casualties, but Leviathan's leaders, including Magadan, escaped.
(Secret Warriors I#20 (fb) / Secret Warriors I#23) - Over
the next six months, Hydra and Leviathan engaged in all-out war,
destroying bases and causing massive losses of Hydra, Leviathan, and
civilian lives. Eventually, the two sides signed a ceasefire. Soon
afterwards, however, Magadan was assassinated at Ursa Major by Fury's
allies John Garrett and Sebastian Druid with a bullet through the head,
magically treated to shape the blood-spatter into a Hydra symbol.
In retaliation, Leviathan destroyed Hydra's Ravenous recruitment center in Seattle.
Comments: Created by Jonathan Hickman and Stefano Caselli.
Magadan is a city in Siberia. I'm not
sure what significance it holds for Magadan to be named after it.
Hickman clearly had more in mind for Leviathan and Magadan, but Secret Warriors ended prematurely, and everything had to be wrapped up.
This profile was completed 04/15/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the
Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event to represent
the Secret Warriors series and characters.
Profile by Minor Irritant.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Magadan has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Secret Warriors I#14, p7, pan1 (main image)
Secret Warriors I#25, p11, pan5 (unmasked)
Secret Warriors I#23, p13, pan4 (assassinated)
Appearances:
Secret Warriors I#11-14 (February-May, 2010) - Jonathan Hickman
(writer), Stefano Caselli (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Secret Warriors I#16 (July, 2010) - Jonathan Hickman
(writer), Gianluca Gugliotta (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Secret Warriors I#20 (November, 2010) - Jonathan Hickman
(writer), Mirko Colak (art), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Secret Warriors I#23 (November, 2010) - Jonathan Hickman
(writer), Alessandro Vitti (art), Bill Rosemann & Lauren Sankovitch
(editors)
Secret Warriors I#25-26 (May-June, 2011) - Jonathan Hickman
(writer), Alessandro Vitti (art), Lauren Sankovitch (editors)
First posted: 09/07/2026
Last updated: 04/15/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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