Born in Ukraine, Boris Bullski rose in the ranks of the KGB and eventually was partnered with his fellow comrade Black Widow. When Tony Stark's bodyguard Iron Man was shown to the public, the Soviet Union decided to show their superiority to the United States by creating a powered armor of their own. Made from titanium, a stronger substance than iron, the armor was larger than Iron Man's yet technologically inferior. Bullski used the armor to challenge Iron Man in a one-sided fight, though Stark managed to win.