Olga please, you can't see things how I do, my perception is just as fast as I am, the briefest conversation with anyone seems like hours to me, it's agony!
Josef, also known as Red Rush, was a Russian speedster and the Guardians of the Globe's first responder. He was an original member of the Guardians of the Globe until his death at the hands of Omni-Man.
What role did Red Rush play in the Guardians of the Globe?
As a Russian speedster, Red Rush served as the first responder for the Guardians of the Globe. His key contributions included safeguarding the President from the Mauler Twins' attack and ensuring civilian safety. He was married to Olga. His service ended when Omni-Man, a fellow Guardian, betrayed and murdered him.
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How did Red Rush meet his end at the hands of Omni-Man?
Omni-Man betrayed and killed Red Rush during a battle. Red Rush used his speed to protect his fellow heroes from Omni-Man's attacks. However, his speed-based tactics were predictable, leading to his capture by Omni-Man. His demise came when Omni-Man crushed his skull, causing his instant death.
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Who is the actor behind the voice of Red Rush in the Invincible series?
American actor Michael Cudlitz, born December 29, 1964, in Long Island, New York, provides the voice for Red Rush in the Invincible series.
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How fast can Red Rush run compared to other speedsters in the Invincible universe?
Red Rush can move at supersonic velocities, immune to the effects of friction and G-Force, thanks to his superhuman stamina and strength. He can run indefinitely without fatigue or injury, traverse a city almost instantly, and dodge attacks while at high speed. Despite his speed, he was fatally attacked by Omni-Man.
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History
Background
Josef was a Russian man who gained his super-speed through unknown means. After gaining his abilities, he donned the persona of Red Rush and became a superhero. At some point prior to the events of the show, he joined the Guardians of the Globe and married a woman by the name of Olga, telling her his secret identity as well.
Protecting the President
Guardian of the Globe assembling together to defeat Mauler Twins.
Red Rush arrived with the other Guardians of the Globe when the Mauler Twins attacked the White House, playfully apologizing for his lateness as he arrived about a half-second after Darkwing. The Immortal ordered Red Rush to evacuate a nearby security guard whom the Mauler Twins were about to kill, which he did successfully.
Martian Man restrains Mauler Twin so Red Rush could punch them.
He then helped evacuate more civilians safely with the assistance of Green Ghost and Darkwing, relaying an order to Green Ghost that her duty was to ensure the President's safety. After evacuating everyone, Red Rush reunited with the other Guardians of the Globe and defeated the Mauler Twins, sending them to prison.
Red Rush on a date with his wife.
Later, Red Rush tried to have a picnic with Olga who said that he should be nice to Aquarus, as the marine hero had few friends that did not live in the ocean. Red Rush says he would try, but during the conversation, he rushed off to fight Kursk in a factory, and neutralized the villain instantly by restraining him with wires around a pole. However, when he returned to the picnic, he hadn't removed his superhero costume, which angered Olga since she felt she could not even maintain his attention for one conversation, and furthermore had broken a promise between the two. Red Rush explained that with his super speed, he perceived the world incredibly slowly, and conversations at normal speed were agonizingly slow. After offending Olga, he apologized before his wristband signalled a Guardians emergency, and Red Rush ran to Guardians Headquarters.
Betrayed and Killed
Red Rush pushes the Immortal out of the way of Omni-Man's attacks.
Red Rush was as surprised as the other Guardians to learn Darkwing was not the one who had signalled the emergency, and in their collective confusion, he was the first to see Omni-Man fly towards The Immortal. Red Rush reached Immortal just in time to narrowly push him out of the way of Omni-Man's punch, and in the next moments of the fight, he also rescued Aquarus from being crushed beneath Omni-Man's fist.
Red Rush getting his skull crushed by Omni-Man.
Red Rush then attacked Omni-Man, landing several stray blows at odd angles with his super speed. However, Omni-Man predicted his next attack, grabbing Red Rush's wrist. He then hoisted a nearly helpless Red Rush in the air by the head, squeezing Red Rush's skull between his palms.
Red Rush punches Omni-Man.
Red Rush punched Omni-Man dozens of times, but only managed to shred Omni-Man's costume, breaking his hands against Omni-Man's invulnerable body until his punches turned into desperate flails. Omni-Man crushed Red Rush's head almost instantly in real time, but agonizingly slowly for Red Rush. The remaining Guardians were beaten and killed shortly after Red Rush, although they managed to injure Omni-Man enough that he collapsed from exhaustion following the fight.
Aftermath
Guardian of the Globe's corpses.
The Global Defense Agency soon breached the room and brought in paramedics to check for casualties and recover the bodies. Red Rush's left eye, which had popped out of his skull when Omni-Man was crushing it, was carelessly smashed by one of the GDA Agents. His body was taken out of the room offscreen. His name is mentioned by Omni-Man along with all the other former members of the Guardians of the Globe. At the private funeral, Olga broke down in tears over not being able to see her husband's body.
During Damien Darkblood's investigation of the massacre scene, he would experience visions of Red Rush getting killed, but was initially unable to discern who did so.
He is mentioned when his wife Olga vents to Debbie about how the GDA hasn't found the killer. and how he lied to her about how everything was gonna be fine.
Green Ghost's corpse, and Red Rush's corpse in The Immortal memories.
The damage he dealt to Omni-Man's costume was discovered and analyzed when Debbie and Art were looking for proof that Nolan and the Guardians fought. His corpse is later seen along with Aquarus', Darkwing's, and Green Ghost's during The Immortal's recovery of past events of his life.
Appearance
Josef was a Russian male with light brown hair and eyes, as well as distinctive cheekbones. As a civilian, he wore a dark grey cap, matching olive tracksuit top and bottoms with lime green highlights, a white undershirt, and white sneakers. As Red Rush, he wore a skintight red suit with his superhero initials printed on his chest, stylized "RЯ". He also wore transparent red-tinted visors as a way of seeing clearly when running, which were constructed from glass. Like all the other Guardians, Red Rush wore a piece of equipment resembling a wristband that would signal an alert anytime him or any of the other Guardians were needed in action, however it would be hidden under his costume most of the time.
Personality
Green Ghost, and Red Rush working together to evacuates citizens.
From what little is gathered from the show, Josef seemed to be a kind-hearted and selfless man, as he is seen evacuates citizens alongside Green Ghost. However, he was exceptionally impatient due to his powers of perception slowing down experiences of most things to an agonizingly slow pace. He would regularly leave behind his civilian life in order to fight crime, causing many feuds between him and his wife, Olga, despite this they seemingly still cared for each other, with his death deeply affecting her. Due to his abilities, he underestimated most of his opponents, mostly just overwhelming them with speedy punches rather than sound strategy. This led to his death against Omni-Man, who predicted his attacks and killed him, when Red Rush would have been most useful continuing to rescue his teammates from Omni-Man's similar speed.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Enhanced Physiology: Red Rush’s body is biologically adapted to support his incredible super-speed. His muscles, bones, and connective tissues are significantly more resilient and responsive than those of a normal human, allowing him to withstand the intense physical stresses of moving at supersonic velocities. His metabolism and recovery rates are also accelerated, helping him maintain peak performance during extended high-speed activity.
Superhuman Speed: Red Rush possesses the ability to run at supersonic speeds, enabling him to cross an entire city with breathtaking swiftness. As he moves, a vivid red streak trails behind him, a blazing line that marks his incredible velocity and leaves witnesses in awe. His acceleration and deceleration are so instantaneous and fluid that even those standing inches away struggle to detect his movement from a dead stop or to a full sprint. Red Rush can safely evacuate others by carrying them at these incredible speeds, though the intense motion sometimes causes his passengers to become nauseous. His speed rivals that of Omni-Man, with neither clearly proven faster. During their encounter, Omni-Man struggled to track Red Rush’s rapid and unpredictable movements, making Red Rush nearly invisible to his eyes, until Nolan cleverly tricked him by forcing Red Rush to punch in an opposite direction, allowing Nolan to anticipate and catch the attack.
Superhuman Perception: Red Rush possesses perception far beyond that of a normal human, allowing him to process events at incredible speeds. This heightened awareness enabled him to anticipate Omni-Man’s attack on Immortal and intervene before any other Guardian could react. He also noted that this perception is constant and cannot be turned off, causing him to experience time differently from those around him and often leading to boredom.
Superhuman Agility: Red Rush’s altered perception of time allows him to react and maneuver with extraordinary precision while moving at high speed. His joints possess exceptional flexibility, enabling him to perform incredible feats such as effortlessly dodging Omni-Man’s punches and maintaining flawless control at supersonic speeds.
Superhuman Reflexes: Red Rush had reflexes 10 times faster than those of an Olympic-level athlete.
Superhuman Strength: Red Rush exhibits strength beyond that of an average person with a similar build, enabling him to carry multiple adults while running at high speed. His agility and physical power are demonstrated when he effortlessly tackles the more muscular Immortal to safety. Furthermore, Red Rush can channel significant kinetic energy into his punches, delivering a rapid and devastating barrage that shredded Omni-Man’s chest and caused him to bleed.
Superhuman Durability: Red Rush possesses significantly greater durability than an average human, allowing him to withstand the intense forces generated by his high-speed movement. This grants him partial immunity to friction, G-forces, and sudden or prolonged acceleration. However, this enhanced durability does not negate the buildup of inertia during acceleration, as demonstrated in his fight against Omni-Man, where he struck with enough momentum to stagger even the powerful Viltrumite.
Superhuman Stamina: Red Rush had the stamina to move at high speeds. His muscles produced much less, if any, fatigue toxins, enabling him to fight and exercise for extremely long. He was never seen needing to recover from any sort of physical activity.
Weaknesses
Limited Durability: Though Red Rush possessed durability far beyond that of an average human, his resilience had clear limits. In his final moments, his attacks devolved into desperate flails after repeatedly striking Omni-Man’s vastly tougher body, which broke his hands with each blow. Ultimately, Omni-Man exploited this vulnerability by crushing Red Rush’s skull between his palms, delivering a fatal blow almost instantly.
Overreliance on Speed: Red Rush depended heavily on his unmatched velocity, assuming that no Earth-based opponent could keep pace with his attacks. This overconfidence made his fighting style predictable, leaving him vulnerable to counterattacks from more strategic or experienced foes. For example, Omni-Man was able to anticipate and catch Red Rush despite his incredible speed, exploiting this weakness in Red Rush’s approach.
Nausea Sensitivity: Red Rush becomes intensely nauseous at the sight or smell of vomit, so much so that it often causes him to vomit himself. This vulnerability is particularly challenging given his role as the Guardians of the Globe’s primary first responder and lead civilian evacuator. Frequently, he carries sick or panicked civilians to safety at super-speed, inadvertently causing them to vomit from the rapid motion—and consequently triggering his own queasiness.
As a character, Red Rush mostly stays faithful to the comics, however like the rest of the Guardians, he is fleshed out a bit more right before his death.
Red Rush's design in the comics.
Red Rush's design is drastically altered from the comics, with his costume resembling more like Rex-Splode's.
His costume colors were primarily more orange shaded, with his logo in his chest and boots being yellow.
His costume would also sport a giant lightning bolt on his chest in comparison the show, which had his superhero initials on his chest.
His civilian design remains mostly unchanged, with the main difference being the lack of his cap and tracksuit.
His death is slightly different in the comics as he would get his face smashed with Aquarus' in comparison to the show where his head would slowly get crushed.
He is the first member of the Guardians who was killed by Omni-Man.
It is a common fan theory that if Red Rush had continued playing a more supportive/defensive role, saving the Guardians from Nolan's punches, they might have been able to win against him.
His costume features "RЯ" on its chest. Obviously, this stands for Red Rush in English, but Я is also a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet which Russian primarily uses. "Я" also means "I" or "self" in Russian, although it is pronounced "ya" in English.
His death is referenced in Omni-Man's Like Putty Fatality in Mortal Kombat 1.
He is a playable character in the mobile game Invincible: Guarding Of The Globe. In the game, Red Rush's design from the comics was used instead of the TV Show design. He and War Woman are the only ones to have their comic designs in the game.
Red Rush's design from the comics looked too similar to Rex Splode's Costume design so the creators of the show redesigned Red Rush's Costume to not compare the differences between Red Rush and Rex Splode
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