Red Rush

* Red Rush
* Josef

> 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!
>
> Red Rush explaining to his wife about his perception in *It's About Time*

**Brian 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, and had worked with Omni-Man, before they were betrayed and murdered by him.

## History

### Background Information

Josef was a Russian man who gained his super-speed through unknown means. After gaining his abilities, he would don the persona of Red Rush, a Russian superhero who has super-speed. 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.

### Protecting the President

Red Rush, along with the other members of the Guardians of the Globe, arrive when the Mauler Twins attack the White House. Red Rush helps several civilians get to safety while the Mauler Twins break through the walls to make it inside. With the other Guardians of the Globe and the arrival of Omni-Man, the Mauler Twins are defeated and sent to prison.

Later, Red Rush tries to have a picnic with Olga who says that he should be nice to Aquarus. He says he tries, but during the conversation, he rushes to fight a villain, which angers Olga since she felt she did not have his attention. Red Rush apologizes, but is called to fight once again, so he uses his superhuman speed to rush to the scene.

### Betrayed and Killed

The heroes meet, but realize that none of them called one another. Red Rush sees Omni-Man fly towards The Immortal in order to punch him and manages to push him out of the way. The heroes are in shock and gasp, attacking him at the same time. Omni-Man was about to crush Aquarus until Red Rush grabbed him and got him out of the way. As Red Rush attacked him, he managed to grab hold of him and squeezed his head while receiving punches from the speedster until he crushed his skull. Eventually, Omni-Man managed to brutally murder the remaining Guardians, before himself collapsing due to exhaustion and the injuries he suffered during the fight.

### Aftermath

In the bloody aftermath in the Guardians HQ, the Global Defense Agency breached the room and brought in paramedics to check for casualties and recover the bodies. One of Red Rush's eye was smashed by one of the GDA Agents. His name is mentioned by Omni-Man along with all the other former members of the Guardians of the Globe. At the private funeral, his wife breaks down in tears over not being able to see her husband's body.

The damage he dealt to Omni-Man's costume were 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.

## Physical Appearance

Josef's appearance was that of a Russian male with brown hair and eyes. His civilian attire mainly consisted of an ivy cap and a grey tracksuit with white sneakers. As Red Rush, he mainly wore a red suit with his superhero initials written on his chest. He also wore red visors as a way of seeing clearly when running. 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

From what little is gathered from the show, Josef seemed to be a kind-hearted and selfless man with very little patience due to his abilities. He would regularly leave behind his civilian life in order to fight crime, causing many feuds between him and his wife. Due to his abilities, he would also commonly underestimate most of his opponents, mostly just punching his way through battles. This would eventually lead him to lose his advantage against Omni-Man, who crushed his skull whenever he got up close to punch him.

## **Powers and Abilities**

### Powers

* **Superhuman Speed:** Red Rush possesses the extraordinary ability to sprint at supersonic velocities, allowing him to traverse the entire city with astonishing swiftness, virtually undetectable by his wife who stood mere inches away, as he successfully apprehends a formidable supervillain. Previously, he successfully guided numerous non-military individuals to a secure location amidst the assault executed by the Moeller siblings upon the White House, ensuring the preservation of their well-being and without causing harm to any party involved. Following this, he successfully arrived at the central base of the Guardians within a remarkably short period of time, not exceeding five minutes. Upon arrival, he confronted the formidable Omni-Man and skillfully parried the Immortal's attack with a well-aimed punch, demonstrating his remarkable display of combat prowess. Omni-Man encountered difficulties as he tried to keep up with Red Rush, who was sprinting at an exceedingly rapid pace, rendering him nearly imperceptible to Omni-Man's eyes.
	+ **Superhuman Perception:** Red Rush's perception is much faster than a normal human's, as he was able to see Omni-Man begin his attack on Immortal, and intervene, before any of the other Guardians could react. It was mentioned that he cannot turn it off, and he experiences time differently than everyone around him, leading him to get bored easily.
	+ **Superhuman Durability:** Red Rush has far greater durability than normal humans, able to withstand the force imposed on him when moving at high speed. This makes him immune to friction and G-Force, as well as sudden, prolonged acceleration, so he can run as fast and as long as he likes without injury. This doesn't prevent him from storing up mass as he accelerates, as in his fight against Omni-Man, where he hit Omni-Man with enough momentum.
	+ **Superhuman Strength:** Red Rush is physically stronger than most people with comparable body types, which allows him to carry several adult humans in one go while running. He displays remarkable swiftness and robust physical prowess as he effortlessly repels the Immortal, who possesses a formidable and muscular physique. Additionally, he possesses the capacity to effectively transfer substantial levels of kinetic energy through the forceful impact of his punches. Red Rush unleashed a relentless onslaught of blows, relentlessly pummeling Omni-Man and sundering a substantial rupture in his impenetrable attire, compelling him to spew forth a crimson stream of blood.
	+ **Superhuman Agility:** Thanks to his altered perception of time, Red Rush is able to maneuver and launch attacks while moving at high speed. His body's joints are more flexible yet just as invulnerable, enabling him to perform incredible feats such as dodging Omni-Man's punches and moving at supersonic speeds without making false moves.
	+ **Superhuman Stamina:** Red Rush has the stamina to move at high speeds. His muscles produce much less, if any, fatigue toxins, enabling him to go from effort to effort and race to race without feeling the slightest fatigue. This has enabled him to square off the whole city to stop a supervillain in the blink of an eye, without even having to take a breath. He also took on the Mowller brothers and Omni-Man without having to take a break.

## **Weaknesses**

* **Brute Force/Limited Durability:** While he has much higher durability than the average human, it is shown he can break his hands from the force of his own punches if he isn't careful. Also, opponents with superior strength like Omni-Man can easily overpower him, as shown when the latter destroy his head completely while Red Rush was desperately trying and failed to make Omni-Man let go of him.
* **Lack of Training:** Red Rush is overly reliant on his unrivaled speed, since there are few opponents that could actually keep up with his attacks. As a result of this, his attacks are predictable, and he was unable to avoid being caught by Omni-Man when attacking.
* **Squeamish:** Gets extremely nauseous at the sight/smell of vomit, to the point of vomiting himself.

## Comic Differences

* 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 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 ivy 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.

## Trivia

* He is based on The Flash From *DC Comics*.
* He is the first member of the Guardians that was killed by Omni-Man.
	+ It's assumed that if Red Rush had stayed more in defense mode, saving the guardians from Nolan's punches, they might have been able to win against him.
* His Death is Omni-Mans FATALITY in MORTAL KOMBAT 1