In addition to lacking the superhuman abilities and athleticism of Captain America, instead of a large shield, Alexi’s primary piece of combative equipment is a modestly-sized disc that would detach from his belt, which was embedded with magnets that allow it to easily return to him after throwing.
For [inaugural Red Guardian Aleksey Lebedev](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/AlekseyLebedev(Earth-616), it was a pistol.
As Tony Stark would put it, everything that makes Steve Rogers special “came out of a bottle,” but Red Guardian’s skills are not the result of a science experiment to create the next super soldier – just a strict workout plan.