Ivan Petrovich Boschenko was born with the ability to absorb kinetic energy and convert it into physical strength and durability. He used this power from an early age to become the head of his local gang of toughs on the streets of Moscow, and earned a reputation as both a reliable handler of problems as well as a threat if you got on his wrong side.

During his later teen years he was recruited into a special facility designed to help harness and control powerful individuals such as himself, and was eventually released to the Soviet Army for their use. It was there that he was assigned to serve as field leader to the newly- formed Red Guard team, charged with defending Russia against all outside threats.

Boschenko used his position to gain as much favor as possible from his superiors, and the rewards such position granted. He also engaged in a relationship with his fellow teammate Arcwynd, who in turn was also involved with their teammate Steel Wolf. Arcwynd enjoyed playing the two off each other, forming dissent and making them vie for her attentions. But Boschenko wanted glory for himself first and foremost, and thus when Steel Wolf left Russia to defect to America, Boschenko reaped the benefits and became the team’s most popular hero among the public. But he soon discovered that all that adoration was false, and that despite abandoning them, the people of Russia continued to love their expatriate hero more than himself. This jealousy burns inside him and has created a hatred so intense that his physical powers constantly have a baseline super- human level even when not attacked. And while he is publicly known as Powerhouse, the people of Russia secretly call him “Rampage” behind his back.