Creote

Aleksandr Creote—referred to almost exclusively by his surname alone—is a fictional character from DC Comics. He was created by writer Gail Simone and artist Ed Benes. The character is the devoted partner of Savant, and mostly appears in the Birds of Prey comic book.

Publication history
Originally, Creote was presented as a loyal villainous sidekick in Birds of Prey.

On her message board, creator Gail Simone discussed Creote:

"Creote was created so that Dinah would have someone to play her mind games on and for Savant to have someone to talk to, rather than have all his dialogue be captions.

....

Creote's devotion for Savant is one of my favorite elements of the book, and the fact that Dinah put it all together with just a few clues and some body language showed an important quality of the Canary. If it's not on the net, Oracle can miss a detail like that, but Dinah reads people extremely well."

For most of his following appearances in "Birds," however, Creote has appeared as an ally. Though his use waned after 2004, he has still appeared sporadically to some degree up to 2007.

Fictional character biography
Creote is a Soviet Special Forces (KGB) operative. At some point, he met and partnered with the Savant, whom he is largely subordinate to. This loyalty has led Creote to aid and follow Savant in any way he can, even traveling to the United States and Gotham City. Over some time, it is implied that part of Creote's duties is helping Savant with his mental disorder.

During his first appearance, Creote is helping Savant execute an extortion scheme; the aim is to force Oracle to divulge Batman's secret identity. As part of the plan, a member of Oracle's team, the Birds of Prey is captured. This agent, Black Canary, realizes—to Creote's surprise—during her time with the duo that Creote is in love with Savant. She also learns from Creote that Savant is oblivious to Creote's feelings.

Soon, Black Canary is rescued by the Birds, who then defeat Creote and Savant. Later, Creote still dutifully aids Savant after Oracle has encouraged the latter to begin fighting crime again. Throughout his time as a hero and ally of the Birds, Creote is noticeably devoted to Savant. This sometimes causes awkward situations resulting from Lady Blackhawk's attempts to capture his attention.

Eventually, Creote and the Birds part ways when Savant claims that his debt to Oracle has ended. However, Creote is later seen working with the Birds again, and in his motherland. He is used as a way for the Birds to access an exclusive former-KGB leader's auction of old Rocket Red suits. Near the end of the mission, he is present for the rebirth of the hero Ice, whom he and the other local Russians called "the Goddess".

In Birds of Prey (vol. 3), Creote's love for Savant is exposed, and to his surprise, it is reciprocated. The two then enter into a relationship as the series concludes.

Powers and abilities
In the Spetsnaz GRU, Creote was highly trained in extreme methods of hand-to-hand combat and physically trained to deter, capture or kill hostile agents, saboteurs, bandits, and other criminal elements. He would also have received training in reconnaissance and sabotage.