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Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)

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This article is about the Marvel Comics characters. For the 1940s Timely Comics character, see Black Widow (Timely Comics).
Black Widow
File:SECWAR004.jpg
Black Widow
Art by Gabriele Dell'Otto.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceTales of Suspense # 52 (April 1964)
Created byStan Lee
Don Rico
Don Heck
In-story information
Alter egoNatalia Alianovna Romanova
Team affiliationsS.H.I.E.L.D.
Mighty Avengers
Avengers
Champions
KGB
Marvel Knights
Lady Liberators
Notable aliasesNancy Rushman, Laura Matthers, Natasha Romanoff, Oktober
AbilitiesSlowed aging
Enhanced immune system
Peak athletic condition
Extensive military, martial arts, and espionage training
Hypnosis

The Black Widow is the name of two fictional super-spy characters in the Marvel Comics universe. The first and best-known, Natalia Romanova, also known as Natasha Romanoff, was created by writers Stan Lee and Don Rico and artist Don Heck, and first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964). For a time in the 2000s, Romanova lost the title of Black Widow to a younger Russian spy, Yelena Belova.

Natalia Romanova a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff

Publication history

File:BlackWidow2005No1.jpg
Promotional art for Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her #1, by Bill Sienkiewicz.

The Black Widow's first appearances were as a recurring, non-costumed, Soviet-spy antagonist in the Tales of Suspense feature Iron Man, recruiting a besotted Hawkeye to her cause. Her government later supplied her with her first Black Widow costume and high-tech weaponry, but she eventually defected to the United States after appearing, temporarily brainwashed against the U.S., in the superhero-team series The Avengers #29 (July 1966). The Widow later became a recurring ally of the team before officially becoming its sixteenth member.

The Black Widow appeared for the first time in her trademark skintight black costume in The Amazing Spider-Man #86 (July 1970). In short order, she starred in her own series in Amazing Adventures #1-8 (Aug. 1970-Sept. 1971), sharing that split book with the feature Inhumans. Immediately after her initial solo feature ended, the Black Widow co-starred in Daredevil #81–124 (Nov. 1971–Aug. 1975) and then in the super-team series The Champions, which ran 17 issues (Oct. 1975–Jan. 1978).

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Black Widow appeared frequently as both an Avengers member and a freelance agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. She starred in a serialized feature within the omnibus comic-book series Marvel Fanfare #10–13 (Aug. 1983–March 1984), written by George Pérez and Ralph Macchio, with art by penciller Perez. These stories were collected in the one-shot Black Widow: Web of Intrigue #1 (June 1999).

The Widow guest-starred in issues of Solo Avengers, Force Works Iron Man, Marvel Team-Up, and other comics. She appeared in several mid-1980s issues of Daredevil, as well as a four-issue arc in issues #368-371 (Oct. 1997–Jan. 1998) and as a recurring guest in Daredevil Vol. 2 (1998–present). She co-starred in two graphic novels — Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty with Nick Fury, Marvel UK's Night Raven and Punisher/Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday's Web with the Punisher — as well as a three-issue arc, "The Fire Next Time" by writer Scott Lobdell and penciller Randy Green in Journey into Mystery #517–519 (Feb.–April 1998).

Miniseries and specials

Aside from the arcs in Marvel Fanfare and Journey into Mystery, the Black Widow has starred in four miniseries and four graphic novels.

The three-issue Black Widow (June-Aug. 1999), under the Marvel Knights imprint, starred Romanova and fully introduced her appointed successor, Captain Yelena Belova (see below), who had briefly appeared in an issue of the 1999 series Inhumans. The writer for the story arc, "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" was Devin K. Grayson while J. G. Jones was the artist. The next three-issue, Marvel Knights miniseries, also titled Black Widow (Jan.-March 2001) featured both Black Widows in the story arc "Breakdown," by writers Devin Grayson and Greg Rucka with painted art by Scott Hampton.

Romanova next starred in another solo miniseries titled Black Widow (Nov. 2004 - April 2005), also under the Marvel Knights imprint and written by science fiction novelist Richard K. Morgan with art initially by Bill Sienkiewicz and later by Sienkiewicz over Goran Parlov layouts. A six-issue sequel, Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (Nov. 2005 - April 2006; officially Black Widow 2: The Things They Say About Her in the series' postal indicia), by writer Richard K. Morgan, penciller Sean Phillips, and inker Bill Sienkiewicz, picks up immediately where the previous miniseries left off, continuing the story using many of the same characters.

She starred in the solo graphic novel Black Widow: The Coldest War (April 1990), and co-starred in three more: Punisher/Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday's Web (Dec. 1992); Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir (July 1993); and Nick Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty (June 1995), also co-starring Marvel UK's Night Raven.

Black Widow is also featured in the short story Love Is Blindness, featuring a humorous fight between Elektra and Black Widow over Daredevil. The comic is stylized to look like Japanese animation and uses images, not words, inside the speech and though bubbles to convey what the characters are saying/thinking.

Fictional character biography

Early life

First costume (and bouffant hairdo). From The Avengers #36 (Jan. 1967), art by Don Heck.

Natasha was born in Stalingrad (now Volgograd). The first and best-known Black Widow is a Soviet agent trained as a spy, martial artist, and sniper, and outfitted with an arsenal of high-tech weaponry, including a pair of wrist-mounted energy weapons dubbed her "Widow's Bite". She wears no costume during her first few appearances but simply evening wear and a veil. Romanova eventually defects to the U.S. for reasons that include her love for the reluctant-criminal-turned-superhero archer Hawkeye.

Romanova's parents were killed in a fire when Romanova was a child. She was saved from death herself by Ivan Petrovitch, who raised her as a surrogate father. He first appears in Marvel continuity in the Widow's 1970s Amazing Adventures feature, in which he is introduced as her chauffeur and confidant, without this back-story revealed. Romanova as a child appears in a flashback[1] to 1941, in which the superhero Captain America and the mutant Logan, before he became the superhero Wolverine, rescue her from Nazis on the fictional island principality of Madripoor.

A revised, retconned origin[2] establishes her as being raised from early childhood by the U.S.S.R.'s "Black Widow Ops" program, rather than solely by Ivan Petrovitch. With other young female orphans, she is trained in combat and espionage at the covert "Red Room" facility. There, she is biotechnologically and psycho technologically enhanced — an accounting that provides a rationale for her unusually long and youthful lifespan. While there, she was trained by, and a lover of, the Winter Soldier [3] . Each Black Widow is deployed with false memories to help ensure her loyalty. Romanova eventually discovers this, including the minor fact that she had never, as she'd believed, been a ballerina. She further discovers that the Red Room was still active as "2R". Natasha married the renowned Soviet test pilot Alexi Shostakov. When the Soviet government decided to make Alexi into their new operative, the Red Guardian, he is told that he can have no further contact with his wife. Natasha is told that he had died and is trained as a secret agent separately.

The Avengers

Romanova grows up to serve as a femme fatale who attempts to seduce American defense contractor Tony Stark and inevitably confronts his superhero alter ego, Iron Man. Later, Romanova defected to the United States and eventually joins the super-team the Avengers as a costumed superhero.

On her first mission in the United States, she and her partner Boris Turgenev were sent to America to assassinate Prof. Anton Vanko and Iron Man. The pair battled Iron Man, and Boris stole and wore the Crimson Dynamo suit. Vanko killed himself and Boris to save Iron Man, using an unstable experimental laser light pistol.[4] Natasha later met Hawkeye and set him against Iron Man,[5] and later helped Hawkeye battle Iron Man.[6]

Natasha later attempted to defect from the Soviet Union, and was wounded by a KGB agent.[7] The KGB brainwashed her, and with Power Man I and the Swordsman she battled the Avengers.[8]

S.H.I.E.L.D and Daredevil

Later still, she begins freelancing as an agent of the international espionage group S.H.I.E.L.D. She was sent on a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. mission to China by Nick Fury. There, with the Avengers, she battled Col. Ling, Gen. Brushov, and her ex-husband the Red Guardian.[9] During her romantic involvement with Matt Murdock in San Francisco, California, she operates as an independent superhero alongside Murdock's alter ego, Daredevil.[10] Natasha was less taken with Matt's law partner Foggy Nelson, who was manipulated by the villain Mr. Kline into prosecuting her for the murder of the Scorpion (it was actually a robot of the Scorpion created by Mr. Kline). Although Natasha was proven innocent, she never truly forgave Foggy for the savagery of his courtroom assault.

Matt broke up with his long-time love, Karen Page, so that he could be with Natasha and the two moved to San Francisco to start a new life together. They fought against menaces such as Man-Bull, Blue Talon, Dark Messiah, Angar the Screamer, Ramrod, Terrex, Kraven the Hunter, Death-Stalker, Owl, El Jaguar, HYDRA, and Damon Dran, the Indestructible Man.

Natasha wanted to find a new career for herself beyond the day-to-day adventures she and Daredevil enjoyed and attempted to become a fashion designer, but her career never took off. Eventually, her relationship with Matt became strained. Natasha left Daredevil briefly to accept an offer of membership in the Avengers after aiding them against Magneto, but she soon left them after determining from a battle against the Lion God that she did not fit into a team environment.[11] Natasha and Matt reconciled for a while, but after a lengthy romance, Natasha finally broke up with Matt because she felt he did not treat her as an equal in battle.[12]

The Champions

After their breakup, the Widow moves to Los Angeles, California and becomes leader of the newly created and short-lived super team known as The Champions, consisting of her, Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Hercules (with whom she has a brief romance), and former X-Men Angel and Iceman.[13]

Her friends often call her "Natasha", the informal version of "Natalia". She has sometimes chosen the last-name alias "Romanoff" — evidently as a private joke, as that form wouldn't be applicable as a Russian female's last name. She has been hinted to be a descendant of the Romanov royal family and a relation to Nicholas II of Russia.

21st Century

Natasha crossed Daredevil's path again when he attempted to slay Baby Karen, believing the infant to be the Anti-Christ. Natasha saved the child, but was badly beaten by Daredevil in the ensuing fight. Karen Page ultimately died protecting the child and Matt went to Natasha to be consoled and to explain his earlier actions to her. Natasha reconciled with Matt, revealing that she still loved him, but noted that Matt was too full of anger to commit to a relationship with her.

Recently, Natasha became aware of the presence of another Black Widow, a younger woman named Yelena Belova who had also been trained at the Red Room. Yelena was obsessed with being the sole Black Widow. The two Black Widows first encountered each other while attempting to retrieve the Endless Fury bio weapon created in Rhapistan, which exploded violently. Natasha later had herself and Yelena trade appearances through plastic surgery to help teach Yelena that her superiors considered her expendable.

Despite the presence of the other Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff remains one of the world's most accomplished hand-to-hand combatants and is quite possibly the most skilled espionage agent alive; thus still in high demand with S.H.I.E.L.D. Her most recent S.H.I.E.L.D. assignment has been to trace the whereabouts of the Tinkerer during a plot to investigate the financing of super-villains in America by foreign nations, possibly Latveria.

During the Superhero Civil War, Natasha becomes a supporter of the Superhuman Registration Act and a member of the taskforce led by Iron Man[14].

Mighty Avengers

In the wake of the Civil War, Natasha is chosen as a member of the Mighty Avengers. When S.H.I.E.L.D. director Tony Stark is presumed killed and deputy director Maria Hill incapacitated, Natasha assumes temporary command of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the highest-ranking agent present (she being the only known Level 10 agent besides Nick Fury).

Also due to her duties as a member of the Mighty Avengers, she was sent by S.H.I.E.L.D to apprehend Hercules when he was on the run from Ares and the government. However, she chose to let him escape.

Captain America

In the pages of Captain America, Natasha is assigned by Tony Stark to convey Captain America's shield to a secure location, but is intercepted by her former lover Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, who steals the shield. Natasha teams up with the Falcon to locate him, and rescues him from the Red Skull's minions, before taking him to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, where Iron Man convinces Bucky to become the new Captain America. Afterwards, Natasha accompanies Bucky as his partner.[15]

Description

Powers and abilities

The Black Widow is a world class athlete and gymnast, expert martial artist (including karate, judo, aikido, savate, various styles of kung fu, and boxing), markswoman, and weapons specialist as well as having extensive espionage training. She is also an accomplished ballerina.

The Black Widow uses a variety of equipment invented by Soviet scientists and technicians, with later improvements by S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists and technicians. She usually wears distinctively shaped bracelets which fire "widow sting" energy blasts, as well as "widow line" grappling hooks, and tear gas pellets. She wears a belt of metallic disc-charges containing plastic explosives. Her costume consists of synthetic stretch fabric equipped with micro-suction cups on fingers and feet, enabling her to adhere to walls and ceilings.

Yelena Belova

Publication history

File:BlackWidow2002No.1.jpg
Cover for Black Widow: Pale Little Spider #1, starring Yelena Belova. Art by Greg Horn.

Yelena Belova, the second modern Black Widow, was initially a post-Soviet Russian spy of the GRU. She debuted briefly in Inhumans #5 (March 1999), and was fully introduced in the 1999 Marvel Knights miniseries Black Widow. A second miniseries, also titled "Black Widow" and featuring Natasha Romanoff and Daredevil, followed in 2001. The next year, she did a solo turn in her own three-issue miniseries, also titled Black Widow (officially Black Widow: Pale Little Spider in the series' postal indicia) under the mature-audience Marvel MAX imprint. This June to August 2002 story arc, by writer Greg Rucka and artist Igor Kordey, was a flashback to the story of her becoming the second modern Black Widow, in events preceding her Inhumans appearance.

Fictional character biography

Belova is an amoral spy and assassin who was trained by the same spymasters who trained Natasha Romanoff, the first Black Widow. Having beaten Romanoff's results in all of the tests presented to her, she is declared to be the new Black Widow but then fights Romanova for the title. The battle is inconclusive, and later confrontations between the two lead Belova to doubt herself. Belova eventually retires to Cuba, where she becomes a successful businesswoman and model.

She is lured back, however, by the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and becomes involved in the agency's mining of vibranium in the Antarctic Savage Land.[18] Shortly afterward, she barely survived an attack by the mutant Sauron, receiving severe burns and being subsequently approached with an offer for revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers.

Belova is genetically altered by the terrorist organization HYDRA.[19]. Belova had suffered debilitating and disfiguring injuries after her last encounter with the Avengers in the Savage Land. HYDRA recruited her with the prospect of revenge and after hiring the services of A.I.M. transferred her mind into a new Super-Adaptoid body. This body appeared as Belova had originally until it began to absorb powers, at which time it changed as the original did, though now yellow in color.

Now equipped with the ability to copy all of the Avengers powers, she engaged the superhero team in combat. She was eventually defeated by a combination of Tony Stark's 49 successive Iron Man armors — from the first, Tales of Suspense #39, to the then-current — and the Sentry's use of his Void persona, which she absorbed with the rest of the Sentry's powers and energy. When she was defeated, HYDRA killed her using a remote self-destruct mechanism they had implanted in her, rather than let her reveal intelligence to the Avengers.

However, she is revealed to be still alive and working with a group of vigilantes, called the Vanguard.[20]

Other versions

1602

In Marvel 1602, a world where superheroes have started to appear several hundred years early, Natasha is a freelance spy and "the most dangerous woman in Europe". Initially allied with Matthew Murdoch (Daredevil's 1602 counterpart), she later betrays him to Count Otto Von Doom.

Natasha is still working (and sleeping) with Count von Doom during Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four, when she is captain of his flying ship. However, when she questions his plan to take the ship to the edge of the world, he pushes her over the side and appoints the Wizard captain.

Ultimate Black Widow

This parallel universe version of the Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) under the Ultimate Marvel imprint is a member of the Ultimates, this realm's analogue of The Avengers. She debuted in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #14 (June 2002) in a story written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Terry Moore, before becoming one of the major characters in writer Mark Millar and penciller Bryan Hitch's The Ultimates, debuting there in Vol. 1, #7 (Sept. 2002)

Natasha Romanov is a former KGB spy and assassin, nicknamed the Black Widow. She was originally part of the Ultimates' covert operations ("black ops") team but with the emergence of the Chitauri threat was subsequently moved to public status after a publicly acceptable background was written for her. The Widow has genetic or cybernetic enhancements making her far better in combat than the average human. After accepting a marriage proposal from Tony Stark, she receives a black suit of Iron Man armor as an engagement present, along with a set of nanites bonded to her skin to control the armor.

Romanova is later revealed as a traitor, responsible for killing Hawkeye's wife and children, revealing Bruce Banner's connection to the Hulk to the public and collaborating with the Liberators in their invasion of the United States. After she holds Stark hostage in an attempt to extort his fortune, Stark activates the nanites in her bloodstream, freezing her body in place, before knocking her unconscious. She appears later in an emergency clinic, where she is taken to a hospital, where Hawkeye kills her in revenge for her part in the murder of his family.

By Ultimates 3 #1 a sex tape between Natasha and Tony Stark has been leaked to the public. According to Janet Pym, the tape is of unknown origin and seems to have been professionally done with "close ups". Stark is shown to be in a state of depression over Natasha's betrayal and subsequent death.

The Avengers: United They Stand

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow appeared in the comic-book series based on the animated television series The Avengers: United They Stand comics.

House of M

Natasha appears a member of the Shang-Chi's Red Dragons.[21]

In other media

Film

Video games

  • The Black Widow appears in the 2005 Punisher video game for one level, as a non-playable character (NPC) who fights alongside the Punisher. Credits are listed for the vocal performers, but not specifying which character(s) they voiced.
  • Black Widow appears in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by Nika Futterman. She is a playable character in the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version, and in all other versions of the game as a non-playable character in which she appears to be working for S.H.I.E.L.D. A major subplot involves concern over whether she is a double agent traitor, with evidence being uncovered suggesting that she is secretly working for Doctor Doom, although it is later revealed that this was only part of a scheme by S.H.I.E.L.D. to learn Doom's plans. However, in dialogue featured after the game's credits featuring Black Widow and Weasel, it is made apparent that Black Widow was in fact a double agent working for an unknown third party. Yelena is also a costume for Black Widow, so both Widows are playable. Black Widow has special dialogue with Deadpool, Iceman, Elektra, Spider-Woman, and Daredevil.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Uncanny X-Men #268 (Sept. 1990)
  2. ^ Black Widow (miniseries Nov. 2004 - April 2005)
  3. ^ Captain America #27 (August. 2007)
  4. ^ Tales of Suspense #52-53
  5. ^ Tales of Suspense #57
  6. ^ Tales of Suspense #60
  7. ^ Avengers #16
  8. ^ Avengers #29-30
  9. ^ Avengers #38-44
  10. ^ Daredevil #81
  11. ^ Avengers #111-112
  12. ^ Daredevil #124
  13. ^ Champions #1-3
  14. ^ Civil War #3 (Sept. 2006)
  15. ^ Captain America (v.5) #27-34
  16. ^ Black Widow
  17. ^ The Religion of Black Widow
  18. ^ New Avengers #5 (May 2005)
  19. ^ New Avengers Annual #1 (June 2006)
  20. ^ Marvel Comics Presents (vol. 2) #5
  21. ^ House of M: Avengers #2
  22. ^ Lions Gate press release (March 2, 2004)
  23. ^ The Z Review: Black Widow
  24. ^ IGN.com (June 5, 2006): "The Word on Black Widow"

References

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