Black Widow (Natalia Romanova)

Black Widow (Russian: ЧÑ'рная вдова, translit. Chyornaya Vdova) (Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanova, also known as Natasha Romanoff) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Don Rico, and artist Don Heck, the character first appeared in Tales of Suspense No. 52 (April 1964). The character was first introduced as a Russian spy, an antagonist of the superhero Iron Man. She later defected to the United States, becoming an agent of the fictional spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and a member of the superhero team the Avengers.

Scarlett Johansson portrayed the character in the films Iron Man 2 (2010), Marvel's The Avengers (2012), and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and is set to reprise the role in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.

Publication history

The Black Widow's first appearances were as a recurring, non-costumed, Russian-spy antagonist in the feature "Iron Man", beginning in Tales of Suspense No. 52 (April 1964). Five issues later, she recruited the besotted costumed archer and later superhero 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 No. 29 (July 1966). The Widow later became a recurring ally of the team before officially becoming its sixteenth member.

The Black Widow was visually updated in 1970: The Amazing Spider-Man No. 86 (July 1970) reintroduced her with shoulder-length red hair (instead of her former short black hair), a skintight black costume, and wristbands which fired spider threads. This would become the appearance most commonly associated with the character. In short order, she starred in her own series in Amazing Adventures #1â€"8 (Aug. 1970â€"Sept. 1971), sharing that split book with the feature Inhumans. She was dropped after only eight issues due to far greater fan interest in the Inhumans.

Immediately after her initial solo feature ended, the Black Widow co-starred in Daredevil #81â€"124 (Nov. 1971â€"Aug. 1975), of which #93-108 were cover titled Daredevil and the Black Widow. Daredevil writer Gerry Conway recounted, "It was my idea to team up Daredevil and the Black Widow, mainly because I was a fan of Natasha, and thought she and Daredevil would have interesting chemistry." Succeeding writers, however, felt that Daredevil worked better as a solo hero, and gradually wrote the Black Widow out of the series. She was immediately recast into the super-team series The Champions, which ran 17 issues (Oct. 1975â€"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 #10â€"13 (Aug. 1983â€"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 No. 1 (June 1999).

The Widow guest-starred in issues of Solo Avengers, Force Works, Iron Man, Marvel Team-Up, and other comics. She had made frequent guest appearances in Daredevil since the late 1970s. She co-starred in two graphic novelsâ€"Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty with Nick Fury, Marvel UK's Night Raven and Punisher/Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday's Web with the Punisherâ€"as well as a three-issue arc, "The Fire Next Time", by writer Scott Lobdell and penciller Randy Green, in Journey into Mystery #517â€"519 (Feb.â€"April 1998).

A new ongoing Black Widow comic title debuted in April 2010. The first story arc was written by Marjorie Liu with art by Daniel Acuna. Beginning with issue No. 6 (Sept. 2010), the title was written by Duane Swierczynski, with artwork by Manuel Garcia and Lorenzo Ruggiero.

Black Widow appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010â€"2013 Secret Avengers series, from issue #1 (July 2010) through its final issue #37 (March 2013).

Black Widow will appear in the new 2013 Secret Avengers series by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross.

Black Widow is set to appear in her own relaunched ongoing series by writer Nathan Edmondson and artist Phil Noto. The first issue debuted in January 2014.

Limited series and specials

Aside from the arcs in Marvel Fanfare and Journey into Mystery, the Black Widow has starred in four limited series 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, 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 mini-series, 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: Homecoming (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. 2005â€"April 2006; officially Black Widow 2: The Things They Say About Her in the series' postal indicia), by writer Morgan, penciller Sean Phillips, and inker 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 in I Heart Marvel: Marvel Ai (2006) #1 (April 2006), where she instigates a humorous fight with Elektra over Daredevil's affections. The comic is stylized to look like Japanese animation and uses images, not words, inside the speech and thought bubbles to convey what the characters are saying/thinking.

In 2010, the year in which the character, called only Natasha Romanoff, made her film debut in Iron Man 2, the Black Widow received two separate miniseries. Black Widow and the Marvel Girls was an all-ages, four-issue series that chronicled her adventures with various women of the Marvel Universe, including Storm, She-Hulk, the Enchantress, and Spider-Woman. It was written by Paul Tobin, with art by Salvador Espin and Takeshi Miyazawa. The second four-issue miniseries, Black Widow: Deadly Origin, was written by Paul Cornell, and featured art by Tom Raney and John Paul Leon.

Fictional character biography

Early life

Natasha was born in Stalingrad (now Volgograd), Russia. The first and best-known Black Widow is a Russian 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.

First hints to Natasha Romanova's childhood come by Ivan Petrovich, who is introduced as her middle-aged chauffeur and confidant in the Black Widow's 1970s Amazing Adventures. The man tells Matt Murdock how he had been given custody of little Natasha by a woman just before her death during the Battle of Stalingrad in autumn 1942. He had consequently felt committed to raise the orphan as a surrogate father and she had eventually trained as a Soviet spy, being eager to help her homeland. In another flashback, set in the fictional island of Madripoor in 1941, Petrovich helps Captain America and the mutant Logan, who would later become the Canadian super-agent and costumed hero Wolverine, to rescue Natasha from Nazis.

A revised, retconned origin establishes her as being raised from very early childhood by the U.S.S.R.'s "Black Widow Ops" program, rather than solely by Ivan Petrovitch. Petrovitch had taken her to Department X, with other young female orphans, where she was brainwashed, and trained in combat and espionage at the covert "Red Room" facility. There, she is biotechnologically and psycho-technologically enhancedâ€"an accounting that provides a rationale for her unusually long and youthful lifespan. During that time she had some training under Winter Soldier, and the pair even had a short romance. Each Black Widow is deployed with false memories to help ensure her loyalty. Romanova eventually discovers this, including the fact that she had never, as she had believed, been a ballerina. She further discovers that the Red Room is still active as "2R".

Natasha was arranged by the KGB to marry the renowned Soviet test pilot Alexei Shostakov. However, when the Soviet government decided to make Alexei 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 grew up to serve as a femme fatale. She was assigned to assist Boris Turgenov in the assassination of Professor Anton Vanko for defecting from the Soviet Union, which served as her first mission in the United States. Natasha and Turgenov infiltrated Stark Industries as part of the plan. She attempted to manipulate information from American defense contractor Tony Stark, and inevitably confronted his superhero alter ego, Iron Man. The pair then battled Iron Man, and Turgenov steals and wears the Crimson Dynamo suit. Vanko sacrificed himself to save Iron Man, killing Turgenov in the process, using an unstable experimental laser light pistol. Romanova later meets the criminal archer Hawkeye and sets him against Iron Man, and later helped Hawkeye battle Iron Man.

Natasha once more attempted to get Hawkeye to help her destroy Iron Man. The pair almost succeeded, but when Black Widow was injured, Hawkeye retreated to get her to safety. During this period, Romanova was attempting to defect from the Soviet Union and began falling in love with Hawkeye, weakening her loyalty to her country. When her employers learned the truth, the KGB had her gunned down, sending her to a hospital, convincing Hawkeye to go straight and seek membership in the Avengers.

The Red Room kidnaps and brainwashes her again, and with the Swordsman and the first Power Man, she battles the Avengers. She eventually breaks free from her psychological conditioning (with the help of Hawkeye), and does successfully defect, having further adventures with Spider-Man, with Hawkeye and with Daredevil. She ultimately joins the Avengers as a costumed heroine herself.

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 is sent on a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. mission to China by Nick Fury. There, with the Avengers, she battles Col. Ling, Gen. Brushov, and her ex-husband the Red Guardian. For a time, as writer Les Daniels noted in a contemporaneous study in 1971,

... her left-wing upbringing was put to better use, and she has lately taken to fighting realistic oppressor-of-the-people types. She helps young Puerto Ricans clean up police corruption and saves young hippies from organized crime. ... [The splash page of Amazing Adventures No. 3 (Nov. 1970)] reflects the recent trend toward involving fantastic characters in contemporary social problems, a move which has gained widespread publicity for Marvel and its competitor, DC.

During her romantic involvement with Matt Murdock in San Francisco, she operates as an independent superhero alongside Murdock's alter ego, Daredevil. There she tries unsuccessfully to find a new career for herself as a fashion designer. Eventually, her relationship with Murdock stagnates, and after briefly working with Avengers finally breaks up with Murdock, fearing that playing "sidekick" is sublimating her identity. During a HYDRA attempt to take over S.H.I.E.L.D., she is tortured to such an extent that she regresses back to an old cover identity of schoolteacher Nancy Rushman, but she is recovered by Spider-Man in time to help Nick Fury and Shang-Chi work out what had happened and restore her memory, with "Nancy" developing an attraction to Spider-Man before her memory is restored during the final fight against Madam Viper, Boomerang and the Silver Samurai. She later returns to Matt Murdock's life to find he is romantically involved with another woman, Heather Glenn, prompting her to leave New York. Natasha ultimately realizes that Matt still only thinks of her in platonic terms, and elects to restrain herself from any advances.

The Champions

After their breakup, the Widow moves to Los Angeles 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.

Her friends often call her "Natasha", the informal version of "Natalia". She has sometimes chosen the last-name alias "Romanoff"â€"evidently as a private joke on those who are not aware that Russian family names use different endings for males and females. She has been hinted to be a descendant of the destroyed Romanov royal family and a relation to Nicholas II of Russia.

21st century

Natasha crosses Daredevil's (Matt Murdock) path again when he attempts to slay an infant he believes to be the Anti-Christ. After Daredevil's one-time love, Karen Page, dies protecting the child, Natasha reconciles with Murdock, revealing she still loves him, but noting that he is too full of anger to commit to a relationship with her.

Natasha is challenged by Yelena Belova, a graduate from the training program through which Natasha herself was taught the espionage trade, who is the first to ever surpass Natasha's marks and considers herself the rightful successor to the "Black Widow" mantle. Natasha refers to her as "little one" and "rooskaya (meaning "Russian"), and encourages her to discover her individuality rather than live in blind service, asking her "why be Black Widow, when you can be Yelena Belova?" After several confrontations, Natasha subjects Yelena to intense psychological manipulation and suffering in order to teach her the reality of the espionage business, and an angry but disillusioned Yelena eventually returns home and temporarily quits being a spy. Although Matt Murdock is appalled by the cruelty of Natasha's treatment of Yelena, Nick Fury describes the action as Natasha's attempt at saving Yelena's life. After bringing the Avengers and the Thunderbolts together to overcome Count Nefaria, Natasha supported Daredevil's short-lived efforts to form a new super-team to capture the Punisher, originally believed to be Nick Fury's murderer. Despite recruitment endeavors, however, this vigilante group folded shortly after she and her teammate Dagger fought an army of renegade S.H.I.E.L.D. androids; ironically, she soon afterward worked with both Daredevil and Punisher against the European crime syndicate managed by the Brothers Grace. Months later, her pursuit of war criminal Anatoly Krylenko led to a clash with Hawkeye, whose pessimism regarding heroic activities now rivaled her own.

Shortly after the Scarlet Witch's insanity seemingly killed Hawkeye, and again disbanded the Avengers, Natasha, weary of espionage and adventure, travelled to Arizona but was targeted. Natasha discovers that other women had been trained in the Black Widow Program, and all are now being hunted down and killed by the North Institute on behalf of the corporation Gynacon. Natasha's investigations led her back to Russia, where she was appalled to learn the previously unimagined extent of her past manipulation, and she discovered the Widows were being hunted because Gynacon, having purchased Russian biotechnology from Red Room's successor agency 2R, wanted all prior users of the technology dead. Natasha finds and kills the mastermind of the Black Widow murders: an aging CEO who intended to use part of their genetic structure to create a new chemical weapon. After killing Gynacon CEO Ian McMasters, she clashed with operatives of multiple governments to help Sally Anne Carter, a girl Natasha had befriended in her investigations, whom she rescued with help from Daredevil and Yelena Belova. She soon returned the favor for Daredevil by reluctantly working with Elektra Natchios to protect his new wife, Milla Donovan, from the FBI and others, although Yelena proved beyond help when she agreed to be transformed into the new Super-Adaptoid by A.I.M. and HYDRA.

Civil War/Initiative

During the Superhero Civil War, Natasha becomes a supporter of the Superhuman Registration Act and a member of the taskforce led by Iron Man. Afterward, the registered Natasha joins the reconstituted Avengers. S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury is presumed killed, and deputy director Maria Hill incapacitated, so Natasha assumes temporary command of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the highest-ranking agent present.

Later, Tony Stark assigns Natasha to convey the late 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 and the Falcon then rescue Barnes from the Red Skull's minions, and bring him to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, where Stark convinces Bucky to become the new Captain America. Afterward, Natasha accompanies Bucky as his partner for a brief time until she is called back by S.H.I.E.L.D. She later rejoins him and Falcon for the final confrontation with the Red Skull, helping to rescue Sharon Carter. She and Bucky have restarted their relationship. She later plays an important role in the capture of Hercules. However, due to her respect of the Greek god, she let him go. Soon Natasha, along with the rest of the Avengers, gets involved in the current Skrull invasion. Afterwards, she stayed as Bucky's partner. She also assists former director Maria Hill in delivering a special form of data to Bucky.

Thunderbolts

Norman Osborn discovered Yelena Belova breaking into an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, and offered her the position of field leader of the new Thunderbolts. On her first mission, she and Ant-Man take control of Air Force One with the Goblin, Doc Samson, and the new President aboard. It was suggested she faked her apparent death (as the Adaptoid) but it is never explained how.

A conversation with the Ghost implies that Yelena is working as a mole for someone else and that she may even be someone else disguised as Yelena. She is later seen talking privately through a comm-link to Nick Fury.

Osborn orders Yelena to lead the current Thunderbolts to kill former Thunderbolt, Songbird. Fury orders "Yelena" to rescue and retrieve Songbird, for the information she might possess about Osborn and his operations. Yelena finds Songbird, and reveals to her that she was really Natasha Romanova in disguise. She tries delivering Songbird to Fury, but the Thunderbolts have also followed them. The trio are captured as Osborn reveals he had been impersonating Fury in messages all along to set Natasha up in order to strengthen the Thunderbolts and lead him to Fury. She and Songbird are brought to be executed but manage to escape when Ant-Man, Headsmen and Paladin turn on the rest of the Thunderbolts and let them go.

Heroic Age

At the start of the Heroic Age, Natasha is recruited by Steve Rogers into a new black-ops wing of the Avengers, dubbed the Secret Avengers. She travels to Dubai with her new teammate, Valkyrie, where they steal a dangerous artifact which the Beast then studies, noting that it seems like a distant cousin of the Serpent Crown. In the story "Coppelia", she encounters a teenage clone of herself, code named "Tiny Dancer", whom she rescued from an arms dealer.

During the "Ends of the Earth" storyline involving one of Doctor Octopus' schemes, Natasha is one of only three heroes left standing after the Sinister Six defeat the Avengers, joining Silver Sable and Spider-Man to track the Six (albeit because she was closest to Sable's cloaked ship after the Avengers were defeated). She is later contacted by the Titanium Man to warn her and her allies about Doctor Octopus' attempt to rally other villains against Spider-Man. She is knocked out along with Hawkeye by Iron Man during a battle against the Avengers when they were temporarily under Octavius' remote control.

Powers and abilities

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

Natasha has received the Red Room's variant of the Super-Soldier Serum. As a result, her physical and mental abilities had been enhanced slightly beyond normal human limits.

The Black Widow has been enhanced by biotechnology that makes her body resistant to aging and disease and heals at an above human rate; as well as psychological conditioning that suppresses her memory of true events as opposed to implanted ones of the past without the aid of specially designed system suppressant drugs.

The Soviet experimentation has rendered her body infertile.

Due to the Super-Soldier Serum, the white blood cells in her body are efficient enough to fight off any microbe, foreign body and others from her body, keeping her healthy and immune to most, if not all infections, diseases and disorders. Also, it takes quite a bit for Natasha to become intoxicated.

Her agility is greater than that of an Olympic gold medalist. She can coordinate her body with balance, flexibility, and dexterity easily.

Her bodily tissues have been augmented to superhuman development. She possesses exceptional durability, strength, endurance, and stamina.

Natasha's reaction time is similarly enhanced and functions with the peak of human efficiency and capability, bordering on a superhuman level. It is possible for Natasha to dodge a bullet even at point blank range.

Natasha has a gifted intellect. She displays an uncanny affinity for psychological manipulation and can mask her real emotions perfectly. Like Steve Rogers, she possesses the ability to quickly process multiple information streams (such as threat assessment) and rapidly respond to changing tactical situations.

Natasha is an expert tactician. She is a very effective strategist, tactician, and field commander. She has led the Avengers and even S.H.I.E.L.D. on one occasion.

Within 2010's Black Widow: Deadly Origin miniseries, another level to the Biotechnology is that Natasha has been subjected to wear "nanites", designed to be passed from her body with even the slightest touch. These nanites were a part of something called the "Icepick Protocol" and when activated could incite someone to homicidal rage. A counter form of these were also introduced to her body so as she could neutralize the activated nanites in another.

Equipment

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 the Widow's Bite electro-static energy blasts that can deliver charges up to 30,000 volts, as well as "Widow's Line" grappling hooks, tear gas pellets, and a new element introduced during her ongoing series during the "Kiss or Kill" arc called the "Widow's Kiss"â€"an aerosol instant knock-out gas she has modified. She wears a belt of metallic discs; some are disc-charges containing plastic explosives, while others have been shown to be compartments for housing other equipment. Her costume consists of synthetic stretch fabric equipped with micro-suction cups on fingers and feet, enabling her to adhere to walls and ceilings. In the 2006 "Homecoming" mini-series, she was seen using knives, unarmed combat, and various firearms, but she has since begun using her bracelets again. While in disguise as Yelena Bolova, when infiltrating the then Osborn-sanctioned Thunderbolts during "Dark Reign", she used a specialized multi-lens goggle/head-carapace that demonstrated various technical abilities enhancing vision and communication. Later, she has used a modified gun based on her Widow's Bite wrist cartridge, during her adventures alongside the new Captain America.

Supporting characters

Other versions

In other media

Television

• Black Widow was to be paired with Daredevil in a proposed live-action 1975 series created and starring by Angie Bowie as Black Widow with Ben Carruthers as Daredevil. However, the series never got past the development stage as no studio would take on the project.
• Black Widow appeared in the Iron Man portion of The Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Peg Dixon.
• Black Widow appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Deadly is the Black Widow's Bite", voiced by Lena Headey.
• Black Widow appeared in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Vanessa Marshall.
• Black Widow appears in Iron Man: Armored Adventures, voiced by Ashleigh Ball.
• Black Widow appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced by Laura Bailey.
• Black Widow appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload, voiced by Laura Bailey.
• Black Widow appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man, with Laura Bailey reprising the role.

Film

• The Ultimate version of Black Widow appears in the Ultimate Avengers animated direct-to-video movie and its sequel, Ultimate Avengers 2, voiced by Olivia d'Abo.
• In 2004, Lionsgate Entertainment announced that a Black Widow motion picture, featuring the Natasha Romanova version, was in the script stage by screenwriter-director David Hayter. Lionsgate subsequently dropped the project.
• Black Widow appears in the 2013 direct-to-video anime film Iron Man: Rise of Technovore, voiced by Clare Grant.
• Black Widow teams up with The Punisher in the anime film Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher, voiced by Jennifer Carpenter.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

• In March 2009, Scarlett Johansson signed on to play Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in multiple films, beginning with 2010's Iron Man 2. In the film, she is an undercover spy for S.H.I.E.L.D. posing as Tony Stark's assistant. Johansson was cast after a scheduling conflict forced Emily Blunt to drop out of the part. On July 16, 2009, Entertainment Weekly released the first publicity images of Johansson as the character. According to Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige, the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on Black Widow's uniform had to be edited out of teaser material for the film in order to avoid revealing Romanoff's true allegiance, which serves as a plot twist in the film itself.
• Scarlett Johansson reprised the role in 2012's The Avengers, in the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and will reprise her role in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron and the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War.
• In September 2010 during a press conference for the Iron Man 2 Blu-ray and DVD release, Feige stated "We've already started discussions with Scarlett about the idea of a solo movie and have begun putting together concepts. But The Avengers comes first." In February 2014, Feige stated that, after exploring Black Widow's past in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he liked the idea of exploring her past further in a solo film, which already has development work done for it. In October 2014, Feige said that Black Widow would play a primary role in the Avengers film in the MCU's Phase Three, adding, "Her part in Avengers: Age of Ultron is very very big, and further develops and further enhances her character. The plans that we have for her throughout the rest of the Avengers saga is very very big, and lynchpin, in fact, to those films. So instead of taking her out there, or instead of doing a prequel, which we haven’t done yet, continuing the forward momentum and the continuity of the Cinematic Universe. Of which Widow is a key, key part."

Video games

• Black Widow appears in the 2005 Punisher video game. She appears in one level as a non-playable character (NPC) who fights alongside the Punisher.
• Black Widow appears in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Nika Futterman. She is an exclusive character in the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version, and in all other versions of the game as a non-playable character. A mod available for the PC version of the game unlocks her as a playable character.
• Natasha Romanoff is mentioned in the Iron Man game as a possible love interest of Tony Stark's.
• Black Widow appears in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, voiced by Salli Saffioti.
• Nika Futterman reprises her role in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
• Black Widow appears in the Iron Man 2 video game, voiced by Catherine Campion.
• Black Widow appears as a playable character in the Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet video game, voiced by Grey DeLisle.
• Black Widow is a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, voiced by Laura Bailey.
• Black Widow is a playable character in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
• Black Widow appears as a playable character in the 2012 fighting game Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth.
• Black Widow is available as downloadable content for the game LittleBigPlanet as part of "Marvel Costume Kit 5".
• Black Widow is a playable character in the MMORPG Marvel Heroes.
• Black Widow is a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes voiced by Laura Bailey.
• Black Widow is a playable character in Marvel Avengers Alliance Tactics.
• Black Widow appears as a playable character in Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes, again voiced by Laura Bailey.

Motion comics

• Black Widow appears in the Spider-Woman motion comics voiced by JoEllen Anklam.

Theatre

• Black Widow will appear in Marvel Universe: LIVE! as a member of the Avengers.

Toys

• Black Widow is the 72nd figurine in The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.
• A figure of Black Widow was released in wave 8 of Toy Biz' 6" Marvel Legends line. There was also a variant chase of Yelena Belova. Another figure was later released in wave 3 of the 2-packs, packages with Winter Soldier.
• Black Widow appeared in wave 10 of the Marvel Super Hero Squad line, packaged with Captain America.
• A figure of Black Widow was released in the Champions boxset in the Marvel Minimates line. Another figure was released in the first TRU wave based on the film Iron Man 2.
• A figure of Black Widow was released in wave 7 of Hasbro's 3.75" Marvel Universe line.
• Kotobukiya released a 1/8 PVC statue in 2009 & a 1/7 PVC statue in 2012, both based on artwork from Shunya Yamashita.
• A Black Widow action figure was planned for, but never released in Hasbro's 3.75" Iron Man 2 line.
• Hot Toys released a 12" figure of Black Widow based on her appearance in the film Iron Man 2 in 2010, a second one based on her appearance in the film The Avengers in 2012 and a third one based on her appearance in the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014.
• A Lego minifigure of her was included in one of the sets in the Marvel Superheroes line.

Reception

The Black Widow was ranked as the 176th greatest comic book character in Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked her as the 74th greatest comic book character stating that wherever conspiracy and treachery are afoot, you can expect the Black Widow to appear to save the day. She was ranked 31st in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

Bibliography

Eponymous series

In addition to appearances in other Marvel comics, the Black Widow has headlined the following self-titled series:

• Black Widow vol. 1, #1â€"3 (Marvel Comics / Marvel Knights, 1999)
• Black Widow vol. 2, #1â€"3 (Marvel Comics / Marvel Knights, 2001)
• Black Widow vol. 3, #1â€"6 (Marvel Comics / Marvel Knights, 2004â€"2005)
  • Black Widow 2 #1â€"6 (Marvel Comics / Marvel Knights, 2005â€"2006, covers subtitled with The Things They Say About Her but internal indicia reads simply Black Widow 2, indicating it is a sequel to the 2004 mini-series by the same writer)
• Black Widow vol. 4, #1â€"8 (Marvel Comics, 2010â€"2011)
• Black Widow vol. 5, ongoing (Marvel Comics, 2014-)

Additional series

The Black Widow has also starred in the following one-shots, mini-series, and specials:

• Black Widow: Web of Intrigue one-shot (Marvel Comics, 1999, reprinting early appearances)
• Marvel Milestones featuring Ghost Rider, Black Widow, and Iceman one-shot (Marvel Comics, 2005, reprint issue)
• Black Widow and the Marvel Girls #1â€"4 (Marvel Comics, 2010)
• Black Widow: Deadly Origin #1â€"4 (Marvel Comics, 2010)
• Fear Itself: Black Widow one-shot (Marvel Comics, 2011)
• Widowmaker #1â€"4 (Marvel Comics, 2011, continuation of Black Widow vol. 4)

Original graphic novels

The Black Widow has been the focus of several original graphic novels and prestige format one-shots:

• Black Widow: The Coldest War softcover original graphic novel (Marvel Comics, 1990, 64 pages, ISBN 978-0-87135-643-7)
• Punisher / Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday's Web softcover original graphic novel (Marvel Comics, 1992, ISBN 978-0-87135-736-6)
• Daredevil / Black Widow: Abbatoir original graphic novel (Marvel Comics, 1993, ISBN 978-0-87135-783-0)
• Fury / Black Widow: Death Duty prestige format one-shot (Marvel Comics, 1995, 64 pages, ISBN 978-0-7851-0156-7)

Collected editions