Black Widow

Black Widow's real name is Natasha Romanova, also known as Natasha Romanoff. Black Widow first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964). The character was first introduced as a Russian spy, an antagonist of the superhero Iron Man. She later defected t the United States, becoming an agent of the fictional spy agency S.H.E.I.L.D., and a member of the superhero team The Avengers. Commonly depicted as a femme fatale, the Black Widow was ranked as the 31st sexiest woman in comics by the Comics Buyer's Guide. Scarlett Johansson portrayed the character in the films Iron Man 2 (2010) and Marvel's The Avengers (2012) and is set to reprise the role in the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avenegers: Age of Ultron (2015) as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Black Widow's early life story states that: "Natasha was born in Stalingrad (now Vogograd), Russia. The first 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 appearances but simply evening wear and 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 Aventures. 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 Stallingrad 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 early childhood by the U.S.S.R.'s "Black Widow Ops program, rather than solely by Ivan Petrovich. Petrovich 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 was biotechnoligcally and psychotechnologically enhanced-an accounting that provides a rationale for het 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 Shostakovich. 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." Black Widow's Avengers story states that: "Romanova grows up to serve as a female 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 experiment laser light pistol. Romanova later meets the criminal archer Hawkeye and sets him against 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 her to safety. During this period, Romanova attempted to defect from the Soviet Union and began falling in love with Hawkeye, weakening her loyalty to the country. When her employees 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 pysochlogical 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." Black Widow's abilities include: slowed aging, enhanced immune system, abnormally superior condition, extensive military, hand-to-hand combat, martial arts, and espionage training, hypnosis, and enhanced psychological defenses.