Superhero Origins: Black Widow
Black Widow, Superheroes, secret Spy, Agents, Russia, Stan Lee, Don Rico, Don Heck, SHIELD, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Marvel, Comics, Tales of Suspense, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, Biography, Retrospective, Backstory,
Superhero Origins: Black Widow
She’s gone from Russian superspy to a freelance member of S.H.I.E.L.D. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of Black Widow.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline, which unfolded in Tales of Suspense and was expanded on in The Avengers and The Amazing Spiderman.
Born in Russia, Natasha Romanova was orphaned as the result of Nazis setting her family’s home on fire. Thrown to a Russian soldier, he raised her as his own daughter.
Growing into a spectacular athlete and scholar, Natasha was recognized by the USSR. Drafted into the KGB as a special operative, she became their best recruit and was dubbed ‘The Black Widow.”
On her first field assignment, she was asked to assist with the assassination of Professor Anton Vanko, who had defected to Stark Industries in America.
Foiled by Iron Man, her employers gave her a costume and high tech gadgets that enabled her to scale walls and grapple across buildings.
Further tipping the scales in her favor, she enlisted the services of the novice-costumed adventurer Hawkeye. Charming him into unwittingly becoming a pawn of the Russians, the duo repeatedly clashed with Iron Man.
However, during one battle Black Widow sustained a major injury and was carried off to safety by Hawkeye. Finally returning romantic feelings toward the archer, she began to experience a diminishing sense of loyalty to her country.
As a result, Russian operatives were tasked with her assassination. Failing to eliminate her, they were instructed to capture and brainwash her in order to return her to loyal servitude.
Succeeding, Black Widow was instructed to face off against the Avengers, a team of superheroes that Hawkeye had recently joined in order to clear his name.
Eventually shaking off the effects of the mind control, Natasha made amends with the group by helping them tackle enemy organizations. Having proven herself a friend, and defecting to the United States, she made her bid to join the Avengers. In the process she became the team’s sixteenth member.
However, when Nick Fury asked her to spy on her former employers on the behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D, she decided to withdraw her membership and break off her complicated relationship with Hawkeye.
Despite this decision, she would occasionally re-join forces with the organization, all while taking on a solo career. Personally designing a sleek new black costume, she incorporated bracelets that could fire electric ‘Widow Bites.’ As a freelance agent that frequently worked for S.H.I.E.L.D, Natasha Romanova has spent her career working for both the good and the bad sides of the Marvel Universe.
Recently, she made her film appearance in Iron Man 2 as Natasha Romanoff, a characterization based off of her modern Ultimate Avengers persona.
She’s gone from Russian superspy to a freelance member of S.H.I.E.L.D. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of Black Widow.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline, which unfolded in Tales of Suspense and was expanded on in The Avengers and The Amazing Spiderman.
Born in Russia, Natasha Romanova was orphaned as the result of Nazis setting her family’s home on fire. Thrown to a Russian soldier, he raised her as his own daughter.
Growing into a spectacular athlete and scholar, Natasha was recognized by the USSR. Drafted into the KGB as a special operative, she became their best recruit and was dubbed ‘The Black Widow.”
On her first field assignment, she was asked to assist with the assassination of Professor Anton Vanko, who had defected to Stark Industries in America.
Foiled by Iron Man, her employers gave her a costume and high tech gadgets that enabled her to scale walls and grapple across buildings.
Further tipping the scales in her favor, she enlisted the services of the novice-costumed adventurer Hawkeye. Charming him into unwittingly becoming a pawn of the Russians, the duo repeatedly clashed with Iron Man.
However, during one battle Black Widow sustained a major injury and was carried off to safety by Hawkeye. Finally returning romantic feelings toward the archer, she began to experience a diminishing sense of loyalty to her country.
As a result, Russian operatives were tasked with her assassination. Failing to eliminate her, they were instructed to capture and brainwash her in order to return her to loyal servitude.
Succeeding, Black Widow was instructed to face off against the Avengers, a team of superheroes that Hawkeye had recently joined in order to clear his name.
Eventually shaking off the effects of the mind control, Natasha made amends with the group by helping them tackle enemy organizations. Having proven herself a friend, and defecting to the United States, she made her bid to join the Avengers. In the process she became the team’s sixteenth member.
However, when Nick Fury asked her to spy on her former employers on the behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D, she decided to withdraw her membership and break off her complicated relationship with Hawkeye.
Despite this decision, she would occasionally re-join forces with the organization, all while taking on a solo career. Personally designing a sleek new black costume, she incorporated bracelets that could fire electric ‘Widow Bites.’ As a freelance agent that frequently worked for S.H.I.E.L.D, Natasha Romanova has spent her career working for both the good and the bad sides of the Marvel Universe.
Recently, she made her film appearance in Iron Man 2 as Natasha Romanoff, a characterization based off of her modern Ultimate Avengers persona.
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