A Look Inside, BLACK WIDOW!

                                                                                     
    This is an ongoing series of articles that not only shows the history of different comic book characters spanning as many titles and companies as I can think of, but also my personal history with the character. From where they began on the comics page to where they are now; including their appearances in film, television and other media. I hope to show how the world of comics and its enormous roster of heroes and villains have influenced me and shaped my life one character at a time.
 
    I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Now let's get started.
 
BLACK WIDOW (NATASHA ROMANOVA) (MARVEL COMICS)
 
Real Name: Natalia (Natasha) Romanova
 
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #52 (1964)
 
Created By: Stan Lee, Don Rico and Don Heck
 
The Origin Story
    Orphaned as a baby Natasha was raised as a child by her eventual chauffeur and confidant Ivan Petrovich. Ivan, with the help of the KGB, raised Natasha as a Soviet spy. It was later revealed that Natasha was taken to Department X, along with several other orphaned young women, who were brainwashed and trained in espionage and combat in their facility they called the “Red Room”. While there, Natasha was psycho-technologically and biotechnologically enhanced, this lengthened her lifespan and allowed her to remain youthful. Natasha would later be trained by the Winter Soldier, whom she at one point developed a short-lived romantic relationship with. Thankfully Natasha’s training couldn't’t quell her inherent good nature, and she defected to the United States, in part, because of her love for her eventual fellow Avenger, Hawkeye.
 
Powers and Abilities
    Black Widow is a martial arts expert, with a great amount of acrobatic skills. She has been trained in karate, judo, Kung-Fu, Savate, boxing and Ninjutsu, on top of being a skilled marksman.

    As a one time member of the KGB, Natasha was given the Red Room’s variation of the Super-Soldier Serum which enhanced her mental and physical abilities slightly beyond that of a normal human. Her body has even been enhanced by biotechnology which enables her to be resistant to aging, disease and slightly speeds up the time it takes for her to heal.

    Black Widow has used a number of gadgets in her years as a spy, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., an Avenger and so much more. However her most recognizable weapon of choice is a pair of specially formed bracelets which can fire a 30,000 volt charge called her “Widow’s Bite”. The bracelets can also release a “Widow’s Line” which acts as a grappling hook.

My History With the Character and What I’ve Learned Digging Deeper
    For me, Black Widow had always seemed like a side character which I never paid much notice to and unfortunately it wasn’t until recently that I began to understand just how fascinating a character she is. My introduction to Natasha was in the Lionsgate released direct-to-DVD animated film Ultimate Avengers: the Movie released in 2006. The film is loosely based on the first six issues of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s the Ultimate’s which depicts the origins of the Avengers in Marvel’s Ultimate universe. The Ultimate universe was initially created as a way of attracting a newer fan-base who hadn’t been inundated with decades of comic’s continuity. The story begins with Captain America’s final mission towards the end of World War 2, as Cap tries to stop a Nazi encampment from launching a missile aimed at the U.S. During his mission he discovers that the Nazi’s at the base are being controlled by a group of shape-shifting aliens called the Chitauri. In stopping the missile Cap is caught in the missiles explosion and is knocked unconscious, hurled into the depths of the ocean and frozen for around 60 years.

    After Cap is discovered by Nick Fury and his team, he is able to be thawed and fully recovered in order to assemble a team of heroes that must stop the return of the Chitauri threat. For the film the team consists of several classic Avengers such as, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Giant Man, Wasp, and of course Black Widow. While the film takes a much more child friendly approach to the story than the graphic novel, don’t take that to mean that it isn’t still fairly dark and serious. This film was actually my introduction to several aspects of the Marvel Universe and the graphic novel it is based on quickly became one of my favorite stories. In regards to Black Widow, the film depicts her as a complete take-charge badass who looks at the Avengers, Captain America aside, as a bunch of amateurs she and Cap have to babysit. By the end she’s even going toe to toe with the Hulk and is a vital part of diffusing the threat that the Avengers are facing. She later developed a romantic relationship with Cap and gained a spot on the returning and expanding roster in the follow up film Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther. Unfortunately this particular outing didn’t live up to the quality of the first film, but it did introduce the fan-favorite Black Panther and the world of Wakanda which he inhabits.

    The next time I would see the Black Widow wouldn’t be until the highly controversial Iron Man 2, when she was portrayed in live action for the first time by Scarlett Johansson. Whether you like Iron Man 2 or not, the stand out of the film was the introduction of Black Widow into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while her character wasn’t given much in the way of back story, I was blown away when she went off on a team of Justin Hammer’s guards and stole the movie for her own if only briefly.

    When the Marvel Cinematic Universe expanded and reached the end of its first “Phase” with 2012’s the Avengers, we were given yet another glimpse at Black Widow. Thankfully, this time the character is given a bit more to do and her back story is even touched on, albeit briefly. The film was able to show Natasha doing what she does best, manipulating unsuspecting bad guys into revealing their devious plots and using their own words and emotions against them. This was a welcomed showing, though still just a taste of Widow’s vast abilities as a master spy but I will say that it did my inner nerd good to see her relationships with characters like Hawkeye and Captain America portrayed so faithfully.

    As the Avengers rose in popularity it was really only a matter of time before they would be given their own animated series. In Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, we get to see one of the most comic book accurate depictions of the classic Avengers while still remaining fresh and new. Don’t get me wrong there are deviations from the source material but I feel it is all in service to the greater story being told. Having Iron Man as the leader of the team took a while to get used to, especially as an avid Captain America fan, but I loved the group dynamic that was developed. Jumping straight to the woman of the hour, Black Widow in particular quickly became one of the most intriguing characters in the short lived series. There is a depth and heart given to her, and I loved seeing and attempting to deduce her ever changing motives and alliances. We see her seemingly turn to the evil side working with the likes of HYDRA, while still managing to spare the lives of several fellow Avengers. The cat and mouse game played between Widow and her long-time friend and teammate Hawkeye not only kept an ongoing thread to follow throughout the series, but also keeps the characters relevant as well as prominent in the viewer’s minds.

    Though absent from the first two films in Marvel’s second “Phase”, Iron Man 3 and Thor: the Dark World, Black Widow did return in what many consider to be one of the best CBM’s ever made, Captain America: the Winter Soldier. My love for this film can hardly be put to words and the added joy that it brings me, to see one of my favorite storylines, as well as it being the story that brought me into reading comics regularly, is immeasurable. While details are altered from the original story in order for the film to fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, Winter Soldier is, to me, one of the most faithful comic book films ever made. The story is elaborate and engrossing and the action is just insane, even surpassing the Avengers for me in terms of tension and impending danger. This is the film where I believe Marvel Studios truly shows the super-spy side of the Black Widow character. From the opening scene with Batroc the Leaper and his men, to the insane street battle with the Winter Soldier, and of course the climactic ending at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Black Widow is finally given a chance to shine as the character we know and love from the comics.

    Unfortunately not every encounter I’ve had with the character has been as enjoyable and memorable as the one’s I’ve mentioned so far. The direct-to-DVD animated film Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher while well intentioned and not without its occasional up side, was difficult to get through to say the least. I felt the character portrayals were done well enough, fairly standard, but the film is just slow paced and not engaging in the least. I will say Widow’s interactions with the Punisher were very enjoyable, especially given that these two characters are rarely seen teamed up with each other, their back and forth was fun. But as far as a must-see experience the film misses by quite a bit and I only mention it here for full disclosure of my involvement with Black Widow.

    Now, back to the high points of my ongoing relationship with the Black Widow which oddly enough came from delving into the world of another Marvel hero, Daredevil, with Kevin Smith’s Guardian Devil storyline. I loved this story as an up and coming Daredevil fan; it depicted the many facets of the Daredevil character, from his deep rooted Catholicism to his inability to lead a normal life while juggling his duel identities. The twists and turns that the story takes while Matt struggles to understand the predicament he has been forced into, while encountering a laundry list of famous Marvel faces was riveting. In a nut shell Daredevil is forced to look after an infant child whose mother seeks out the help of the blind attorney and his alter ego. Throughout the course of the story, Daredevil becomes convinced that the baby he has been put in charge with may bring about the end of the world and that the only way to save humanity is by killing the child. The story not only brings Matt’s long time love interest Karen Page back into his life, but also his one-time love Black Widow. Though her presence is brief it is, as always seems to be, integral to the story. As Daredevil slips into madness Black Widow happens back into Matt’s life and must stop him from dropping the baby from the top of a building. Black Widow thankfully saves the child and attempts to return Murdock to his senses but is unfortunately unsuccessful. Natasha decides to take the baby from Daredevil and care for it herself until Matt can get his head right, only returning once she is assured of the child’s safety.

    What I enjoyed from the inclusion of Black Widow into the story, was getting a look inside a relationship that I didn’t even know existed between these two iconic characters. Whenever I think of Daredevil’s most volatile relationships, from Karen Page to Elektra, I never knew that Black Widow was also on the list of Daredevil’s dangerous loves. We get to see the highly trained assassin put the “Man Without Fear” in his place with a swift ass-kicking, and as usual with the character, we are treated with a dose of rationality and perspective which is sorely needed for our main character.

Group/Team Affiliations
    So this is going to be a bit of a list and therefore I won’t be embellishing too much on each affiliation. Black Widow is a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, the Mighty Avengers, the Secret Avengers, the Thunderbolts, Marvel Knights, Lady Liberators, Heroes for Hire, the Champions, and was originally a member of the KGB., who was responsible for a lot of Natasha’s initial training and shadowy past.

Notable Appearances in TV, Film, and Other Media

• Lena Heady voiced Black Widow in The Super Hero Squad Show.
• Widow appears regularly on the animate series Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Vanessa Marshall.
• Ashleigh Ball provided her voice for the character in Iron Man: Armored Adventures.
• Laura Bailey voices Black Widow in Avengers Assemble as well as in Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload and even the Lego Marvel Super Heroes video game.
• Olivia d’Abo portrayed Widow in the Lionsgate direct-to-DVD animated films, Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2.
• Clare Grant voiced the character in the direct-to-DVD animated film, Iron Man: Rise of Technovore.
• Jennifer Carpenter portrayed Black Widow in the anime direct-to-DVD film Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher.
• And of course the first live action portrayal of Black Widow has been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe portrayed by Scarlett Johansson. Appearing in Iron Man 2, the Avengers and Captain America: the Winter Soldier and will return to the role in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron.
• Black Widow appeared in the Punisher video game in 2005 as a non-playable character.
• Nika Futterman voiced the character in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance video games.
• JoEllen Anklam portrayed Widow in the Spider-Woman motion comic.

 Recommended Viewing
    I’ll be the first to admit that my exposure to Black Widow has been somewhat limited. With the exception of a few appearances here and there, most of my encounters with the character have been through various animated ventures and of course the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That being said I feel that one of the best places to start when it comes to Black Widow is the Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes animated series. Throughout the course of the show you really get a sense of her ability to manipulate characters and situations for her own purposes. You can never really tell who her allegiances are actually with and she truly becomes a force to be reckoned with.
 
Final Thoughts
    As I started delving into comics I discovered that I was developing an interest in female superheroes and female lead titles. At the height of my comics reading I found that, out of the dozens of books I was reading, the female lead titles quickly became my favorites. Unfortunately I have yet to encounter any solo Black Widow titles, but I certainly plan on searching. Especially as I discover more and more about Black Widow’s twisted back story, I know there’s more to be unearthed. I love the idea of a character with a broken past and even when she’s appearing as a supporting character in someone else’s book, I can’t help but be transfixed to Black Widow and her constant aura of mystery.