Black Widow (Marvel Comics)

Black Widow is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Most of these versions exist in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.

Claire Voyant

Claire Voyant is one of the first costumed, superpowered female protagonists in comics. Created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sahle, she first appeared in Mystic Comics #4 (Aug. 1940). The character is an antihero – and can even be viewed as a villain, who kills evildoers to deliver their souls to Satan, her master. The character is unrelated to the later Marvel Comics superheroines who took on the codenames.

Natalia Romanova / Natasha Romanoff

Natalia "Natasha" Alianovna Romanova / Natasha Romanoff^[1] is the first character to take on the Black Widow codename in the modern mainstream Marvel Comics. She was created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Don Rico and artist Don Heck, and first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964). The character has been associated with several superhero teams in the Marvel Universe, including the Avengers, the Defenders, the Champions, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Thunderbolts. She has appeared in many other forms of media, including the major motion pictures Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, wherein she is portrayed by actress Scarlett Johansson.

Yelena Belova

Yelena Belova is the second character to take on the Black Widow codename in the modern mainstream comics who debuted briefly in Inhumans #5 (March 1999) and was fully introduced in the 1999 Marvel Knights mini-series 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 titled Black Widow: Pale Little Spider 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.

Other characters named Black Widow

Monica Chang

Fictional character biography

Monica Chang-Fury is the second Black Widow in the Ultimate Marvel continuity, debuting in Ultimate Comics: Avengers #3. Despite the painful memories associated with the previous Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), she refuses to change her codename. It is revealed that Monica is Asian-American and was Nick Fury's ex-wife after the marriage fell apart after she discovered that Nick had been sleeping with various female members of her family and limited social circle, including her own mother. With the Avengers, she and others led a mission to re-capture Captain America and then ends up facing and fighting against the Red Skull.^[2]

She also helps capture and recruit the Punisher into the team.^[3] Later she was transferred to the New Ultimates.^[4] After Fury returned as director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he reassembled the Ultimates and Monica rejoined that team, moving with her and Fury's child, Julius Chang, to the Triskelion.^[5] She then became director of S.H.I.E.L.D.^[6]

In the All-New Ultimates final series, Monica tells the new Black Widow after they captured Crossbones who was former S.H.I.E.L.D working to her.^[7] Later, while working with the FBI, Monica apparently is killed by Norman Osborn,^[8]

Other versions

Monica Chang makes her first appearance in Marvel's mainstream Earth-616 continuity in the series, Avengers A.I..^[9] In this series, Monica is the chief of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s A.I. Division. Monica enlists Henry Pym to help her stop Dimitrios (who evolved from the fail-safe virus used to defeat Ultron at the end of the Age of Ultron storyline) and they form the Avengers A.I. consisting of a Doombot, Victor Mancha, and Vision. During their first mission, the Avengers A.I. faced hijacked S.H.I.E.L.D. Drones which attacked a hospital in Atlanta.^[10] As of issue 4, it is revealed she is a devout Muslim.^[11]

Jessica Drew

The Ultimate version of Jessica Drew is a female clone of Spider-Man (Peter Parker) that as of April 2014 goes by the alias Black Widow.^[12]

Black Widow 2099

The futuristic, 2099 version of Black Widow is an African-American woman named Tania. She operates as part of the Avengers 2099 at the behest of the Alchemax corporation.^[13] Like black widow spiders, she literally eats human males after having sex with them.^[14]

Dottie Underwood

The Agent Carter television series features Dottie Underwood (portrayed by Bridget Regan), a 1946 precursor to Black Widow and an operative of Leviathan.^[15]

References