What's Up Today: Black Widow

Black Widow is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Most of these versions exist in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe. Natalia "Natasha" Alianovna Romanova 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 picture Iron Man 2, where she was portrayed by actress Scarlett Johansson. She is also set to appear in the upcoming film, The Avengers, portrayed by the same actress. Monica Chang is the second Black Widow in Ultimate Marvel's continuity that appears in Ultimate Comics: Avengers. 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 the ex-wife of Nick Fury but the marriage fell apart after she discovered that he had been sleeping with various female members of her family and limited social circle, including her own mother.

We’re not gonna talk about Monica Chang, now, but Natasha Romanova. Natasha was born in Stalingrad (now Volgograd), Russia. The first and best-known Black Widow is a Soviet 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. Romanova's parents were killed in a fire when Romanova was a child. She was saved from death herself by Ivan Petrovitch, who raised her as a surrogate father. He first appears in Marvel continuity in the Widow's 1970s Amazing Adventures feature, in which he is introduced as her chauffeur and confidant, without this back-story revealed. Romanova as a child appears in a flashback to 1941, in which Petrovitch, the superhero Captain America, and the mutant Logan who would become the superhero Wolverine, rescue her from Nazis on the fictional island principality of Madripoor. Natasha married the renowned Soviet test pilot Alexi Shostakov.

Johansson as Black Widow

The Black Widow is a world class athlete and gymnast, expert martial artist (including karate, judo, 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.

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, along with a new element introduced during her ongoing series during the "Kiss or Kill" arc called the "Widow's Kiss"; an aerosol instant knock-out gas she has modified. She wears a belt of metallic discs, some with disc-charges containing plastic explosives, others have been shown to be compartments to house 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 commented that she did not wish to use weaponry belonging to her traditional costume any more and was seen using knives, unarmed combat, and various firearms, but she has since began using her bracelets again. While in disguise as Yelena Bolova when infiltrating the then Osborn-sanctioned Thunderbolts during "Dark Reign" she used a specialed multi-lense 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. 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, attempts to do so result in extreme biological reactions, indicated as vomiting and black-outs.

I'm my own woman  - first - last, and always!,

The Storyteller