Post by diamondwolf on Jan 6, 2011 19:25:40 GMT -5
Name/Code Name: Black Widow
Real Name/Alter Ego: Natalia "Natasha" Alianovna Romanova
Height: 5' 8''
Eyes: Green
Weight: 135 lb
Hair: Red
Notable Aliases: Natasha Romanoff
Team Affiliations: Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. , Champions, 21st century, Civil War/Initiative, Thunderbolts
Abilities/Powers/Skills: 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), markswoman, 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" energy blasts, as well as "Widow's line" grappling hooks, and tear gas pellets. She wears a belt of metallic disc-charges containing plastic explosives. 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 didn't wish to use weaponry belonging to her traditional costume any more and was seen using knives, unarmed combat, and various firearms.[volume & issue needed] Later, she has used a modified gun based on her Widow's Bite wrist cartridge, during her adventures alongside the new Captain America.[volume & issue needed]
The Black Widow has been enhanced by biotechnology that makes her body resistant to aging and disease and heals at an above human rate;[volume & issue needed] 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.[volume & issue needed]
Within 2010's Black Widow: Deadly Origin miniseries another level to the Biotechnology that Natasha has been subjected to were "nanites", designed to be passed from her body with even the slightest touch.[volume & issue needed] These nanites were apart of something called the "Icepick Protocol" and when activated could incite someone to homicidal rage. A counter form of these were also introduced to her body so as she could neutralize the activated nanites in another.[volume & issue needed]
Weapons[if any]:
Personality:
Appearance[of both alter ego and self] Note- either link image or imbed it:
History/Backround: 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[4] 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.
A revised, retconned origin[5] establishes her as being raised from early childhood by the U.S.S.R.'s "Black Widow Ops" program, rather than solely by Ivan Petrovitch. With other young female orphans, she is trained in combat and espionage at the covert "Red Room" facility. There, she is biotechnologically and psycho technologically enhanced — an accounting that provides a rationale for her unusually long and youthful lifespan. While there, she was trained by, and a lover of, the Winter Soldier.[6] 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'd believed, been a ballerina. She further discovers that the Red Room was still active as "2R".
Natasha married the renowned Soviet test pilot Alexi Shostakov. When the Soviet government decided to make Alexi 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.
The Avengers
Romanova grows up to serve as a femme fatale who attempts to seduce American defense contractor Tony Stark and inevitably confronts his superhero alter ego, Iron Man.
On her first mission in the United States, she and her partner Boris Turgenev were sent to America to assassinate Prof. Anton Vanko and Iron Man. The pair battled Iron Man, and Boris stole and wore the Crimson Dynamo suit. Vanko killed himself and Boris to save Iron Man, using an unstable experimental laser light pistol.[7] Natasha later met Hawkeye and set him against Iron Man,[8] and later helped Hawkeye battle Iron Man.[9]
Natasha later attempted to defect from the Soviet Union, and was wounded by a KGB agent.[10] The KGB brainwashed her, and with Power Man I and the Swordsman she battled the Avengers.[11]
Later, Romanova defected to the United States,[volume & issue needed] and eventually joins the super-team the Avengers as a costumed superhero.[volume & issue needed]
[edit] S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daredevil
Later still, she began freelancing as an agent of the international espionage group S.H.I.E.L.D. She was sent on a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. mission to China by Nick Fury. There, with the Avengers, she battled Col. Ling, Gen. Brushov, and her ex-husband the Red Guardian.[12] During her romantic involvement with Matt Murdock in San Francisco, California, she operated as an independent superhero alongside Murdock's alter ego, Daredevil.[13] Natasha was less taken with Matt's law partner Foggy Nelson, who was manipulated by the villain Mr. Kline into prosecuting her for the murder of the Scorpion (it was actually a robot of the Scorpion created by Mr. Kline).[volume & issue needed]
Matt broke up with his long-time love, Karen Page, so that he could be with Natasha and the two moved to San Francisco to start a new life together.[volume & issue needed] They fought against menaces such as Man-Bull, Blue Talon, Dark Messiah, Angar the Screamer, Ramrod, Terrex, Kraven the Hunter, Death-Stalker, Owl, El Jaguar, HYDRA, and Damon Dran, the Indestructible Man.
Natasha wanted to find a new career for herself beyond the day-to-day adventures she and Daredevil enjoyed and attempted to become a fashion designer, but her career never took off. Eventually, her relationship with Matt became strained. Natasha left Daredevil briefly to accept an offer of membership in the Avengers after aiding them against Magneto, but she soon left them after determining from a battle against the Lion God that she did not fit into a team environment.[14] Natasha and Matt reconciled for a while, but after a lengthy romance, Natasha finally broke up with Matt because she felt he did not treat her as an equal in battle.[15]
She eventually returned to Matt's life just as he began dating Heather Glenn.[16] After a brief period as Matt's partner, Natasha realized that he was growing closer to Glenn and elected to leave New York so she did not prove to be a negative influence.[17]
After being poisoned by members of the Hand, Natasha denied medical aid and fought her way past S.H.I.E.L.D agents in a bid to seek out Matt. Her body briefly succumbed to the poison, but she was revived by Stone, a pupil of Matt's mentor Stick. Natasha found that Matt had been going through personal hardships in light of his one true love, Elektra's reappearance, apparent betrayal, surprising redemption, and recent murder. She also reconciled with Foggy, and learned from him that Matt's relationship with his fiance Heather had degenerated into a bitter, almost misogynistic power struggle stemming from Matt's depression over Elektra's death. Natasha and Foggy arranged for the two to break up, sending forged farewell letters to both parties.[18]
Despite helping Matt to overcome the Hand and revive Elektra, Natasha realized that Matt still only thought of her in platonic terms, despite how much they loved the other, and elected to restrain herself from any advances.[19]
[edit] The Champions
After their breakup, the Widow moves to Los Angeles and becomes leader of the newly created and short-lived super team known as The Champions, consisting of her, Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Hercules (with whom she has a brief romance), and former X-Men Angel and Iceman.[20]
Her friends often call her "Natasha", the informal version of "Natalia". She has sometimes chosen the last-name alias "Romanoff" — evidently as a private joke on those who are not aware that Russian family names use different endings for males and females. She has been hinted to be a descendant of the destroyed Romanov royal family and a relation to Nicholas II of Russia.
[edit] 21st century
Natasha crosses Daredevil's (Matt Murdock) path again when he attempts to slay an infant he believes to be the Anti-Christ. After Daredevil's one-time love, Karen Page, dies protecting the child, Natasha reconciles with Murdock, revealing she still loves him, but noting that he is too full of anger to commit to a relationship with her.[21]
Natasha later becomes aware of Yelena Belova, a young woman who is the second Black Widow, who had also been trained at the Red Room.[volume & issue needed] Yelena, obsessed with being the sole Black Widow, encounters Natasha while each attempts to retrieve the "Endless Fury" bioweapon, which explodes near them.[volume & issue needed] Natasha later has herself and Yelena trade appearances through plastic surgery.[volume & issue needed] Natasha later discovers that dozens of other women had been trained as Black Widows, and all are now being hunted down and killed.[volume & issue needed] While investigating the murders, freelance agents Max Hunter and a female known only as Kestrel are hired to kill Natasha; during their pursuit of her, they gun down Natasha's old friend Phillip Dexter.[volume & issue needed] In retaliation, Natasha kills Hunter and publicly humiliates Kestrel.[volume & issue needed] With information gleaned from Kestrel, Natasha finds and kills the mastermind of the Black Widow murders: an aging CEO who intended to use part of their genetic structure to create a new chemical weapon.[volume & issue needed]
[edit] Civil War/Initiative
During the Superhero Civil War, Natasha becomes a supporter of the Superhuman Registration Act and a member of the taskforce led by Iron Man.[22] Afterward, the registered Natasha joins the reconstituted Avengers. When S.H.I.E.L.D. director Tony Stark is presumed killed and deputy director Maria Hill incapacitated, Natasha assumes temporary command of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the highest-ranking agent present.
Later, Tony Stark assigns Natasha to convey the late Captain America's shield to a secure location, but is intercepted by her former lover, Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, who steals the shield. Natasha and the Falcon then rescue Barnes from the Red Skull's minions, and bring him to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, where Stark convinces Bucky to become the new Captain America. Afterward, Natasha accompanies Bucky as his partner for a brief time until she is called back by S.H.I.E.L.D.[23] She later rejoins him and Falcon for the final confrontation with the Red Skull, helping to rescue Sharon Carter. She and Bucky have restarted their relationship.[24] She later plays an important role in the capture of Hercules. However due to her respect of the Greek god, she let him go.[25] Soon Natasha, along with the rest of the Avengers, gets involved in the current Skrull invasion.[26] Afterwards, she stayed as Bucky's partner.[27] She also assists former director Maria Hill in delivering a special form of data to Bucky.[28]
[edit] Thunderbolts
Norman Osborn discovered Yelena Belova breaking into an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, and offered her the position of field leader of the new Thunderbolts. On her first mission, she and Ant-Man take control of Air Force One with the Goblin, Doc Samson, and the new President aboard.[29] It was suggested she faked her apparent death (as the Adaptoid) but it is never explained how.
A conversation with the Ghost implies that Yelena is working as a mole for someone else and that she may even be someone else disguised as Yelena. She is later seen talking privately through a comm-link to Nick Fury.[30]
Osborn orders Yelena to lead the current Thunderbolts to kill former Thunderbolt, Songbird. Fury orders "Yelena" to rescue and retrieve Songbird, for the information she might possess about Osborn and his operations. Yelena finds Songbird, and reveals to her that she was really Natasha Romanova in disguise.[31] She tries delivering Songbird to Fury, but the Thunderbolts have also followed them.[32] The trio are captured as Osborn reveals he had been impersonating Fury in messages all along to set Natasha up in order to strengthen the Thunderbolts and lead him to Fury. She and Songbird are brought to be executed but manage to escape when Ant-Man, Headsmen and Paladin turn on the rest of the Thunderbolts and let them go.[33]
[edit]
Power Ranking:
STRENGTH: 3
INTELLIGENCE: 4
ENERGY PROJECTION: 1
FIGHTING ABILITY: 6
DURABILITY: 3
SPEED: 2
AGILITY/FLEXIBLITY: 6
Real Name/Alter Ego: Natalia "Natasha" Alianovna Romanova
Height: 5' 8''
Eyes: Green
Weight: 135 lb
Hair: Red
Notable Aliases: Natasha Romanoff
Team Affiliations: Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. , Champions, 21st century, Civil War/Initiative, Thunderbolts
Abilities/Powers/Skills: 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), markswoman, 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" energy blasts, as well as "Widow's line" grappling hooks, and tear gas pellets. She wears a belt of metallic disc-charges containing plastic explosives. 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 didn't wish to use weaponry belonging to her traditional costume any more and was seen using knives, unarmed combat, and various firearms.[volume & issue needed] Later, she has used a modified gun based on her Widow's Bite wrist cartridge, during her adventures alongside the new Captain America.[volume & issue needed]
The Black Widow has been enhanced by biotechnology that makes her body resistant to aging and disease and heals at an above human rate;[volume & issue needed] 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.[volume & issue needed]
Within 2010's Black Widow: Deadly Origin miniseries another level to the Biotechnology that Natasha has been subjected to were "nanites", designed to be passed from her body with even the slightest touch.[volume & issue needed] These nanites were apart of something called the "Icepick Protocol" and when activated could incite someone to homicidal rage. A counter form of these were also introduced to her body so as she could neutralize the activated nanites in another.[volume & issue needed]
Weapons[if any]:
Personality:
Appearance[of both alter ego and self] Note- either link image or imbed it:
History/Backround: 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[4] 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.
A revised, retconned origin[5] establishes her as being raised from early childhood by the U.S.S.R.'s "Black Widow Ops" program, rather than solely by Ivan Petrovitch. With other young female orphans, she is trained in combat and espionage at the covert "Red Room" facility. There, she is biotechnologically and psycho technologically enhanced — an accounting that provides a rationale for her unusually long and youthful lifespan. While there, she was trained by, and a lover of, the Winter Soldier.[6] 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'd believed, been a ballerina. She further discovers that the Red Room was still active as "2R".
Natasha married the renowned Soviet test pilot Alexi Shostakov. When the Soviet government decided to make Alexi 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.
The Avengers
Romanova grows up to serve as a femme fatale who attempts to seduce American defense contractor Tony Stark and inevitably confronts his superhero alter ego, Iron Man.
On her first mission in the United States, she and her partner Boris Turgenev were sent to America to assassinate Prof. Anton Vanko and Iron Man. The pair battled Iron Man, and Boris stole and wore the Crimson Dynamo suit. Vanko killed himself and Boris to save Iron Man, using an unstable experimental laser light pistol.[7] Natasha later met Hawkeye and set him against Iron Man,[8] and later helped Hawkeye battle Iron Man.[9]
Natasha later attempted to defect from the Soviet Union, and was wounded by a KGB agent.[10] The KGB brainwashed her, and with Power Man I and the Swordsman she battled the Avengers.[11]
Later, Romanova defected to the United States,[volume & issue needed] and eventually joins the super-team the Avengers as a costumed superhero.[volume & issue needed]
[edit] S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daredevil
Later still, she began freelancing as an agent of the international espionage group S.H.I.E.L.D. She was sent on a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. mission to China by Nick Fury. There, with the Avengers, she battled Col. Ling, Gen. Brushov, and her ex-husband the Red Guardian.[12] During her romantic involvement with Matt Murdock in San Francisco, California, she operated as an independent superhero alongside Murdock's alter ego, Daredevil.[13] Natasha was less taken with Matt's law partner Foggy Nelson, who was manipulated by the villain Mr. Kline into prosecuting her for the murder of the Scorpion (it was actually a robot of the Scorpion created by Mr. Kline).[volume & issue needed]
Matt broke up with his long-time love, Karen Page, so that he could be with Natasha and the two moved to San Francisco to start a new life together.[volume & issue needed] They fought against menaces such as Man-Bull, Blue Talon, Dark Messiah, Angar the Screamer, Ramrod, Terrex, Kraven the Hunter, Death-Stalker, Owl, El Jaguar, HYDRA, and Damon Dran, the Indestructible Man.
Natasha wanted to find a new career for herself beyond the day-to-day adventures she and Daredevil enjoyed and attempted to become a fashion designer, but her career never took off. Eventually, her relationship with Matt became strained. Natasha left Daredevil briefly to accept an offer of membership in the Avengers after aiding them against Magneto, but she soon left them after determining from a battle against the Lion God that she did not fit into a team environment.[14] Natasha and Matt reconciled for a while, but after a lengthy romance, Natasha finally broke up with Matt because she felt he did not treat her as an equal in battle.[15]
She eventually returned to Matt's life just as he began dating Heather Glenn.[16] After a brief period as Matt's partner, Natasha realized that he was growing closer to Glenn and elected to leave New York so she did not prove to be a negative influence.[17]
After being poisoned by members of the Hand, Natasha denied medical aid and fought her way past S.H.I.E.L.D agents in a bid to seek out Matt. Her body briefly succumbed to the poison, but she was revived by Stone, a pupil of Matt's mentor Stick. Natasha found that Matt had been going through personal hardships in light of his one true love, Elektra's reappearance, apparent betrayal, surprising redemption, and recent murder. She also reconciled with Foggy, and learned from him that Matt's relationship with his fiance Heather had degenerated into a bitter, almost misogynistic power struggle stemming from Matt's depression over Elektra's death. Natasha and Foggy arranged for the two to break up, sending forged farewell letters to both parties.[18]
Despite helping Matt to overcome the Hand and revive Elektra, Natasha realized that Matt still only thought of her in platonic terms, despite how much they loved the other, and elected to restrain herself from any advances.[19]
[edit] The Champions
After their breakup, the Widow moves to Los Angeles and becomes leader of the newly created and short-lived super team known as The Champions, consisting of her, Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Hercules (with whom she has a brief romance), and former X-Men Angel and Iceman.[20]
Her friends often call her "Natasha", the informal version of "Natalia". She has sometimes chosen the last-name alias "Romanoff" — evidently as a private joke on those who are not aware that Russian family names use different endings for males and females. She has been hinted to be a descendant of the destroyed Romanov royal family and a relation to Nicholas II of Russia.
[edit] 21st century
Natasha crosses Daredevil's (Matt Murdock) path again when he attempts to slay an infant he believes to be the Anti-Christ. After Daredevil's one-time love, Karen Page, dies protecting the child, Natasha reconciles with Murdock, revealing she still loves him, but noting that he is too full of anger to commit to a relationship with her.[21]
Natasha later becomes aware of Yelena Belova, a young woman who is the second Black Widow, who had also been trained at the Red Room.[volume & issue needed] Yelena, obsessed with being the sole Black Widow, encounters Natasha while each attempts to retrieve the "Endless Fury" bioweapon, which explodes near them.[volume & issue needed] Natasha later has herself and Yelena trade appearances through plastic surgery.[volume & issue needed] Natasha later discovers that dozens of other women had been trained as Black Widows, and all are now being hunted down and killed.[volume & issue needed] While investigating the murders, freelance agents Max Hunter and a female known only as Kestrel are hired to kill Natasha; during their pursuit of her, they gun down Natasha's old friend Phillip Dexter.[volume & issue needed] In retaliation, Natasha kills Hunter and publicly humiliates Kestrel.[volume & issue needed] With information gleaned from Kestrel, Natasha finds and kills the mastermind of the Black Widow murders: an aging CEO who intended to use part of their genetic structure to create a new chemical weapon.[volume & issue needed]
[edit] Civil War/Initiative
During the Superhero Civil War, Natasha becomes a supporter of the Superhuman Registration Act and a member of the taskforce led by Iron Man.[22] Afterward, the registered Natasha joins the reconstituted Avengers. When S.H.I.E.L.D. director Tony Stark is presumed killed and deputy director Maria Hill incapacitated, Natasha assumes temporary command of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the highest-ranking agent present.
Later, Tony Stark assigns Natasha to convey the late Captain America's shield to a secure location, but is intercepted by her former lover, Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, who steals the shield. Natasha and the Falcon then rescue Barnes from the Red Skull's minions, and bring him to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, where Stark convinces Bucky to become the new Captain America. Afterward, Natasha accompanies Bucky as his partner for a brief time until she is called back by S.H.I.E.L.D.[23] She later rejoins him and Falcon for the final confrontation with the Red Skull, helping to rescue Sharon Carter. She and Bucky have restarted their relationship.[24] She later plays an important role in the capture of Hercules. However due to her respect of the Greek god, she let him go.[25] Soon Natasha, along with the rest of the Avengers, gets involved in the current Skrull invasion.[26] Afterwards, she stayed as Bucky's partner.[27] She also assists former director Maria Hill in delivering a special form of data to Bucky.[28]
[edit] Thunderbolts
Norman Osborn discovered Yelena Belova breaking into an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, and offered her the position of field leader of the new Thunderbolts. On her first mission, she and Ant-Man take control of Air Force One with the Goblin, Doc Samson, and the new President aboard.[29] It was suggested she faked her apparent death (as the Adaptoid) but it is never explained how.
A conversation with the Ghost implies that Yelena is working as a mole for someone else and that she may even be someone else disguised as Yelena. She is later seen talking privately through a comm-link to Nick Fury.[30]
Osborn orders Yelena to lead the current Thunderbolts to kill former Thunderbolt, Songbird. Fury orders "Yelena" to rescue and retrieve Songbird, for the information she might possess about Osborn and his operations. Yelena finds Songbird, and reveals to her that she was really Natasha Romanova in disguise.[31] She tries delivering Songbird to Fury, but the Thunderbolts have also followed them.[32] The trio are captured as Osborn reveals he had been impersonating Fury in messages all along to set Natasha up in order to strengthen the Thunderbolts and lead him to Fury. She and Songbird are brought to be executed but manage to escape when Ant-Man, Headsmen and Paladin turn on the rest of the Thunderbolts and let them go.[33]
[edit]
Power Ranking:
STRENGTH: 3
INTELLIGENCE: 4
ENERGY PROJECTION: 1
FIGHTING ABILITY: 6
DURABILITY: 3
SPEED: 2
AGILITY/FLEXIBLITY: 6
Attachments:
