After ten long years, Marvel Studios finally released the Black Widow movie that ultimately explains her much-needed history. All we know about her from previous Marvel Cinematic Universe films is that she is an amazing assassin with a few secrets up her sleeve.
But who exactly is Black Widow, and what is her story?
Who is Black Widow?
Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, was born in 1984 and raised to become a covert Russian spy in the Red Room Facility. This training program was called the Black Widow Program, wherein they took young girls and created elite and deadly assassins out of them. Dreykov spearheaded this program.
Natasha Romanoff was actually first introduced as an adversary to the Avengers. When Hawkeye was sent on a mission to get rid of her, he found himself saving the spy instead. The two formed a friendship, and he was the main reason for her defecting and working with the Avengers instead.
In Civil War and Infinity War, Black Widow’s character is seen forming friendships with Captain America and the rest of the Avengers.
She is also sometimes referred to as Natasha Romanova.
Read: When Does Black Widow Take Place?
Why is Natasha Romanoff Called Black Widow?
“Widow” is what they called a student in the Black Widow Program. Natasha became the star pupil in the training program and was noticed by the headmistress over the other women. Just like a black widow spider goes unnoticed until it bites, her small stature as a girl often gets overlooked until she shows off her murderous skills.
She becomes the top covert assassin in the whole world and is one of the best in history. The deadly super-spy Yelena Belova is her successor, who she catches up with when her past arises in the film.
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What’s Her Personality?
Black Widow is cool and calm even in the most pressuring situations. Although Black Widow Natasha Romanoff is human and doesn’t have any innate superpowers like Thor or Spider-Man, she is highly skilled in martial arts. She has mastery of complicated weapons, thanks to her assassin training in the past.
The events in her past have also made it difficult for her to trust others. She’s often regarded as quite mysterious and hard to read by others, including Agent Nick Fury. This trait left her with a lot of broken relationships.
As soon as she decides to trust, though, she is extremely loyal and dependable.
Is Black Widow a Villain or Hero?
Black Widow was initially trained as a villain in the past, but she defected to the good side. And while Natasha now fights villains, she hasn’t fully let go of the darker parts of her personality and chooses to torture her enemies.
Read: Black Widow vs Daredevil
Who Plays the Character of Black Widow?
Natasha Romanoff Black Widow is portrayed by Scarlett Johansson. She first made an appearance as the character in the 2010 film Iron Man 2 and has consistently shown up in several films in the Marvel universe. She trains hard in order to be able to do all the impressive fight scenes and stunts in the movies. She is also an Academy Award-nominated actress from her performance in the 2019 film Marriage Story.
However, did you know that Marvel Studios initially wanted actress Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) for the role, and she didn’t even have to audition to be part of the cast? However, she had to turn down the part due to a scheduling conflict with another movie [1]. She knew that the producers would not wait for her to finish shooting the rest of her scenes with the other film and the role ultimately went to Scarlett.
Other actors considered for the cast were Angelina Jolie, Jessica Biel, and Natalie Portman (who was cast as Jane Foster in Thor instead).
FAQs
Who is Black Widow in love with?
In the original Black Widow Marvel comics and animated series, she’s romantically involved with a few of our Marvel characters, including Matt Murdock (Daredevil), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), and Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier). She was also briefly married to test pilot Alexei Shostakov until his fake death.
In the films, though, we see her having a few romantic scenes with Bruce Banner (The Hulk).
Who is Black Widow’s father?
Black Widow’s father is different depending on whether you read the comics or watched the movies.
In the Marvel comics, we don’t know much about her father but that she was raised by a man named Ivan Petrovich when her parents died in the Battle of Stalingrad. It is also rumored that she may be part of the imperial Romanov family, but this was never confirmed.
The movies explicitly state that her father is a man named Ivan Romanoff. She also had a poster father named Alexei Shostakov from when she was involved in a dangerous conspiracy in Ohio.
She also had a fake little sister named Yelena Belova, who eventually held the Black Widow mantle.
In Summary
Black Widow is a fearless woman who stands behind things that she loves, even if it means sacrificing herself for the greater good. We might not find ourselves in the midst of a universal war (at least, we hope not), but we can learn a thing or two from what she fights for.
If you are in need of Black Widow merch, check out our listings here.
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