- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Black Widow from the Marvel Cinematic film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Black Widow (Marvel).
| “ | I find that it's easier to keep your true self buried under several layers of untrue selves, to protect yourself. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow. |
| “ | I used to have nothing. And then I got this. This job. This family. And I was better because of it. And even though they're gone... I'm still trying to be better. | „ |
| ~ Natasha Romanoff to Steve Rogers. |
| “ | It's okay. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow's final words before she sacrifices herself to let Hawkeye get the Soul Stone. |
Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanoff (Russian: Наталья Альяновна "Наташа" Романова; November 22, 1984-October 16, 2023), also known as Black Widow, is a major character in the Infinity Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, serving as one of the titular main protagonists of the Avengers tetralogy, a major character in Iron Man 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, a cameo character in both Thor: Ragnarok and Captain Marvel, a posthumous character in both Spider-Man: Far from Home and Hawkeye, and the titular protagonist in Black Widow. Versions of her also appear in What If...?: the first version serves as the deuteragonist of "What If... The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" and a posthumous character in "What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath".
Contents
Overview
Natasha was one of the best spies and assassins in the world. Originally an agent of the Soviet agency for foreign intelligence, the KGB; she later became a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., the international counter-intelligence agency with the help of Hawkeye. Having extensive mastery in the martial arts and armed with her Widow's Bite, Batons, and firearms, Black Widow was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most talented agents and Nick Fury's top spy. When Loki Laufeyson declared war on Earth, Black Widow joined the Avengers and helped to defend New York City.
After the Avengers defeated Loki, she continued her work with S.H.I.E.L.D., this time working with fellow agent Captain America. Following the HYDRA Uprising, which resulted in all of her morally dubious history being revealed to the world, she dropped off the grid to begin rebuilding her cover. She later rejoined the Avengers, working to bring down various HYDRA cells across the world and the rogue artificial intelligence Ultron. Unlike most members of the original Avengers, Black Widow remained a member of the second incarnation of the team after the Ultron Offensive.
As the governments of the world demanded the Avengers to sign the Sokovia Accords, she agreed to their terms. She later joined Iron Man in a fight against Captain America because of his disagreements with the Accords and his criminal activities with the Winter Soldier. As the two Avengers' factions fought against each other, she betrayed Iron Man's team in order to assist Captain America to find the instigator of the teammates' fight. As a result, Black Widow had to escape once again from the government for aiding her old friend.
Black Widow would return to aid Vision and Scarlet Witch from the Black Order, and rejoin the Avengers to attempt to stop Thanos. Despite failing to stop the decimation, Black Widow would return to the New Avengers Facility with the survivors to find a way to undo the finger snap. After gaining Nick Fury's pager, she and the team would meet his old friend, Carol Danvers.
After the Infinity War and Thanos's victory, Black Widow with her remaining allies confronted Thanos, only to discover that Thanos destroyed the Infinity Stones to prevent his work being undone. Five years later, Black Widow continues to work with the remaining Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, despite being emotionally broken due to the deaths of her allies. However, Scott Lang (who survived the snap by being trapped in the Quantum Realm) proposed the idea of using the Quantum Realm to travel back in time, Black Widow and her allies worked to collect the Infinity Stones and undo the snap. Black Widow and Hawkeye traveled to Vormir in the year of 2014 to get the Soul Stone, only to realize that a sacrifice had to be made in order to receive the stone. After a struggle, Black Widow sacrificed herself so Hawkeye can get the Soul Stone. In the end, Black Widow's sacrifice was not in vain as the Avengers managed to undo the finger snap, bringing back those died, and defeat Thanos once and for all.
Portrayals
As an adult, Natasha is portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, who also portrayed Lucy Miller in the titular film, Major Mira Killian/Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, Rosie Betzler in Jojo Rabbit, and also voiced Princess Mindy in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and Ash in Sing.
As a kid in the 2021 film of the same name, she is portrayed by Ever Anderson. While disguised as Hawley in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, she is portrayed by Jenny Agutter.
While disguised as Melina Vostokoff in the 2021 film of the same name, she is portrayed by Rachel Weisz, who also portrayed Evelyn O' Connell in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns and also voiced Saphira Brightscales in Eragon.
In What If...?, she is voiced by Lake Bell.
In the Iron Man 2 tie-in game, she was voiced by Catherine Campion, and in Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The Official Game, she was voiced by Laura Bailey, who also voiced Rayne in BloodRayne series, Sherry Birkin in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Serana in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard, Chun-Li in the Street Fighter series, Helena Harper in Resident Evil 6, Jaina Proudmoore in Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, Abigail "Fetch" Walker in the inFamous series, Nadine Ross in the Uncharted series, Fiona in Tales from the Borderlands, Kait Diaz in the Gears of War series, Supergirl in Injustice 2, Eltariel in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and Mary Jane Watson in Marvel's Spider-Man.
Personality
| “ | I'm always picking up after you boys. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow in Seoul. |
The entirety of Natasha's character is hard to distinguish based on how she lies and tricks people for a living. She is capable of convincingly portraying friendly and flirtatious, timid, vulnerable and scared. For the most part, she is a level-headed, strong-willed and independent woman. Natasha normally maintains a controlled, almost emotionless persona to keep whatever she is thinking a secret unless she is around people she absolutely trusts. Although she is more than willing to rush into deadly battle and other unnerving missions for S.H.I.E.L.D., she is not completely fearless, as she was visibly frightened of Hulk. However, she is no longer afraid of him due to falling in love with Bruce Banner.
Though a very serious agent, Natasha is by no means stuffy and has a sarcastic sense of humor, which mostly surfaces when she is with Captain America or Hawkeye, both of whom she is comfortable around. Natasha is very smart and loyal which is displayed when she made good on the debts seu owned Clint and Steve (saving Clint from Loki's mind control and trying to protect Steve during a highway assault). While tough and at times ruthless, she is still a good person and can be quite heroic in her own right. These qualities are usually brought out by her other Avengers, mainly during her missions with Steve. And no matter how injured she is in battle, Natasha will go out her way to make sure bystanders are out of harm's way (keeping several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents away when Bruce was transforming into Hulk, helping Clint evacuate civilians when the Chitauri attacked Manhattan, and risking her life to make sure innocent people weren't shot by Winter Soldier when he was chasing her). Her close loyalty to both Steve and Clint was shown in Captain America: Civil War, as she was willing to aid their faction despite being forced to go on the run from the United Nations afterwards. As a result of her childhood, she considered the Avengers her family, being desperate to keep them together when the Sokovia Accords were due to be signed, and was affected when Tony denounced her as a friend and made it clear he would not helped her in the future.
Natasha is also very close with Clint Barton's family, especially with his and Laura Barton's only daughter, Lila, being the only member of the Avengers who knew of their existence. Natasha is genuinely affectionate with the child, hugging her the moment they reunite and sweetly commended the little girl on the drawing she made. They originally named their youngest child after Natasha prior to discovering that it was in fact a boy, thus making him Nathaniel instead, with Natasha humorously referring to the unborn child as a "traitor".
Natasha was sterilized as a rite-of-passage for her graduation from the training she underwent in the Red Room. This event deeply affected her, as she regretfully told Bruce of the so-called advantages of the procedure.
Despite her lifestyle of espionage and operating within the shadows, Natasha's adaptability influenced her opinions on the Sokovia Accords. Realizing the difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers with many of their activities seen in the light of day amongst the public opinions by signing and also that she didn't want conflict with her close friends and teammates like Clint and Steve. This care for Captain America eventually caused Natasha to betray Tony's team and assist their escape so they could clear Bucky name, eventually becoming a fugitive because of this.
Physical Appearance
Black Widow has fair skin and has blue eyes and shoulder-length red hair.
In Iron Man 2 She wore a black stealth costume with black knee boots and holster and has a utility belt.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier She Wears a Catsuit with a utility belt and black leggings with black pants with a holster and v-shaped tall knee black boots, In The Highway Fight She Wears a Dark Brown leather Jacket similar to one she wears in Civil War Opening Black Long Pants and Light shaded Brown boots.
In Captain America: Civil War (beginning), She Wore Light Beige Leather Jacket and Fryer Tall lace Boots along with blue thigh jeans.
In Avengers: Infinity War, she now has straight blonde hair, but returns to red in Avengers: Endgame.
Background
Overview
Natasha Romanoff is a Level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, working there since Hawkeye (Agent Clint Barton) was sent to kill her but decided to bring her in to work for them instead. She works undercover as a legal aid at Stark Industries in Iron Man 2, after being sent there to collect intel on Tony Stark. In the 2012 Marvel movie The Avengers, she works together with Bruce Banner (the Hulk), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Thor, and Clint Barton (Hawkeye) to defeat Loki and his army.
In the 2014 sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Widow continues to serve S.H.I.E.L.D. and assists Captain America, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Falcon and Sharon Carter in stopping HYDRA's uprising under the command of Alexander Pierce and his assassin, the Winter Soldier. In the 2015 superhero film Avengers: Age of Ultron, Black Widows returns the team stop the last remnants of HYDRA before having to battle Tony Stark's creation, Ultron.
Abilities
- Peak Human Condition: Natasha is at the peak level of natural physical limits of a woman of her advanced training. This has been building up through years and years of constant & rigorous training & special diets. Despite her lack of physical strength in most cases, her speed and agility are her biggest advantages against most foes. She has the endurance to survive being shot in the abdomen by the Winter Soldier's special weaponry.
- Master Martial Artist: Natasha is an expert in the field of martial arts. She is proficient in karate, judo, aikido, savate, boxing and multiple styles of kung fu.
- Master Acrobat: She is an Olympic class athlete, gymnast, acrobat and aerialist capable of numerous complex maneuvers and feats.
- Master Marksman: Natasha is a very accurate marksman skilled in sharpshooting and knife throwing.
- Multilingual: She is fluent in Russian, English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and various other languages.
- Gifted Intellect: According to Marvel, Natasha's intellect is at level 3, putting her on par with Steve Rogers. She possesses the ability to quickly process multiple information streams (e.g., threat assessment) and rapidly respond to changing tactical situations.
- Graceful Dancer: Natasha is a profound ballet dancer.
- Master Tactician: She is a very effective strategist, tactician, and field commander. She has lead the Avengers and even S.H.I.E.L.D. on one occasion.
- Talented Hacker: Natasha can hack into all computer systems without tripping any firewalls or security with ease.
- Master Seductress: She is an expert in the field of seduction. Natasha has been known to bend many different men to her will and sometimes even get them to do her bidding for her. She sometimes continues deceiving certain men through means of acting if she still has a further use for them.
- Master Spy: Natasha is a dangerous secret agent trained in espionage, stealth, disguise, infiltration, and demolitions. She displays an uncanny affinity for psychological manipulation and can mask her real emotions perfectly. Her talents and years of experience have enabled her to reach a high ranking as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Weakness
- Pregnancy: Though the red rooms brainwashing and vasectomy, its effects on her body have made pregnancy impossible.
- Mortality: As with any human being, she is easily subjected to physical harm & illness. Though her resistance to illness is stronger than normal humans due to her honed physical condition.
Equipment
- Costume Specifications: Synthetic stretch fabric which has been augmented to be highly resistant to damage even small arms fire and high temperatures. Microscopic suction cups on her costume allow her to scale walls and cling to ceilings, just as her namesake. The costume also seems to enhance her physical performance.
- Advanced Tech Suit: Suits worn by the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ant-Man to travel into the Quantum Realm.
- Personal Weaponry: The Black Widow's Gauntlets are wrist cartridges containing various tools of the spy trade: tear-gas pellets, a radio transmitter, and spring-loaded cable.
- Special Weaponry: Various automatic weapons and firearms, combat knives and explosives as needed. She also uses a device often referred to as the Widow's Bite that is capable of emitting highly potent electric shocks with a maximum of about 30,000 volts.
- Source of Paraphernalia: Formerly Soviet Union, S.H.I.E.L.D., Avengers.
Relationships
Friendships
Clint Barton/Hawkeye
| “ | Black Widow: We're still friends, right? Hawkeye: Depends on how hard you hit me. |
„ |
| ~ Black Widow and Hawkeye. |
Clint Barton is Romanoff's best friend, him being the one who decided that she would be a good agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. When talking about him in The Avengers, she states she owes everything to him, and wants to save him from Loki's brainwashing. In addition, she and Fury would be the only ones to know of his family, with the former being a honorary aunt for his children, and being friends with Laura Barton.
Despite the two going against each other during the Clash of the Avengers, Black Widow asked him amidst the fight were they still friends, and him replying it depends on how hard she hits. In Avengers: Endgame, she finds him changed after the decimation, becoming Ronin, and the two attempt to undo Thanos' fingersnap with the others. Seeing that Clint need to reunite with his family if they completed the mission, Natasha sacrificed herself so he could despite him mourning her death.
Nick Fury
Natasha and Fury were good friends due to serving in S.H.I.E.L.D., and was one of his trusted allies alongside Agent Coulson and Agent Hill. When Fury was presumably killed by the Winter Soldier, she tearfully mourned his death.
Steve Rogers/Captain America
| “ | Iron Man: Did she have any family? Captain America: Yeah, us. |
„ |
| ~ Tony and Steve mourning Natasha's sacrifice. |
Natasha and Steve became close friends due to being members of the Avengers and agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve was among his teammates in mourning her sacrifice for the soul stone, and even saw her as family by his statement when speaking to Stark.
Tony Stark/Iron Man
Natasha and Tony became good friends due to her first pretending to be an employee of Stark Industries, and later became teammates during their time as Avengers. The two were briefly at odds after clashing with Captain America's team, as she decided to help Steve and Bucky escape so they could stop Helmut Zemo. Despite this, Tony allowed her to leave so she could get a head start despite telling her that they were coming for her. Like the rest of the team in 2023, Tony mourned her death when she sacrificed herself for the soul stone.
Sam Wilson/Falcon
Natasha and Sam Wilson became allies during HYDRA's uprising, assisting each other to stop Alexander Pierce and his agents. The two briefly became enemies during the Avengers Civil War, as Wilson refused to sign the Sokovia Accords and joined Captain America's faction. After the clash, the two became allies again, assisting Steve in fighting ISIS and participating in the battle of Wakanda.
Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/White Wolf
| “ | You could at least recognize me. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow to Winter Soldier. |
Natasha and Bucky had a rocky relationship, as the two started off as enemies when Barnes was brainwashed as the Winter Soldier. The two became enemies again when Bucky was re-programmed by Helmut Zemo, and when she sided with the government against Steve. Despite this, she was willing to work with him to fight off Thanos' forces in Wakanda, presumably since she knew that he was brainwashed by HYDRA.
Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Though originally enemies, Natasha and Wanda became allies after the latter reformed alongside her twin to stop Ultron. The two would become enemies once again during the clash of the Avengers, but become allies to fight Thanos and his army.
T'Challa/Black Panther
Natasha and T'Challa were on good terms upon meeting at the summit, and became teammates on Iron Man's faction during the clash of the Avengers. The two briefly became at odds after Natasha stunned him to prevent the prince from capturing Steve and Bucky, but T'Challa would understand why when learning of Helmut Zemo.
Okoye
Natasha and Okoye became allies during Thanos' campaign to obtain the Infinity Stones, and later became teammates after the decimation.
Love-Interests
Bruce Banner/Hulk
| “ | All my friends are fighters, and here comes a guy avoiding a fight 'cause he knows he'll win. | „ |
| ~ Natasha to Bruce at the party. |
Natasha and Bruce Banner were friends who served the Avengers, but later become love-interests by the events of Age of Ultron. Despite their mutual attraction to each other, Banner feared of starting a relationship due to him being unable to control the Hulk, and Natasha being unable to have children due to her training. Upon the defeat of Ultron, Natasha attempted to contact Banner, but he turned communications in the Quinjet , and went off into space. The two would reunite during the events of Infinity War, and survived the decimation caused by Thanos. In Endgame, Banner mourns Natasha's sacrifice alongside his teammates, but honors her death by undoing the fingersnap.
Relationships (Columns)
Family
Allies
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Enemies
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Quotes
| “ | Eyes on the road. | „ |
| ~ Natasha to Happy while dressing in her combat uniform. |
| “ | Love is for children; I owe him a debt. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow to Loki on Hawkeye. |
| “ | Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian, or I was. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow to Loki during his interrogation. |
| “ | When I first joined S.H.I.E.L.D., I thought it was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow to Captain America. |
| “ | When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed | „ |
| ~ Black Widow to Tony and Bruce on Ultron. |
| “ | Nothing lasts forever. | „ |
| ~ Natasha to Nick Fury. |
| “ | After everything that happened with S.H.I.E.L.D., during my little hiatus, I went back to Russia and tried to find my parents. Two little gravestones by a chain-link fence. I pulled some weeds and left some flowers. We have what we have when we have it. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow to Captain America. |
| “ | Steve, you know what's about to happen. Do you really want to punch your way out of this? | „ |
| ~ Natasha to Steve on defying the Sokovia Accords. |
| “ | I'm not the one that needs to watch their back. | „ |
| ~ Natasha to Tony before going on the run. |
| “ | There's a new world of Widows. New enemies. I'm done running from my past. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow in her titular film. |
| “ | I was trying to do something good. Be more than just a trained killer. | „ |
| ~ Natasha to Yelena. |
| “ | Even if there's a small chance, we owe this to everyone whose not in this room to try. | „ |
| ~ Black Widow to the group. |
Trivia
- The role was originally offered to Emily Blunt, but she turned it down.
- Romanoff dying her hair blonde is a homage to Yelena Belova, the second Black Widow.
- She is the second superheroine in the MCU to have a solo film, the first was Captain Marvel.
- With Black Panther and Spider-Man, she is the third to get a titular film after their feature debut.
