Black Widow is the name of several

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradit ...

characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

. Most of these versions exist in Marvel's main

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

, known as the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians o ...

Claire Voyant

Claire Voyant is the first costumed, superpowered female protagonist in comic books. Created by writer

George Kapitan George Kapitan (July 23, 1919 – November 27, 1996)George Kapitan
at the

Harry Sahle Harry Frank Sahle (April 18, 1912 – September 22, 1950) was an American comic book artist who drew for such publishers as Archie Comics—helping create the defined look of Archie Comics' breakout character, Archie Andrews—Quality Comics and th ...

, she first appeared in ''

Mystic Comics ''Mystic Comics'' is the name of three comic book series published by the company that eventually became Marvel Comics. The first two series were superhero anthologies published by Marvel's 1930-1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, during what fans an ...

'' #4 (Aug. 1940). She kills evildoers to deliver their souls to

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

, her master. The character is unrelated to the later Marvel Comics superheroines who took on the codename.

Natasha Romanoff

Natasha Romanoff 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 Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, 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 Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

, the Champions,

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often ...

, and the

Thunderbolts A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hell ...

. She has appeared in many other forms of media, including the major motion pictures ''

Iron Man 2 ''Iron Man 2'' is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to '' Iron Man'' (2008) and the third film in the Marvel ...

'', '' The Avengers'', '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'', '' Captain America: Civil War'', '' Avengers: Infinity War'', '' Avengers: Endgame'' and '' Black Widow'', wherein she is portrayed by

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

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 The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...

'' #5 (March 1999) and was fully introduced in the 1999

Marvel Knights Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (''Black Panther'', ''Punisher'', '' Daredevil ...

mini-series ''Black Widow''. A second miniseries, also titled ''Black Widow'' and featuring Natasha Romanoff and

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...

, 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 Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', ''Queen & Country'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well as ...

and artist

Igor Kordey Igor Kordej (referred to as Igor Kordey in American and French publications; born 23 June 1957) is a Croatian comic book artist, illustrator, graphic designer and scenographer of international reputation. Early life Igor Kordej graduated at ŠPU ...

, was a flashback to the story of her being the second modern Black Widow, in events preceding her ''Inhumans'' appearance.

Florence Pugh Florence Pugh ( ; born 3 January 1996) is an English actress. She made her acting debut in 2014 in the drama film '' The Falling''. Pugh gained recognition in 2016 for her leading role as a young bride in the independent drama ''Lady Macbeth' ...

portrays Yelena in the MCU film ''Black Widow'' and the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

miniseries '' Hawkeye''.

Publication History, List of Titles

Marvel Knights Grayson & Rucka Era

Black Widow Volume 1
(Marvel Knights; June - August 1999) Legacy #1-3
Black Widow Volume 2
(Marvel Knights; "Breakdown Parts 1-3"; January - March 2001) #1-3 egacy #4-6br>Black Widow: Pale Little Spider
Volume 1 (MAX Comics; June - August 2002) #1-3 # Collected in Marvel Knights Black Widow by Grayson & Rucka (October 2018)

Marvel Knights "Homecoming" & "The Things They Say About Her" Story-line

Black Widow Volume 3
"Homecoming" (Marvel Knights, By Morgan & Sienkiewicz; November 2004 - April 2005) #1-6 egacy #8-12br>Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her
Volume 1 (Marvel Knights; November 2005 - April 2006) #1-6 egacy #13-18# Collected in Black Widow: Welcome to the Game (January 2020)

Black Widow: Deadly Origin & Marvel Legacy -Canon Series

Black Widow: Deadly Origin
Volume 1 (Miniseries; January - April 2010) #1-4
Black Widow
Volume 4 (June 2010 - January 2011) egacy #1-8 Widowmaker Volume 1 (By Jim McCann and David Lopez; Miniseries; February - April 2011) #1-4 # Collected i
Black Widow: Widowmaker
(January 2020) #
Fear Itself: Black Widow #1
(August 2011) #
Black Widow Saga #1
(March 2010) ## Material from Enter the Heroic Age #1 ## Material from Iron Man: Kiss and Kill #
Black Widow Volume 5
(March 2014 - September 2015) #1-20 egacy #9-28#Collections include- Black Widow Vol. 1: The Finely Woven Thread (July 2014) #Black Widow Vol. 2: The Tightly Tangled Web (January 2015) #Black Widow Vol. 3: Last Days (Sept. 2015
Black Widow Volume 6
(May 2016 - May 2017) #1-12 egacy #29-40# Black Widow by Waid & Samnee: The Complete Collection (March 2020
Black Widow Volume 7
"No Restraints Play" (Miniseries; March 2019 - July 2019) #1-5 #Black Widow: No Restraints Play (July 2019
Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Belova
#1 (November 2020)
Black Widow Volume 8
(November 2020 - June 2022) #1-15 egacy #41-55# Black Widow by Kelly Thompson: The Ties That Bind (April 2021) # Black Widow by Kelly Thompson: I Am the Black Widow (October 2021) # Black Widow by Kelly Thompson: Die by the Blade (May 2022)

Alternative universe versions

Monica Chang

Monica Chang-Fury is the second character to use the Black Widow codename in the

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters ...

continuity, debuting in '' Ultimate Comics: Avengers'' #3.

Jessica Drew

The

Ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *'' Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *'' The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilat ...

version of Jessica Drew is a female Spider-Clone who uses by the Black Widow alias.

Black Widow 2099

The futuristic

2099 In contemporary history, the third millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era in the Gregorian calendar is the current millennium spanning the years 2001 to 3000 (21st to 30th centuries). Ongoing futures studies seek to understand what is l ...

version of Black Widow is an African-American woman named Tania. She operates as part of the Avengers 2099 at the

Alchemax Alchemax is a fictional megacorporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually depicted as part of the 2099 universe. Publication history The Earth-928 version of Alchemax first appeared in '' Spider-Man 2099'' #1 ...

corporation's behest. Like black widow spiders, she literally eats her mates after having sex with them.

Black Widow 2099 in other media

A variation of the futuristic Black Widow named Layla appears in the '' Avengers Assemble'' episode "Into the Future", voiced by

Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', '' Mass Effect'', '' Metal Gear Solid'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Metroid Prime'', ''Overwatch'', and '' Sta ...

. This version is a guerrilla warfare-styled resistance fighter from a future ruled by

Kang the Conqueror Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is most frequently depicted as an opponent of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. A time-traveling entity, sev ...

References

{{GoldenAge Set index articles on comics Marvel Comics female superheroes Articles about multiple fictional characters