Red Room (comics)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Red Room is a fictional location appearing in
American comic books 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'', ...
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 ...
. The Soviet training facility was created to produce highly specialized spies, including Black Widows
Natasha Romanova Black Widow (Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanova; Russian: Наталья Альяновна "Наташа" Романова) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plott ...
and
Yelena Belova Black Widow (Yelena Belova; Russian: Еле́на Бело́ва) is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is depicted as a Espionage, spy and was the secon ...
. In the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...
(MCU), the Red Room appeared in '' Agent Carter'', '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'', and eventually became a flying fortress in '' Black Widow''.


Fictional history


Origins

In 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 of ...
, The Red Room (Красная комната) is one of the K.G.B.'s espionage training programs. For decades it was a
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
facility to train female spies known as Black Widows. In some stories, it employs biochemical enhancements for its agents and also implants them with false memories, similar to the Weapon Plus Program. It also trains mutants as agents.


Black Widow Ops Program

In the work of Richard K. Morgan, the Red Room recruits 28 orphan girls to become undetectable deep-cover agents to infiltrate China and the West. Professor Grigor Chelintsov uses psychotechnics to imprint them with fabricated memories. making them believe they were trained in ballet at the
Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
. Furthermore, the girls received a special treatment designed by biochemist Lyudmila Kudrin that allows them, for decades, to remain young, healthy and resilient at superhuman levels.


Wolf Spider Ops Program

Niko Constantin was the only male trainee of the Red Room's male equivalent of the Black Widow Ops program dubbed "Wolf Spider". He proved an effective killer, but impossible to control, leading the program to be declared a failure. Years later, he was found imprisoned in a Russian gulag, leading a gang of convicts dubbed the Wolf Spiders, and holding a grudge against
Bucky Barnes James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally introduced as a sidekick to Captain America, the character was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared ...
, one of the Wolf Spider trainers.


Yelena Belova

The K.G.B. continued to use the Red Room in the late 1970s. It successfully trained their agent Yelena Belova, though she soon left the service.


North Institute

Natasha Romanova, weary of espionage and adventure, retires to
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
but is targeted, as were the other Black Widow graduates of the Red Room, by the North Institute, on behalf of the Gynacon corporation. Romanova's investigations leads her back to Russia, where she is appalled to learn the extent of her past manipulation. She discovers the Black Widows are being hunted because Gynacon, having purchased Russian biotechnology from Red Room's successor agency 2R, wants all prior users of the technology dead. After killing Gynacon CEO Ian McMasters, she clashes with operatives of multiple governments to help Sally Anne Carter, a girl Natasha befriended in her investigations, whom she rescued with help from Daredevil and Yelena Belova.


Omega Red

The Red Room featured in Uncanny X-Men. The group bought
Omega Red Omega Red is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. In 2009, Omega Red was ranked as IGN's 95th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. Publication histor ...
's freedom with the hopes of using him to their own ends.
Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
,
Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...
, and Nightcrawler encounter him after he escaped from his master and they engage in combat. Omega Red is mostly impervious to Wolverine's claws; the Red Room had been experimenting on him in an effort to enhance his healing factor. After Nightcrawler intervenes and knocks Omega Red unconscious, he is returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.


Widowmaker

In the '' Widowmaker'' comic, the Red Room was the site of a mass slaughter of K.G.B recruits by the Dark Ocean Society and Ronin as part of a
false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...
operation to force a war between Russia and Japan, intended to restore Russia's former glory. However the operation was foiled by the combined efforts of Natasha Romanova, Hawkeye,
Mockingbird Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the family Mimidae. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. ...
, and
Dominic Fortune Dominic Fortune is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by Howard Chaykin and based on the Scorpion, Chaykin's character for the failed Atlas/Seaboard Comics company, Dom ...
.


All-New, All-Different Marvel

The ''
All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...
'' was revealed that Hank Pym's daughter
Nadia van Dyne Nadezhda "Nadia" van Dyne (née Pym) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Mark Waid and Alan Davis, the character first appeared in ''Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II'' (July ...
through first wife Maria Trovaya was raised in the Red Room.


In other media


Television

* The television series '' Agent Carter'' depicts Dorothy "Dottie" Underwood (portrayed by
Bridget Regan Bridget Catherine Regan (born February 3, 1982) is an American actress known for portrayals such as Kahlan Amnell in the television series ''Legend of the Seeker'', Rebecca Lowe / Rachel Turner in '' White Collar'', Rose Solano in ''Jane the ...
) as a precursor to the Black Widow program.


Films

* The 2015 film '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' shows Natasha Romanoff forced to recall her own training in the Red Room by Madame B. (portrayed by
Julie Delpy Julie Delpy (; born 21 December 1969) is a French-American actress, film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, includi ...
) due to
Wanda Maximoff Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in '' The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
's mind controlling spells. * The Red Room is featured in the 2021 film '' Black Widow'', in which the leader of the organization is named Dreykov, portrayed by
Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...
. The organization trained millions of "Black Widows" assassins until
Natasha Romanoff Black Widow (Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanova; Russian: Наталья Альяновна "Наташа" Романова) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotte ...
and
Clint Barton Hawkeye (Clinton Francis "Clint" Barton) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck, the character first appeared as a supervillain in ''Tales of Suspense ...
bombed Dreykov's offices, supposedly ending the program. However, Dreykov emerges alive and continues the program until he is stopped once again in 2016.


References


External links


Red Room
at Marvel Wiki {{Black Widow Black Widow (Marvel Comics) Marvel Comics locations