| Black Widow |
 |
| Name: | Natalia "Natasha" Romanova |
| Gender: | Female |
| Place of Birth: | Stalingrad, USSR |
| Age: | Appears in early 30's |
| Aliases: | Black Widow |
| Origin: | Altered Human |
| Origin Earth: | 616 |
| Present Location: | New York |
| Occupation: | Espionage and Intelligence |
| Team: | SHIELD, Avengers |
| Alignment: | Anti Hero |
| Significant Other(s): | unknown |
| Powers and Abilities: | Peak Human Condition |
| Portrayed by: | None |
- Born Natalia Alianovna Romanova sometime around 1928 in Stalingrad, USSR - now Volgograd Russia. Rumors abound that she might be related to the last Czar of Russia but this is as yet unproven.
- During World War 2, Nazi soldiers attacked and set fire to the building she and her parents were hiding in. As the fire engulfed the building she was handed out the window to a Russian soldier.
- Ivan Petrovich became Natasha's guardian and she travelled with his military unit throughout the rest of the war, learning from him about war and combat.
- She also encountered Wolverine around this time and received training from him as well.
- Kidnapped by Baron Strucker she was forced to become an assassin for the Hand.
- Rescued by Captain America, Wolverine and Ivan, she later saved Wolverine from Hydra assassins.
- Recruited by the Russian government to join the Red Room program, she was subjected to bio and psychologic enhancements akin to the United States Super Soldier program that created Captain America. Her level of enhancements did not reach as far as his however, only enhancing her longevity and preserving her youthfulness.
- Trained by the staff of the Red Room program, they arranged a marriage to top Soviet pilot Alexi Shostakov. She lived as a housewife and sleeper agent until his apparent death.
- Angry and grieving, she demanded that she be allowed to serve her country. Given the code name Black Widow, she became the KGB's top agent.
- Her assignments brought her in contact with various government organizations and agents.
- Sent to infiltrate Stark Industries to assassinate Anton Vanko she was stopped by Iron Man.
- She remained in the US to go undercover, stealing an anti gravity device from Stark Industries.
- Iron Man destroyed the device but Natasha escaped.
- Natasha manipulated Hawkeye into working with her in stealing sensitive plans from Stark Industries. In the ensuing confrontations Iron Man would eventually stop them and the KGB would recall Natasha over concerns her work with Hawkeye suggested romantic weakness.
- Brainwashed they sent her to assassinate the Avengers but she was able to overcome their reprogramming before acting on their instructions.
- Siding with the Avengers she did not fully join given their oath of non-lethal action.
- Officially joining SHIELD however, she worked with them as a double agent against the KGB.
- After discovering Alexi Shostakov was not dead but was now the Red Guardian, she and the Avengers were forced to fight and kill him. Upset by these events she declined joining the Avengers again.
- During a time where she operated solo she teamed up with and developed a romantic relationship with Daredevil. The two worked together for some time even aiding the Avengers.
- Eventually Natasha broke up with him because she felt he did not treat her as an equal on the battle field. They remained friends however.
- Living on the West Coast, she joined and led the Champions until the heroic team's funding through Angel dried up and the team went bankrupt.
- Tricked by the KGB to believe Alexi Shostakov was still alive, they threatened to kill him if she did not cooperate with them. She stole for them and eventually they reprogrammed and brainwashed her into launching nuclear missiles that would begin World War III. Iron Man stopped the missiles and then helped her capture the KGB agent responsible for her brainwashing.
- After helping SHIELD shut down the Freedom's Light terror organization Iron Man helped her infiltrate a forced labor camp run by The Mandarin. There she fought a man known as Vindiktor who claimed to be her brother and to possess diaries of Natasha's true mother. He died before any of it could be confirmed.
- Encountering another Black Widow agent, Yelena Belova, the two fought bitterly while both seeking a bio weapon for their own sides. After Natasha and Yelena switched identities, Yelena was able to realize her Red Room handlers only saw her as a tool and weapon. She thanked Natasha for helping her.
- During Civil War Natasha supported the Superhuman Registration Act and sided with Iron Man. While helping to round up unregistered heroes, she fought with Bucky Barnes and it was revealed the two had had a relationship back when he was the Winter Soldier and both were in Russia.
- During Secret Invasion she helped fight Skrulls with the Mighty Avengers and for a time dated Bucky(as Captain America), after Norman Osborn managed to shut down SHIELD.
- Disguised as Yelena Belova she infiltrated Osborn's Thunderbolts team while working for Nick Fury. Freeing Songbird she also worked with Wolverine, leaving the Muramasa Blade for him when he battled and killed Omega Red.
- She helped Maria Hill and Pepper Potts save Tony Stark's life but then decided to again go solo, leaving the Avengers and SHIELD.
- While obtaining a data shortage chip she is attacked by robots send by Imus Champion. He intended to use the chip to transfer his mind into a new body. Uploading a virus with the data on the chip she stopped Imus and deleted the data needed to make such a transfer, leaving Imus without the means to his end.
- Framed in a plot to target spies around the globe, as well as for the death of Senator Whit Crane, Natasha worked with Fatale and later with Hawkeye and Mockingbird to track down the source of the plot. It was discovered that Alexi Shostakov was alive and attempting to kill all agents around the world and leave countries functionally blind so he could attack with his own forces. Natasha was forced to kill him.
- While helping Bucky investigate the Zephyr project in Las Vegas they determined that a sleeper agent held in stasis had been awakened. Following the clues, the pair encountered sentient gorillas and former KBG agents that sent them to Latveria to confront Lucia Von Bardas with the help of Dr. Doom.
- The trail lead to Leonid Novokov, a Red Room trained agent kept in stasis for a specific time and place that never happened. When awoken he became unstable and set about creating his own Cold War.
- He captured Black Widow and reactivated her Red Room programming and used her to help him in his plans. In a final confrontation in Arlington Cemetery, Hawkeye and Bucky stopped them. SHIELD was able to reverse Natasha's programming once more and restored her memories but were unable to restore those that involved her relationship with Bucky.
- Natasha is again working with SHIELD and the Avengers.
Natasha was subjected to severe and prolonged training while serving the Red Room program. The level of mental deconstruction and rebuilding far exceeded criminal - but who would accuse the government when it did so in order to protect its interests? As a result, Natasha falls into new personalities, lifestyles and tendencies as if her mind were simply a grey matter hard drive to be wiped and loaded with new data. She has strengthened her defenses against this since defecting from Russia and the Red Room project but who knows to what level her handlers implanted back doors or triggers?
Spending a lifetime spying, undermining political and social statuses, gaining and then betraying the trust of others for the benefit of one's government, and those self absorbed officials one answers to, can only cause cynicism and jaded perspectives. Natasha often sees the worst in people because she knows the levels to which humanity can delve. She's wallowed in those depths herself on many missions.
From the loss of her parents to the loss of her own memories, Natasha was isolated by the Red Room program in order to create the perfect weapon. She did not even know much if anything of the other Black Widows they trained. It has defined within her a feeling of isolated solitude. That she is alone against the world. Even when she is with allies and friends she often makes decisions as if it were still herself, alone against the world.
Trained to be an elite tactician, to plan for every eventuality even before the first action had been taken, Natasha has played out the scenarios in her mind and has formulated a series of responses for each possibility. She knows how to manipulate others using their emotions and perception of others better than any con artist.
Natasha wants to atone for her past in the Red Room by doing the right thing, no to obey mindlessly. She wants to bring down those who saw no issue with corrupting others, twisting them into being perfect weapons rather than
She wants a family and friends. To feel. normal. To build true and lasting memories rather than wonder if those she has are simply implanted for a given assignment.
Natasha was given a variation of the Super-Soldier Serum stolen by the Soviet military. It was not as powerful as that which Captain America was given to be clear. Still, it allows her to operate at the highest possible levels of a human female. She is the perfect specimen in regard to strength, agility, speed and endurance as well as having an immune system and senses to match. She possesses a longevity and slowed aging. She is essentially just one notch below the classification of being Super Human.
A durable synthetic fabric integrated with multiple layers of cutting edge armor weave. It is capable of stopping up to a rifle round and is resistant to high temperatures. Microscopic barbs and suction cups allow her to free climb walls and cling to ceilings.
All forms of espionage, surveillance and infiltration equipment, most of it one or more generations ahead of what most of the international spy community uses as their own cutting edge tech. Her Widow armor's belt carries tranquilizers and stunners, tear gas and smoke pellets, micro communicator and GPS as well as a gas cartridge propelled monofilament grapple line.
She is a master of all styles of civilian and military firearms from World War I to present day and those still in the R&D stages. She can pick up any weapon and use it with elite marksman level proficiency within just a few shots. She is also a master of blades and thrown weapons.
Around her wrists she carries a series of high voltage discharging cartridges called the Widow's Bite. It fires electrical charges of over 50,000 volts in rapid fire bursts or single charges.
Natasha has built up a global series of contacts, informants and intel sources. Some will mistrust her since leaving the Red Room. Others will trust her more. Most only know her by other names and are willing to assist a loyal friend and ally.
Black Widow is a team player with the Avengers. She works well with them and for Fury. She can count on them and they can count on her being present to assist on missions whenever it is at all possible.
Working for SHIELD, Natasha is an invaluable field agent and source of intelligence work. She is loyal to the organization because it has stood by her when others would not and is not out for world domination or destruction as so many other organizations are. Not to mention countries.
Natasha is a master in self defense and martial arts including: sambo, boxing, karate, judo, aikido, ninjutsu, savate, muay thai and multiple styles of kung fu.
Trained in all forms of firearms, she is an elite marksman with sniper rifles, all military long guns and pistols.
She is a gold medal Olympian caliber athlete in gymnastics, acrobatics, tumbling and aerial routines. She is an expert swimmer and runner in both distance and sprinting and wrestling/grappling.
Deadly as 007, stealthy as a ninja, crafty as a politician and as smooth as a snake oil salesman, Natasha is one of the top spies in the world. She can hide her true self and emotions, manipulate others with her mastery of human psychology. She is a lethal assassin and killer, a saboteur. A one woman covert operations force. It's what the Red Room trained her to be.
She is the Black Widow for a reason. She can manipulate the emotions of others, men and women alike, to desire her, to please her and to then give her what she wants. It is so ingrained it is simply part of who she is.
Natasha is fluent in dozens of languages and dialects. Among them: Russian, English, French, German, Mandarin, Japanese and Arabic.
Natasha can bypass firewalls and security systems deployed by any government or military organization. She can write her own programs and code or rewrite other's code for her own uses with skills among the best in the world.
Thoroughly trained and battle tested as a strategist and field commander, she can process data and intelligence from multiple sources on the fly to effectively formulate plans of action and lead teams, often doing so with the Avengers and SHIELD.
She is a Bolshoi Theatre caliber ballet dancer.
As a result of the Super Soldier serum Natasha was given by the Red Room, it has left her biologically sterile. The benefits for her "duties" were many but, as a woman, the ramifications of never being able to have children is a private pain and regret Natasha rarely if ever speaks of. Seeing happy families weighs on her as much as she wants to be happy for them.
Natasha "knows" her history. At least her origin. That she was saved, her parents weren't, and that Ivan Petrovich looked after her. She only somewhat remembers him but the rest of her childhood is simple academic knowledge obtained after the fact. Her memories were warped, removed, changed and rewritten to suit her missions and the whims of her handlers in the Red Room. If she allows herself think about it she finds herself feeling more like a doll than a human being. A human, after all, is only the sum of their memories and actions. If those true actions and upbringing cannot be recalled or retained, what are they?
Years of psychologic abuse, reprogramming and conditioning left Natasha with a mind open for absorption of new identities and details. While Natasha has been diligent to keep her mind as her own since defecting from the Red Room, there is always the risk that there is an undiscovered trigger that could render her nothing more than a pawn for her former handlers once more.
"I've got red in my ledger." The things that Natasha has done as the Black Widow are unspeakable. Heinous acts in the name of Duty and Country. The things in her past haunt her now that she has freed herself from those who made her do them. It is not so difficult to make her feel obligated to assist given the evils she has committed in her past in order somehow try to "atone" or balance those actions out.
As an assassin, spy, double/triple agent, defector Natasha has made a laundry list of enemies. The Russian Government, most other governments. Most intelligence agencies are likely to be pretty unhappy with her activities over the years. She always needs to keep one eye over her shoulder.
IC Events
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02 Nov 2016 13:52 (2016-10-25) What's a little pasta?
19 Aug 2016 17:19 (2016-08-19) SHIELD Vetting
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