Black Widow

"You're not gonna put me in a prison. You're not gonna put any of us in a prison. You know why?" "Do enlighten us." "Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we helped make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me."

- Black Widow to the United States Senate

Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanoff, better known as Black Widow, is 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. Having extensive mastery in the martial arts and armed with her Widow's Bite, Black Widow was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most talented agents. When Loki 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.

Early Life
Natalia Alianovna Romanoff was born on November 22, 1984 in Stalingrad, as Samuel Sterns managed to identify her exact birthplace from a hint of accent in her voice.

Red Room and Becoming Black Widow
"In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, um, they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It's efficient. One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. Makes everything easier, even killing."

- Natasha Romanoff to Bruce Banner

At a young age, Romanoff was recruited by the KGB. At a Red Room facility, she endured both an education and indoctrination into the world of spy-craft. Romanoff excelled in this strict training environment and soon became regarded as a master spy and one of the world's greatest assassins. Her ruthless effectiveness in later years earned her the code name, Black Widow. As a final ceremony to complete her training, Romanoff was sterilized, as to avoid any distractions and focus solely on her missions, something she deeply regretted later in her life.

On S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Radar
"I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, he made a different call."

- Black Widow

Due to both her expertise and her growing threat to global security, Romanoff quickly appeared on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, prompting Director Nick Fury to send Agent Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye, to eliminate her. Hawkeye disobeyed this order, recognizing her skill, and recommended her for recruitment for S.H.I.E.L.D. At the behest of Director Fury, Romanoff later defected from Russia and joined the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. From that moment on, she developed a lasting partnership with Barton. Together they had missions in Budapest, Abidjan, and many other locations. Natalia eventually started going by the name "Natasha".

The Winter Soldier
"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me."

- Natasha Romanoff to Steve Rogers

In 2009, when she was assigned to protect a nuclear scientist, she was attacked by the mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier, who was sent to kill the scientist. Though she and the scientist were pushed over a cliff, Romanoff managed to save both herself and the man she was protecting. Seeing this, the Winter Soldier fired a single round through Romanoff's stomach and into the scientist, effectively killing him.

After this encounter, Romanoff would go on to attempt to track down the Winter Soldier for an unspecified amount of time, but was forced to give up after accepting that he was more elusive than any other enemy she had encountered.

Natalie Rushman
"I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut." "God you're good. You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it? You're a triple impostor, I've never seen anything like it. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?" "Fallaces sunt rerum species et hominum spes fallunt." "Which means? Wait, what did you just say?" "It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected."

- Black Widow and Tony Stark

Under the name "Natalie Rushman", Romanoff did modeling work in Tokyo as part of an undercover operation.

In 2011, Romanoff was on one of her usual missions, sent to ruin an operation of the Ten Rings. She boarded the Ten Rings plane and caused its explosion. Just as she was fighting of a Ten Rings operative in the plane, she was sent by Nick Fury to infiltrate Stark Industries. Under the guise of "Natalie Rushman", Romanoff was hired as a notary public by Secretary Bambi Arbogast. Romanoff worked her way at getting to Tony Stark in many ways, including secretly making her co-worker, Samantha Carlisle, sick in order to deliver documents to Stark.

Watching Tony Stark
The ulterior motive for her employment was for her to keep an eye on Tony Stark after he signed his company over to Pepper Potts. In reality, Romanoff had been assigned to assess whether he was suitable for a plan to bring together a group of people with unparalleled talents. Stark ran a search on her and discovered that she was fluent in French, Russian, and Latin and had done some modeling in Japan. Romanoff became Stark's new assistant while he was in Monaco; then when she suggested what Stark should do for his last birthday party, Stark put on the full Iron Man suit which angered James Rhodes, who stole another suit and challenged Stark to a fight. During Stark's and Rhodes' fight, Romanoff contacted Director Nick Fury and debriefed him on the situation. When he offered to come, she told him not to. Now dressed in a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, Romanoff met with Fury at Randy's Donuts to provide a short-term antidote to Stark's palladium poisoning. Sneaking in from the back entrance, Romanoff gave Stark a serum which postponed the effects of the Arc Reactor's radiation, which was poisoning his body.

Later, Romanoff, along with Fury and Phil Coulson, went to Tony Stark's Mansion and she was told by Fury that she was to remain in position as an assistant. Later at Stark Industries, while Stark was visiting Pepper Potts, Romanoff walked in and requested for Potts to sign something. When Potts left, Stark started to grill Romanoff and told her that he found it amazing that she does what she does. When he claimed that she could not speak other languages, she replied in Latin, then repeated herself in English, telling him that he could, "Either drive [him]self home or [she] can have [him] collected."

Taking Down Ivan Vanko
At the Stark Expo, Romanoff was in attendance when Ivan Vanko started to control the Hammer Drones; she went with Happy Hogan to go to Hammer Industries Headquarters. She changed into a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform during the car ride with Hogan trying to watch while driving. Romanoff broke into Hammer Industries, with Hogan taking out one man only to find that she had taken out several others. She managed to get control over Rhodes' battle suit. She then retrieved Hammer Industries data before Ivan Vanko's bombs went off.

Big Problems
"These are gods and monsters and machines of war we're mixed up with."

- Natasha Romanoff

Returning to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters with the data, she was given orders by a stressed Nick Fury to go to Culver University and watch over Bruce Banner. She arrived and witnessed Banner get locked in the bridge by General Thaddeus Ross and the Strategic Operations Command Center; Banner then transformed and a battle ensued. She called Fury and barely escaped uninjured. She revealed to Fury that she witnessed Emil Blonsky in action against Hulk and that they enhanced him. Fury was forced to deploy Romanoff to Grayburn College after Ross revealed, in a short conversation, that he intended to capture Banner. She arrived too late, however, and informed Fury over the phone that Ross captured Banner and was taking him away in a helicopter. Romanoff was then ordered to make sure that Banner did not leave anything for Samuel Sterns, with whom he had recently been, to work on. As she headed up the front steps, she witnessed Blonsky, now as Abomination, emerge from the building. She was buried in rubble, but still managed to make her way upstairs. She stumbled upon Sterns, whose mutation had heightened significantly, and his brain power had been augmented exponentially. After a brief dialogue with him, during which Sterns identified Black Widow's birth place from a hint of accent in her voice, Romanoff shot him in the leg.

She called in a S.H.I.E.L.D. cleanup team, and signaled her location on the roof with flares. She saw the chaos of Abomination and Hulk's battle in the distance. Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, she confronted Fury, stating that all of the events going on were too much to handle.

Back in Russia
"And...what do you get out of this if you "win"?" "Oh, I'm sorry--didn't I mention? If I win, I take over the mantle of "Black Widow"."

- Natasha Romanoff and Sofia

Once again on a mission, Black Widow arrived in Moscow, Russia, where she searched for missing Stark Industries technology. Disguised as Tatiana Sokolova, she worked at a night club. While trying to interrogate Mikhail Fjodorov, one of the world's most successful illegal arms dealers, Fjodorov was killed by an unknown woman and Romanoff was forced to leave the club via the roof, fighting several security men. After she returned to a hotel, she was attacked by a team of masked mercenaries, but she defeated them and received a SIM card to reach the mysterious woman she has seen in the night club. Later, Black Widow talked to the woman named Sofia, and learned that she is a "fan" and wants to take over the name "Black Widow". Romanoff agreed to meet with Sofia and broke all her contacts with S.H.I.E.L.D.

A few days later, Romanoff confronted Sofia in a sport hall in Sochi, where she almost drowned in cold water, but she was saved at the last moment by Phil Coulson, who was following a pair of goons working for the arms dealer General Starodoub. Coulson gave Romanoff the necessary equipment to infiltrate the yacht belonging to Yuri Klementiev, one of General Starodoub's business partners, where she met Sofia again, an encounter which cost them the life of agent Gennady Markov.

When Coulson discovered that Sofia's employer was the billionaire Richard Frampton, Natasha infiltrated his headquarters in Vladivostok. She discovered that Frampton works for the Ten Rings terrorist organization and that he had made a Jericho missile that would explode near the border between Russia and North Korea, greatly destabilizing the world peace. Romanoff infiltrated the launching area and destroyed the missile. Both Frampton and Sofia were killed in the explosion.

Security
Ignorant that Nick Fury had ordered Hawkeye to check the security of the Avengers Initiative database, Black Widow attacked Barton when he infiltrated the Helicarrier while wearing a mask. Fury arrived and stopped the scuffle; the three then discussed Fury's choices for the Avengers.

Interrogation
"I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy." "Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me." "Oh, I've got Stark. You get the big guy." "Bohze moi!"

- Phil Coulson and Black Widow

Romanoff's next target was Georgi Luchkov, the corrupt Russian general who illegally sold weapons to the highest bidder. Whilst spying on Luchkov, she was knocked out from behind and tied to a chair by Luchkov's thugs, and while Luchkov interrogated her, he unknowingly spilled all of his secrets. However as Luchkov was preparing to assumidly torture Black Widow, at whist mentioned of torture gave Agent Romanoff a scare and two quickened breaths, her interrogation was interrupted when Phil Coulson called and requested to speak to Romanoff.

Coulson informed Romanoff that she needed to come in which she refused as she was in the middle of an interrogation, but when Coulson informed her that Clint Barton was compromised as incentive. Romanoff put Coulson on hold and then immediately freed herself and fought and captured Luchkov and his men. Coulson told Romanoff to go recruit Bruce Banner which she heisitated and asked to recruit Tony Stark, which Coulson had covered. Romanoff then picked up her shoes and left the warehouse and went to go recruit Bruce Banner.

Recruiting Bruce Banner
"You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle." "Avoiding stress isn't the secret." "Then, what is it? Yoga?" "You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded?" "Just you and me."

- Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner

Romanoff traveled to Bruce Banner's hidden location in Kolkata, India. She had a child to act as if her father was sick to lead him into an abandoned house. Banner, realised that it was a set up as Romanoff calmly introduced herself and explained the situation to him. Romanoff told Banner that it was just the two of them, which was a lie as multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were outside. She told Banner about the Tesseract and that they require his help to locate it as the Tesseract emits a weak Gamma Radiation signal.

Banner reassured that Hulk was not needed which Romanoff told him that Nick Fury had not mentioned anything about Hulk. When Romanoff tried to assure Banner that he would not be imprisoned, Banner mocked rage to test her reaction; she pulled a gun on him and aimed it at his head, but Banner calmly explained he was testing her. Romanoff was able to convince Banner to come into S.H.I.E.L.D. and ordered the agents outside to stand down.

Assembling On The Helicarrier
"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon."

- Natasha Romanoff to Steve Rogers

Romanoff brought Bruce Banner onto the Helicarrier, to help locate the Tesseract. Coulson then arrived with Steve Rogers and introduced the two. Romanoff then told Coulson that he was needed on the bridge. The two then walked together and got aquatinted and asked him if Coulson asked him to sign his trading cards. She introduced Banner to Rogers and recommended that they move inside as it would become hard to breathe. The Helicarrier then began to take off so the three went inside. Inside the Helicarrier, Romanoff showed Banner to his lab and continued to search for Clint Barton.

Capturing Loki
"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."

- Black Widow to Loki

S.H.I.E.L.D. located Loki in Stuttgart, Germany and Romanoff flew on Quinjet to this location with Steve Rogers. As Captain America fought Loki, Romanoff tried to get a shot at Loki but was unable to due to Loki using his magic to make multiple illusions of himself appear. Suddenly loud AC/DC'S Shout to Thrill music started to play on the Quinjet as Iron Man flew in to help asking if she had missed him, making Romanoff smile. They succeed in capturing Loki and brought him on the Quinjet to take him to the Helicarrier.

On their way back in the Helicarrier, Nick Fury asked Romanoff whether Loki had said anything, which Romanoff informed him that Loki had stayed silent. Suddenly an unexpected lightning storm was taking place and Thor suddenly entered the Quinjet and left with Loki in tow. Romanoff asked if Thor was another Asgardian as Iron Man went to retrieved him. Captain America then went to join Iron Man, when Romanoff warned him that he should sit this one out as Thor comes from legend and is basically a god, but he chose to fight anyway saying that there is only god and he doesn't dress the same way Thor does.

Interrogating Loki
"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian, or I was." "And what are you now?" "It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out." "Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov's daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything."

- Black Widow and Loki

As Loki was being locked up, Romanoff listened in as he and Nick Fury talked to each other. Romanoff told Thor that Erik Selvig and Clint Barton are under Loki's control. When Thor told Bruce Banner to take care of how he speaks about Loki as he is his brother, Romanoff informed him that Loki had killed eighty people in two days making Thor tell them that Loki was adopted. Romanoff decided to interrogate Loki and find out his intentions. Romanoff approached the demigod Loki, undetected so she could interrogate Loki which he noted that not a lot of people could sneak up on him. Romanoff wanted to know what Loki has done with Clint Barton which Loki told her that he had expanded his mind. Whenever Romanoff asked what would happen to Barton after Loki had conquered Earth, Loki questioned Romanoff's feelings asking if it was love. Romanoff made it clear that she owed Barton a debt and she told Loki about her history with Barton.

Romanoff decided to pretend to break down her barriers to Loki so he would reveal his plans. Loki then began to taunt Romanoff telling her about her history which Barton had told him about. Loki then told Romanoff that he would force Barton to kill Romanoff but he ended up revealing that he planned on unleashing Banner's monstrous alter-ego, Hulk. Romanoff then warned S.H.I.E.L.D. about Loki's plan and went to escort Banner to his room.

Loki's Manipulation
"Loki is manipulating you." "And you've been doing what exactly?" "You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." "And I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy."

- Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner

After figuring out Loki's plan to unleash Hulk, Romanoff made her way to the lab Bruce Banner was working in to escort him. An arguement then broke out between the Avengers due to the effects of the Mind Stone. Romanoff stayed silent for most of the time except when she tried to escort Banner to his cell. While the group argued, Clint Barton, under the control of Loki, fired an explosive arrow onto the Helicarrier which blew up the lab throwing Romanoff and Banner into another room.

Attack on the Helicarrier
"Doctor Banner... Bruce, you gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay. Listen to me. We're gonna be okay, right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this! You will walk away, and never..." "YOUR LIFE...?"

- Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner

After being thrown from the lab due tomorrow an explosion, Romanoff found herself trapped with Banner transforming into Hulk. Romanoff attempted to calm Banner down, but he was too angry. Romanoff saw two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents coming to help, but she told them to leave, knowing they would be in danger. As Romanoff tried to free herself, she witnessed as Banner transformed into Hulk, leaving Romanoff horrified. Romanoff eventually freed herself and attempted to escape from Hulk. Filled with rage, Hulk chased after Romanoff and nearly killed her. Romanoff tried to hide from Hulk but she could not escape from him. Romanoff attempted to fend herself off from Hulk and barely did causing her to try to run away from Hulk. Hulk managed to outrun Romanoff and threw her aside, knocking her out. As Hulk went to kill Romanoff, Thor charged into Hulk saving Romanoff. After waking up, Romanoff was forced to take on Clint Barton who was under Loki's control. Barton was walking down the Helicarrier when he was confronted by Romanoff who snuck up behind him in an attempt to disarm him. The two old friends had a prolonged fight using her combat skills, Romanoff was able to fight Barton and defend herself from his attacks with his bow and arrows and knife. When the fight got dirtier, Romanoff used her teeth to disarm Barton. Barton used all his top level training to kill his former friend, including firing several arrows at her, although Romanoff was able to dodge them, as well as attempting to drive a knife into her neck while pulling her hair back. In the end Barton was no match for Romanoff's speed and quick-thinking and eventually she got the upper hand, disarming him and slammed Barton's head onto a steel pipe. The blow weakened Loki's grip on Barton's mind and he recognised Romanoff, calling her by her first name before she knocked him out with a final strong punch to the head, breaking his connection to Loki and restoring his mind. Romanoff watched as Barton was taken away by a S.H.I.E.L.D. team to be distrained.

Clint Barton's Recovery
"Do you know what it's like to be unmade?" "You know I do."

- Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff

After Romanoff defeated Clint Barton, he was arrested and tied down until it was certain that Loki's control was gone and he was no longer a threat. Romanoff looked after Barton in the recovery room, listening to him as he described the experience, which he compared to being unmade, which Romanoff understood from past experiences. Despite him asking, Romanoff refused to tell Barton how many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents he had killed, telling him that Loki and Loki alone was responsible for the killings and he must not blame himself. When Captain America arrived to ask Romanoff if she could pilot a Quinjet, Barton told him he could. After Romanoff gave him the nod of approval, Rogers allowed Barton to join them on the mission.

Battle of New York
"Just like Budapest, all over again." "You and I remember Budapest very differently."

- Black Widow and Hawkeye

Black Widow was prepared to fight Loki beside the other Avengers and his Chitauri army, though being a spy and not a soldier. Hawkeye flew her and Captain America into New York in a Quinjet where the portal had already opened over the city, allowing thousands of aliens to enter and attack. Loki managed to shoot the Quinjet out of the sky and the team fought the extraterrestrials on the ground. Alongside Hawkeye, Black Widow fought the oncoming horde of Chitauri soldiers until the rest of the Avengers arrived. Black Widow used all her skills and weapons to defeat the Chitauri army while the civilians all clear out. While Black Widow and Hawkeye fight the Chitauri, she reminded him that the situation of being similar to a mission they took place in Budapest, which Hawkeye told Black Widow that he remembered Budapest differently. When the others arrived, Captain America ordered that Black Widow and he would stay on the street to protect the people and keep the fight where they could control it. She and Captain America fought hard; She used her Black Widow's Bite and guns to kill dozens of Chitauri soldiers. However, the fight was almost too exhausting for her.

Closing the Portal
"Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we can't close that portal." "Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." "Well maybe it's not about guns."

- Black Widow and Captain America

After a while the plan of keeping the fight contained proved meaningless; she decided to obtain one of the Chitauri Chariots and fly it to Stark Tower. On the way she was chased by Loki and called on Hawkeye to shoot him out of the sky. She eventually made it to Stark Tower where the portal to their domain was open and met Erik Selvig, who had come out of the mind control. Together, using Loki's scepter, they closed the portal for good, ending the invasion.

Later, the team took a breather at the Shawarma Palace. They were interrupted by War Machine, who arrived too late to help in the battle. The Avengers gathered together in Central Park the next day to send Thor back to Asgard with Loki and the Tesseract. While Loki was in chains, Romanoff whispered something in Barton's ear about Loki's punishment, causing Barton to grin. When the team went their separate ways, Romanoff left with Barton in a S.H.I.E.L.D. car.

Zodiac
"A lie, yes... but well intentioned."

- Natasha Romanoff

After participating in the Battle of New York, Romanoff became partners with Captain America and they ran many operations together. One such operation occurred upon the theft of the Zodiac weapon from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Romanoff infiltrated the terrorist cell of a man named "Baker" using the alias "Audrey". Posing as Audrey, she spent several weeks undercover determining what Baker's plan for Zodiac was.

Upon discovering Baker's plan to release the Zodiac in the Willis Tower in Chicago during the height of the day, killing all within, Romanoff alerted Captain America.

Romanoff, Rogers and Agent Brock Rumlow confronted Baker's cell in the Skydeck of Willis Tower, and after a brief combat, subdued the terrorists, and recovered the Zodiac.

Brooklyn
"My work for S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken me all over the world...and that is, without a doubt, not just the best milk shake in Brooklyn...but on the whole darn planet."

- Natasha Romanoff to Steve Rogers

After receiving intel that Nobel prize winning scientist Sana Amanat was going to be abducted. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury dispatched Romanoff and Steve Rogers to Rogers' old Brooklyn neighborhood on protection detail.

Under the guise of Rogers showing Romanoff the places that he grew up, they managed to draw out the Cadre mercenaries that had set up in multiple locations throughout the neighborhood. Tracing the mercenary that had abducted Amanat through a maze of alleyways, Cap succeeded in taking out the last mercenary with a little help from Amanat herself.

Picking up Rogers
"Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."

- Natasha Romanoff

Romanoff drove down to Washington, D.C. where she would pick up Steve Rogers who was talking with Sam Wilson. Romanoff sent Rogers a text to meet her as they had a mission and drove up to the two. As Rogers made his way in the car, Romanoff joked about his age by calling him a fossil. The two then drove away to meet up with the STRIKE team.

Fighting the Pirates
"Doing anything fun Saturday night?" "Well, all the guys in my barbershop quartet are dead, so no, not really."

- Black Widow and Captain America

Romanoff and Rogers were sent with the STRIKE team to liberate the Lemurian Star, the S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel in the Indian Ocean that was highjacked by pirates led by Georges Batroc. As the team got ready to land, Romanoff and Rogers chatted about Saturday night plans which Rogers had none. She also tried to get Rogers to ask a woman out but he claimed he was too busy as he jumped out of the Quinjet without a parachute. As the Rogers and the rest of STRIKE team went to rescue the hostages, Romanoff suggested that he ask out the nurse across the hall from him and proceeded to the engine room. As Georges Batroc ordered a pirate to start the engines, Romanoff stuck up behind him a knocked him out as well as shorting several other pirates as she grappled down the boat. Rogers asked Romanoff for her status as she was in the middle of a fight with a few pirates in the engine room. She secured the room and knocked out the final pirates with a blow to the face with a steel pipe.

When Rogers knocked out Batroc, he discovered Romanoff's real mission was to retrieve confidential protected S.H.I.E.L.D. files in a flash drive. As the two argued about the mission, Batroc threw a grenade at them which Rogers knocked away and Romanoff shot the glass and the two jumped through the window, just getting clear of the blast. Romanoff took responsibility for Batroc getting away and the two made their way to the Quinjet.

On the Run from S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years." "So he's a ghost story."

- Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers talking about the Winter Soldier

Romanoff met up with Rogers at the hospital and witnessed Nick Fury being operated on. Romanoff asked Rogers about the shooter as Maria Hill joined them telling the two the ballistics were untraceable. The three then watched as the doctors attempted to revive Fury but were failing leaving Romanoff devastated as she watched Fury "die". Romanoff said her goodbyes to Fury when Hill told them that she needed to take Fury. Romanoff then asked Rogers why Fury was in his apartment the night he was shot which he told her he didn't know but Romanoff could tell that he was lying.

After Rogers was made a fugitive, he went back to the hospital to retrieve the USB he left in a vending machine behind pieces of gum only to find it was gone. Romanoff then stood behind Rogers chewing gum implying she took the USB. Rogers questioned Romanoff about the USB's location and what was on it which she told him that it was safe and that she didn't know what was on it. She then told him the masked man who killed Fury was a spy known as the Winter Soldier and she had encountered him once before.

Romanoff followed Rogers and they went to an internet cafe to see if there was any valuable information on the drive. But they, as Fury did, found nothing. However, they did find the location where the USB could be unlocked. Brock Rumlow and his team attempted to find them but failed to do so. On the way out Romanoff made Rogers kiss her to make oncoming STRIKE agents avert their gaze. They stole a car and drove to Camp Lehigh, the army camp where Rogers had trained during World War II. There, they found a secret storage room full of old computers inside an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. office. In there they found a more modern looking USB slot and they put the USB in. The computers powered up and someone began to talk to them. The voice turned out to be Arnim Zola, who told them that he was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. after World War II and that he helped to rebuild HYDRA, inside S.H.I.E.L.D. In the 1970s, after being told he would soon die, he transferred his mind into a computer. He had been working on an algorithm that HYDRA wanted. He told them that some of the deaths of S.H.I.E.L.D leaders had been due to HYDRA, showing them a picture of Howard Stark, implying that his death might not have been an accident. Romanoff learned Zola was also involved in the Winter Soldier program. But before Rogers and Romanoff could get any more information out of Zola, S.H.I.E.L.D stormed in and blew up the base. They both survive the blast, however Romanoff is knocked out cold. The following day, they travelled back to D.C. and sought refuge with Sam Wilson.

They went back to Washington, D.C. and interrogated Agent Jasper Sitwell who was a HYDRA agent. Sitwell told them that HYDRA was going to use Project Insight as a weapon to eliminate what they saw as threats against the world.

Return of the Winter Soldier
"We have to stop the launch." "I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore."

- Natasha Romanoff and Nick Fury

Romanoff, Captain America and Falcon attempted to infiltrate the Triskelion but were attacked by the Winter Soldier and his men. The Winter Soldier successfully crashed their car and threw both Captain America and Romanoff off the bridge; Romanoff began to shoot at the Winter Soldier and fled. A battle broke out and Romanoff fought the Winter Soldier in hand to hand combat; although she was able to use her skills as a former spy to use deception and gadgets to gain the upper hand against her opponent she was shot in the shoulder. Captain America saved her and fought the Winter Soldier himself until he got away. Eventually, Rogers, Black Widow and Falcon were taken into custody, but were rescued by Maria Hill. Agent Hill took them to a secret facility where an alive Nick Fury shocked Romanoff. Hill and Fury revealed that there was a plan in place to stop Project Insight. To stop Project Insight, Romanoff used a Photostatic Veil to disguise herself as Councilwoman Hawley, a World Security Council member. After Captain America revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised, the council was held by STRIKE until she took them down. She then proceeded to dump all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files on the internet, pausing only to summon Nick Fury, to help her get around the encryption on the files. She then picked up Falcon in a helicopter after his fight with HYDRA infiltrator, Brock Rumlow.

A New Start
"You need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes we help make it that way, but we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me."

- Natasha Romanoff to Wenham

Natasha Romanoff was present at a government inquiry into the HYDRA affair. At the inquiry Romanoff stated that her and the other agents that fought against HYDRA in the HYDRA Uprising would not be arrested because they are the best qualified to protect the world. Now that her secrets were revealed to the world, she needed a new identity.

One Last Favor
"That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev. Will you do me a favor? Call that nurse." "She's not a nurse." "And you're not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

- Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers

At the personal request of Captain America, Romanoff had contacted some of her acquaintances in Kiev who sent her an old Russian top secret document about the Winter Soldier and his own long history working for HYDRA. Later, she stopped by Nick Fury's fake grave to give the document to Rogers and kissed him goodbye. A few months later, after Phil Coulson's reorganization of S.H.I.E.L.D., Romanoff was called by Agent Melinda May to discuss the secret of Coulson's survival.

Fighting HYDRA
"Thank you for choosing air Widow. We hope you've enjoyed your flight."

- Black Widow

With the rising threat of HYDRA, the Avengers team was officially reassembled, with the financial backing of Tony Stark. Using the former Stark Tower, now renamed Avengers Tower, as their headquarters, they embarked on several missions to thwart HYDRA's plans for world domination.

Romanoff was in Sudan when she hijacked a plane carrying HYDRA operatives meeting with Doctor Jensen who had perfected a weapon using Chitauri technology. Finding a platoon of armed soldiers there, Romanoff had J.A.R.V.I.S. assemble the Avengers to provide her with assistance. Ultimately, the Avengers and Romanoff defeated HYDRA and Jensen and destroyed her weapon.

Attack on the HYDRA Research Base
"Loki’s Scepter must be here. Strucker couldn’t mount this defense without it. At long last." "At long last is lasting a little long, boys."

- Thor and Black Widow

Their next mission together was to recapture the Scepter from Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's HYDRA Base. Romanoff stole a jeep so she and Hawkeye could keep up with the rest of the Avengers as they fought HYDRA soldiers. Romanoff crashed the jeep and pursued to fight on foot using her skills and weapons to kill many HYDRA soldiers. When Thor pointed out that the Scepter must be at the base at long last, Romanoff said that the long last was lasting a little long. When Hawkeye was injured, Romanoff immediately went to aid and told the others that they needed to evacuate. When the battle was won, Romanoff watched as the remaining HYDRA soldiers were being apprehended by the Iron Legion. Captain America told Romanoff to get to Hulk and calm him down. As Romanoff approached Hulk, she took off her gloves and began the lullaby method to calm him down. The lullaby worked and it caused Hulk to calm down and transform back into Bruce Banner. On the way back to Avengers Tower, Romanoff told Banner that the lullaby worked better than ever although he was not expecting the battle to need Hulk. Romanoff then told Banner that if he had not of fought than Barton would of been killed. Romanoff asked Thor for an assessment of Banner's skills on the battlefield; Thor commented on Hulk's violence having resulted in the deaths of dozens of HYDRA soldiers. Seeing that this upset Banner, Thor told him that many of the injuries he inflicted on the soldiers were nonfatal.

Celebration
"How'd a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?" "Fella done me wrong." "You got lousy taste in men, kid." "He's not so bad. Well, he has a temper. Deep down, he's all fluff. Fact is, he's not like anybody I've ever known. All my friends are fighters, and here comes this guy, spends his life avoiding the fight because he knows he'll win."

- Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff

When the Avengers returned from Sokovia, Romanoff stayed by Barton's side while his injured skin was being repaired by Helen Cho using a device called the Cradle. Romanoff asked if her friend was going to be ok and she joked that pretending to need him brought the team together. Banner explained to Romanoff what the Cradle is and Cho mentioned that Barton's girlfriend wouldn't even be able to notice the difference which Barton told her that he did not have a girlfriend, not mentioning his wife which only he and Romanoff knew about. Tony Stark organized a party in Avengers Tower to celebrate their victory against Strucker and obtaining the Scepter. During the Party, Romanoff talked with James Rhodes and bartended for the guests. Romanoff flirted with Bruce Banner, so he would understand that she had feelings for him. Romanoff told Banner about how all her friends are fighters except him as he stays out of the fight as he knows he would win. Before long many of the guests had departed leaving on the Avengers and a few others. As they sat around and drank, Thor invited the Avengers to try and lift Mjølnir. Romanoff watched as the Avengers failed at lifting the hammer and when Bruce Banner's turn came, he pretended to turn into Hulk, which none of the others found funny, except Romanoff. Banner invited Romanoff to attempt to lift Mjølnir but as she drank her beer, she politely declined claiming that it was a question that she didn't need answering.

Attack on Avengers Tower
"I’m ready. I’m on a mission." "What mission?" "Peace in our time."

- Ultron and Natasha Romanoff

The game was interrupted when one of Tony Stark's Iron Legion made a surprise appearance, and after admitting that it was the result of Stark's Ultron Program mixed with his research into the scepter, it and several more like it, attacked the group. Romanoff took cover behind the wet bar and drew a pistol concealed there to help with the fight, interrupted briefly at one point to drag Bruce Banner in after her. However, the attack was a diversion, and one of the robots made off with the scepter while the Avengers and their friends were engaged in battle.

Argument
"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

- Natasha Romanoff

After the brief fight, the team discussed what had occurred. Romanoff said that Ultron had deleted all their files and that he was in the surveillance. She also said that he maybe knew about them more they knew about each other. Tony Stark admitted his involvement in the creation of Ultron, although he still strongly defended the idea as he believed it was a beneficial plan to save the world. Thor, clearly furious at Stark's recklessness, charged in and grabbed Stark by the throat, but Steve Rogers was able to calm him down.

The team later learned that Ultron had sent them a message by murdering Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and leaving the word PEACE written in his blood. Together they worked out that Ultron would be going after Vibranium and he would get that from Ulysses Klaue in Johannesburg.

Battle at the Salvage Yard
"Natasha, I could really use a lullaby." "Well, that’s not gonna happen. Not for a while."

- Iron Man and Hawkeye

When reports of robots attacking sources of Vibranium began surfacing, the Avengers raced to a coastal scrapyard in Africa, where they found Ultron, along with Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, taking the Vibranium. As Iron Man, Captain America and Thor confronted Ultron directly, Black Widow and Hawkeye stayed further back to provide cover. As peaceful negotiations quickly failed, Ultron and the Maximoffs attacked, at the same time Klaue sent his soldiers to attack the Avengers.

Black Widow took down most of Klaue's soldiers to protect the rest of the Avengers from attack as they took down the Ultron Sentries. Black Widow held her ground for a while and managed to take down all of Klaue's soldiers along with Hawkeye. As their battle neared its end, Romanoff found herself incapacitated by Wanda's power to instill nightmare visions. She languished in a scene from her past while the fight carried on around her and the enemy made their escape.

Seeing Visions
"You'll break them." "Only the breakable ones. You're made of marble. We'll celebrate after the graduation ceremony." "What if I fail?" "You never fail."

- Natasha Romanoff and Madame B.

In the vision that Wanda had inflicted upon Romanoff, she woke up and relived experiences in the Red Room Academy the place she had grown up in and was trained to be an assassin. Romanoff walked down the stairs where she came across Madame B., her former trainer, who commented on Romanoff not being breakable and told her that they will celebrate after the graduation ceremony. Romanoff displayed worry of failing but Madame B. assured her she wouldn't. Romanoff then shot at a few targets followed by a human who she the executed.

Romanoff proceeded to relive her experiences during her graduation doing some training where she was holding back so she wouldn't have to go through the ceremony. Madame B. made it clear that the ceremony was necessary in order for Romanoff to take her place in the world, which she believed she didn't have. Romanoff was then sterilized, as to avoid any distractions and focus solely on her missions.

As half of the Avengers were suffering from Wanda Maximoff's nightmares, Iron Man was chasing after Hulk, who had also fallen victim to Wanda's powers and was on a rampage. Iron Man requested Romanoff to give Hulk his lalaby method to calm him down, but Hawkeye informed him that she was not going to be able to help him as she was disoriented by the visions. As the Avengers retreated in the Quinjet, Romanoff, along with Steve Rogers, Thor and Bruce Banner remained temporarily scarred by what they saw in the visions.

Retreat
"I had this, um, dream. The kind that seems normal at the time, but when you wake…" "What did you dream?" "That I was an Avenger. That I was anything more than the assassin they made me."

- Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner

Still haunted by the ghosts of her past, Romanoff had a welcome respite when Clint Barton took the group to his farm, and the laughter of his two children welcoming their "Aunty Natasha" helped to wash away her troubles. She also had time to speak privately with Banner and discuss their feelings for each other, even suggesting that they could depart together, but Banner was quick to point out that there was nowhere that she could be safe with him. Nick Fury also arrived at the farm and spoke with the group at length about stopping Ultron.

Battle of Seoul
"Am I always picking after you boys?"

- Black Widow

After Banner made the observation that Ultron was trying to evolve, the remaining Avengers split into two groups, with Black Widow joining Captain America and Hawkeye in a bid to stop Ultron obtaining cellular regeneration technology in South Korea. The trio raced for their objective, and found that Ultron's plan to create a new android body for itself were already well underway, but the Avengers' arrival caused it to grab the body and flee. Hawkeye located Ultron escaping in a truck trailer in heavy traffic, and when a window of opportunity presented itself, Romanoff dropped to the streets on a motorcycle to pursue it herself. She and Rogers managed to jointly fend off a number of Ultron Sentries, and although Romanoff was successful in delivering the dormant android to Hawkeye, she was captured and knocked out by Ultron shortly thereafter.

Kidnapped and Rescue
"You’re not going to turn green?" "I’ve got a compelling reason not to lose my cool." "I adore you. But I need the other guy."

- Black Widow and Bruce Banner

When she awoke, Romanoff found that she had been transported back to Sokovia, where Ultron made a show of demonstrating his latest upgrade before confining her to a cell. She turned to using an old Cold War-era communication technique in a bid to expose her location without being detected, but could do little else but sit and wait.

Hawkeye eventually received her signal, and she was treated to the welcome sight of Bruce Banner sneaking in alone to free her while the other Avengers and their new members made a show of confronting Ultron outside. Romanoff forced Banner's transformation into Hulk by pushing him down a well, and they too joined the fight to stop the A.I.

Battle of Sokovia
"Well, it's not like we ever had a place in the world..."

- Black Widow

Black Widow regrouped with Captain America and asked if Scarlet Witch was wearing her jacket. Captain America informed her that she was with them which didn't explain the jacket to her. Rogers told them that fighting the robots was getting the nowhere, Hawkeye joined the group and told them that the air is getting thin. Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye left and Black Widow asked Rogers what do they do. He told her they fight robots as she took out her Batons. The Avengers fought hard to break the ranks of Ultron Sentries in Novi Grad. Black Widow used her martial arts mastery and weapons, along with her new taser batons, to fight the robots alongside her fellow teammates.

Reinforcements
"I’m not leaving this rock with one civilian on it." "I didn’t say we should leave. There’s worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?" "Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It’s about to get better."

- Captain America, Black Widow and Nick Fury

When Iron Man told Captain America that his only solution to save the world from Novi Grad being smashed into it was to destroy Novi Grad itself, Rogers refused to entertain the idea. Black Widow however, tried to persuade Steve to consider the option as the world's population would logically take precedence over the people of Novi Grad. When Rogers declared he wouldn't leave Novi Grad and its people to their fate, Black Widow told him that she never intended for them to leave and that they would die with the people of Novi Grad if needed. She reassured herself and Steve that there are worse ways to die and that at least she'd die seeing a great view. Nick Fury interrupted their conversation by saying that Romanoff's view was about to get a lot better. Fury revealed his Helicarrier and used it to enact Rogers' plan and evacuate the civilians while War Machine joined the battle. Fury sent out a squad of rescue boats to evacuate the citizens while Black Widow and the Avengers ensured no one was left behind.

Protecting the Key
"Romanoff? You and Banner better not be playing hide the zucchini." "Relax, Shell-head. Not all of us can fly."

- Iron Man and Black Widow

Iron Man then came up with a plan to dispose of Novi Grad and called all the Avengers to the city church where the drill was located. Iron Man jokingly told Black Widow that she and Hulk better not be playing "hide the zucchini". Black Widow retorted that she was en route slower since she could not fly as she used a bulldozer to run over Ultron Sentries. The Avengers were tasked with protecting the drill in the church known as the key so that Ultron could not activate it. Ultron unleashed his army of Ultron Sentries upon them in a final offensive. Black Widow and the Avengers put all their force into destroying the seemingly endless horde of Ultron Sentries, with Black Widow using her guns and Black Widow's Bite to destroy many of the robots. After a vicious battle, the Ultron Sentries were eventually pushed back. When Ultron attempted to join the fight in his strongest form, the Vision, Iron Man and Thor nearly destroyed him with their combined powers. With the battle almost won, Captain America ordered the team to get to a rescue boat and leave the city before Iron Man and Thor destroyed the city. Black Widow went with Hawkeye and confiscated a car, making small talk about how to renovate Clint Barton's Homestead during their drive.

Losing Banner
"Hey, big guy. We did it, the job’s finished. Now I need you to turn this bird around, okay? We can’t track you in stealth mode, so help me out. I need you t…"

- Black Widow to Hulk

As the battle wound down, Black Widow and Hawkeye turned their attention to evacuating the civilian populace, but soon she received the call to calm Hulk back to his human state. Her calming technique was interrupted by Ultron, who was at the controls of the Avengers' own Quinjet and raked Hulk with gunfire, knocking Natasha unconscious in the process. Hulk grabbed Romanoff and bore her to safety on a newly arrived S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier before leaping after Ultron to vent his rage.

Romanoff soon learned that Hulk had beaten Ultron in the departing Quinjet and appealed to him through a video link to disengage the plane's stealth technology, but Hulk simply severed the connection.

The New Team
"Well, we're not the '27 Yankees'." "We've got some hitters." "They're good; they're not a team." "Let's beat 'em into shape."

- Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff discussing the new roster of Avengers

With the Ultron Offensive finished, Romanoff returned to the New Avengers Facility with the rest of her teammates. With her plan to run away with Banner having failed, and Banner missing in action, she had nothing else but to remain a superhero. She joined Captain America in co-leading the second incarnation of the Avengers, featuring Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Vision and Falcon.

Attack of Ultimo
"...I remember you saying Fury once tasked you with doing a psych evaluation on Tony Stark-" "Ugh. You had to remind me of that. Keep your guard up."

- Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff

HYDRA collected many of the parts of the destroyed Ultron Sentries and took them to an undisclosed location in Eastern Europe, where they used the parts to create a giant robot called Ultimo. HYDRA then used the Ultimo to attack a small village. Romanoff joined the Avengers to an attack on the giant robot and together they manged to destroy Ultimo.

Attack on the IFID Headquarters
"Looking over your shoulder should become second nature." "Anyone ever tell you you're a little paranoid?" "Not to my face. Why, did you hear something?"

- Natasha Romanoff and Falcon

Romanoff was on a mission in Lagos with fellow Avengers Captain America, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon, where they were waiting to ambush Brock Rumlow. Romanoff was sitting at a cafè with Scarlet Witch, observing the area. When Redwing scanned a garbage truck, it was revealed to be at maximum capacity; Romanoff realized that the truck was a battering ram. The team then moved out to the Institute for Infectious Diseases Building where the truck had gone to. As Rumlow escaped the building with his agents, having stolen a dangerous chemical, Romanoff gave chase on a motorcycle. She defeated Rumlow's agents with relative ease, but was grabbed by Rumlow himself, her Black Widow's Bite ineffective against his armored suit. Rumlow threw Romanoff into a truck containing two of his agents, tossing a grenade inside and closing the roof. Romanoff incapactitated the agents and escaped the truck when the grenade blew. Rumlow gave the chemical to one of his agents and ordered them to split up, letting the Avengers chase them around Lagos. While Captain America fought Rumlow, Romanoff and Falcon pursued the agents. Romanoff reached the agents and held them at gunpoint; however, one of them threatened to drop the chemical. Romanoff killed one of the agents as Falcon's Redwing drone killed the other. Romanoff caught the vial before it hit the ground, thanking Falcon as she left the area. Though Falcon insisted that she thank the drone, Romanoff refused. They battle ended with a blast that accidentally caused by Scarlet Witch, which killed several civilians, including Wakandans.

Sokovia Accords
"Maybe Tony is right. If, we have one hand on the wheel that can still steer." "Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss our ass a few years ago.?" "I'm just... monitoring. We have made some very public mistakes."

- Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson

While recovering from the the mission at Lagos, the Avengers were presented with the Sokovia Accords by Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, which would put them under the direct command of a panel of the United Nations. Much to the shock of her comrades, Romanoff agreed with Tony Stark and was willing to agree to the terms of the Accords. She then called Clint Barton and asked if he would sign the Accords, but he claimed he had retired rather than sign. On her way to Vienna, where the Accords would be amended, she stopped at Saint Luke's Cathedral, where Steve Rogers had attended the funeral of Peggy Carter. He asked her who else had signed the Accords, so she replied that Stark, James Rhodes and Vision had all signed. She asked Rogers if he would reconsider his decision to not sign the Accords, saying that the Avengers should stay together regardless of how. He, as she expected, still refused and she admitted she was there as a friend to support him as he mourned the loss of Carter.

Vienna Conference
"I know how much Barnes means to you. I really do. Stay at home. You'll only make this worse for all of us. Please." "Are you saying you'll arrest me?" "No. Someone will, if you interfere."

- Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers

In the conference at Vienna, Romanoff met the prince of Wakanda, T'Challa, who thanked her for supporting the Sokovia Accords. She also met his father, T'Chaka; to him she gave her condolences for the death of the Wakandan citizens in Lagos. During the conference, a bomb was activated, killing T'Chaka. The authorities suspected that Bucky Barnes was responsible for the bombing from security tapes showing the man responsible. Outside the building, Romanoff apologized for T'Challa's loss, and promised him that the task force would catch Barnes, but T'Challa said that he would kill Barnes himself. Steve Rogers called her and asked if she was fine. Romanoff responded positively, and she urged Rogers to stay out of the case with Barnes, or he might make things worse. However, Rogers insisted that he should be the one who to bring Barnes in, since he would not die by trying it. He hung up the phone, and Romanoff knew he went to defend Barnes.

Berlin
"We're seriously understaffed." "Oh, yeah. It would be great if we have a Hulk, right about now. Any shot?" "Do you really think he would be on our side?"

- Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark

Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, T'Challa and Bucky Barnes were captured by the the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, and were brought to the agency headquarter in Berlin. There, Romanoff told Rogers that what he had done had made things worse. During Barnes' psychological assessment, a power failure occurred. Barnes freed himself and tried to escape; however, Romanoff, Tony Stark and Sharon Carter engaged him. Romanoff was strangled by Barnes but T'Challa saved her in the nick of time. However, Barnes escaped, but she and Stark knew Barnes was most likely with Rogers, who, along with Wilson, had also escaped custody. Thaddeus Ross gave Stark 36 hours to bring them in. Stark asked Romanoff if Hulk could assist them, but Romanoff knew that even if he was here, he would probably not be on their side. To get the fugitives in time, Romanoff approached T'Challa to ask for his help, promising she would help him find Barnes.

Clash of the Avengers
"You know what's about to happen. Do you really wanna punch your way out of this?"

- Black Widow to Captain America

Black Widow, along with Iron Man, War Machine, Vision, Black Panther, and Spider-Man confronted Captain America at the airport terminal. She asked Rogers if he wanted to punch his way out of the situation knowing what was about to happen, but he did not surrender. When Falcon found the Quinjet, the rest of Captain America's team ambushed them and the two teams clashed. Black Widow found herself fighting against Ant-Man who was hesetent to hurt her which she told him not to stress about as he didn't stand a chance against her. As the two began to fight fight, Black Widow started to finish him off, but Ant-Man was able to shrink and tried to restrain her. However, Black Widow freed herself by shocking him with her bite causing him to be temporarily knocked out. Later, Captain America threw a fire truck which was also enlarged by Ant-Man's size-altering disk at Iron Man's team which Black Widow successfully avoided. Stark helped her get up and she asked him if fighting was part of his plan, and he responded that he had planned to go easy on Rogers but was now going to change it up.

Fighting Former Comrades
"This isn't going to end well."

- Black Widow

Iron Man then flew Black Widow across to where the rest of Iron Man's team were and the two teams then faced and ran towards each other while Black Widow pointed out that it wasn't going to end well. As the two teams clashed again, Romanoff defeated Ant-Man easily and then proceeded to fight Hawkeye. As the two clashed and he threw her to the ground, she asked if they were still friends in the process which Hawkeye confirmed it by telling her it depended on how hard she hit him. Black Widow then got the upper hand, yet she was knocked out by Scarlet Witch when she saw Hawkeye was pulling his punches. Black Widow then made her way to the hangar to guard the Quinjet. As Rogers and Barnes made it to the hangar, she stood in the way of them and realized that Rogers was never going to stop so she decided to follow her conscience and trust Rogers. She used her Taser Disks to stall Black Panther who was right behind them and was going to apprehend them. Rogers and Barnes escaped the airport in the Quinjet just as Black Panther got free from Black Widow's Bite. As the two watched Rogers Andy Barnes fly away, Black Widow told Black Panther that she had said to him that she would help him to find Barnes and not to catch him.

On the Run
"T'Challa told Ross what you did, so, they're coming for you." "I'm not the one who needs to watch their back."

- Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff

Moments before the end of the Leipzig battle, James Rhodes crashed on the ground due to Vision's misfire. In a hospital, Tony Stark approached Natasha and told her that his spine had been damaged. Stark was disappointed at her for her betrayal, claiming that she was still acting as a double agent. She replied that they hadn't dealt with Steve Rogers rightfully. Stark scoffed at her biases towards Rogers before informing her that T'Challa had told Thaddeus Ross of her betrayal, giving her a halfhearted warning that the government would come to arrest her before denouncing their friendship and commenting that betraying people was the only thing Natasha was good at. Insulted, she told him that she was not the one who needed to watch her back, and ran to go underground.

Personality
"You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is." "Yeah. Who do you want me to be?"

- Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff

The entirety of Romanoff'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. Romanoff 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, Romanoff 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. Romanoff is very smart and loyal which is displayed when she made good on the debts she owed Barton and Rogers (saving the former from Loki's mind control and trying to protect the latter 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 her missions with Steve Rogers. And no matter how injured she is in battle, Romanoff 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 Banner was transforming into Hulk, helping Hawkeye evacuate civilians when the Chitauri attacked Manhattan, and risking her life to make sure innocent people weren't shot by the Winter Soldier when he was chasing her). Her close loyalty to both Rogers and Barton was shown in the Avengers 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 Stark denounced her as a friend and made it clear he would not help her in the future.

Romanoff is also very close with Clint Barton's family, especially with his and Laura Barton's only daughter, Lila, being the only member of Avengers who knew of their existence. Romanoff 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 Romanoff prior to them discovering that it was in fact a boy, thus naming him Nathaniel instead, with Romanoff humorously referring to the unborn child as a "traitor".

Romanoff 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 Banner of the so-called advantages of the procedure.

Abilities
Natasha Romanoff is one of the most talented spies and lethal assassins in the world, being said by her instructor Madame B. to be the best student in the Red Room, never failing a single test. Both the KGB and S.H.I.E.L.D. considered her as one of their most dangerous operatives. Highly skilled in martial arts and hand to hand combat, she also possesses computer hacking skills and training in psychology. Romanoff's extraordinary skill-set has made her a core member of the Avengers, despite not being applied to the initiative. "There's not many people who can sneak up on me."

- Loki

"I could use a boost."
 * Master Spy: Romanoff is a dangerous secret agent highly skilled in espionage, stealth, disguise, infiltration, and demolitions. Her talents and years of experience have enabled her to reach a high ranking as a special agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. She often resorts to seduce men to obtain her goals while working undercover, such as when she posed as an assistant to evaluate Tony Stark for the Avengers Initiative. Romanoff's skills are so legendary that Nick Fury created a Lie Detector that he hoped she could not deceive.
 * Master Martial Artist: Natasha is arguably to be one of the best fighters in the world. Romanoff is extremely skilled in the field of martial arts, having mastered arts such as, , , , , and multiple styles of . She has easily taken down many enemies, such as dozens of Hammer Industries security guards, Georges Batroc's armed pirates, several members of STRIKE, dozens of Ultron Sentries, and even the hordes of Chitauri aliens. She is skilled enough to be able to defeat a mind-controlled Hawkeye, maintain the upper hand against Ant-Man, and even hold her own against the much stronger Winter Soldier, though he was able to bring her down in the end.

- Black Widow

"You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers."
 * Master Acrobat: Romanoff incorporates gymnastics and acrobatics into her fighting style as she battles opponents. During her fight within Hammer Industries Headquarters, Romanoff used these skills to defeat the guards. During the Chitauri Invasion, she got to ride a Chitauri Chariot by using her acrobatics to commandeer it.

- Loki

"Thank you for your cooperation."
 * Master Assassin: Romanoff is very skilled in the art of assassination, considered to be one of the most dangerous assassins in the world. She is known to have killed many people during her time serving the KGB and S.H.I.E.L.D..
 * Expert Marksman: Romanoff is a very accurate marksman skilled in sharpshooting. During a battle in Washington, D.C., Romanoff would have shot the Winter Soldier through his eye if he had not been wearing protective goggles. She was also able to throw a ring directly inside a hatchet in the Winter Soldier's metal arm.
 * Multilingualism: Romanoff is fluent in Latin, Russian, English, French, German, Chinese, and various other languages.
 * Gifted Intellect: Romanoff's intellect seemingly puts her on par with Steve Rogers and Clint Barton. She possesses the ability to quickly process multiple information streams (e.g., threat assessment) and rapidly respond to changing tactical situations.

- Black Widow after tricking Loki

"The person who wrote this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly."
 * Master Interrogator: Romanoff was able to trick Loki into telling her about his plan to use Hulk against the Helicarrier to bust him out of his cell. She was able to do a "reverse interrogation"; while she seemed to be in danger, in truth, she was getting all the information she wanted to know.

- Black Widow


 * Expert Hacker: Romanoff can hack into most computer systems without tripping any firewalls or security. She used this talent to hack into Hammer Industries mainframe and help James Rhodes regain control of the War Machine Armor and enabled him to help Stark fight the rest of the attacking Hammer drones, and again to access the location of Camp Lehigh from the USB Steve Rogers received from Nick Fury.
 * Pilot: Romanoff is a skilled pilot, capable of flying a Quinjet with ease.

Weapons

 * Black Widow's Bite: Electroshock weapon that can deliver powerful electrical discharges from two bracelets worn by Black Widow.
 * Black Widow's Batons: Electroshock weapons that can deliver powerful electrical shocks to incapacitate her targets.
 * : During her training with the Red Room, Romanoff trained with this gun, shooting it in quick succession while alternating her shooting arm, and being forced to use it against living targets.
 * : Natasha Romanoff's original weapon of choice. She carried it when she went to stop Ivan Vanko at Hammer Industries Headquarters, but chose not to use it against the security guards inside the complex.
 * : Romanoff took a Heckler & Koch USP Compact from one of the guards at Hammer Industries Headquarters. She dual-wielded it along with her Walther PPK/S when she stormed inside the room were Ivan Vanko was supposed to be, only to find it empty.
 * : Romanoff replaced the Walther PPK/S for a pair of Glock 26 handguns as her weapon of choice. She had one of them concealed in the abandoned house in India where she staged a meeting with Bruce Banner, and then used both her firearms shortly after to fight the Chitauri army during the Battle of New York. Romanoff continued to used them during her missions with S.H.I.E.L.D., killing some of Georges Batroc's pirates when she joined a mission to rescue the Lemurian Star, and during a shootout against the Winter Soldier in Washington, D.C., managing to hit him in the face and forcing the Soldier to remove his googles. During the Battle of Sokovia, Romanoff resorted to the use of her handguns to shoot point-blank some of the Ultron Sentries.
 * : The Glock 19 pistol is the standard sidearm carried by STRIKE. Romanoff was able to obtain one of them when she posed as Councilwoman Hawley inside the Triskelion, using it to threaten Alexander Pierce. She also retrieved one of these guns hidden in the bar of Avengers Tower, in order to shoot at the Iron Legion drones hijacked by Ultron.
 * ' with a ': A fully automatic carbine and the standard weapon used by S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team members, outfitted with a grenade launcher. Romanoff took the weapon that the Winter Soldier had been using and shot a grenade, making him escape before he could kill Steve Rogers in Washington, D.C.
 * Chitauri Staff: Romanoff took one of the staves used by the Chitauri army when they invaded New York City and effectively used it against them as both a ranged and melee weapon.

Uniform

 * S.H.I.E.L.D. Uniform: Black Widow's first uniform was a bluish-black catsuit. It zipped up the front and had fingerless gloves with a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the shoulders. It had two belts one of which had a red hourglass symbol on it and the other had lots of different pouches. It also had a thigh holster.
 * Avengers Uniform: Her second uniform was a slightly modified version of her earlier one. It was now grey and seems to be made out of a different material. The red hourglass was brighter and the belts were slightly different. The only major difference was the inclusion of built in wrist tasers.
 * Stealth Uniform: Her third uniform was worn while working on S.H.I.E.L.D. missions with Captain America. Her uniform became black with gray webbing, a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on her right shoulder and her trademark red hourglass over her stomach. It also features her Widow's Bite, a utility belt, and two thigh holsters.
 * The Fourth Uniform: The fourth uniform worn by Black Widow was similar to her second. She wore a black suit with black padding at the shoulders, knees, and elbows. Her suit also contained a more powerful version of her Black Widow's Bite which when used caused piping on the suit to light up. She also wore a thigh-holster on her left leg.
 * The Fifth Uniform: The fifth uniform is much sleeker then the previous version. Her suit is not leather, but a more tactical stretch cordura rather than the usual printed stretch fabrics used, although there is some of that in strategic places for mobility. Has a more cat-suit feel to it, closer to to the comics.

Other Equipment

 * Taser Disks: Romanoff used two Taser Disks aimed at the feet of one the security guards at Hammer Industries Headquarters, paralyzing his legs to temporarily disable him.
 * Flash Bombs: Romanoff used two of these Flash Bombs to blind some of the security guards at Hammer Industries Headquarters, easily dispatching them afterwards.
 * Garrote: Romanoff carried a garrote inside one of her bracelets, using it to deflect the blows of one of the security guards at Hammer Industries Headquarters, and later to strangle him until he lost consciousness.
 * : Romanoff took one of the pepper sprays carried by Hammer Industries security guards, and used to dispatch the last guard before attempting to arrest Ivan Vanko.
 * Miniaturized Smoke Grenades
 * Glider Harness
 * Grappling Hook Gun
 * Photostatic Veil: Romanoff used a Photostatic Veil in order to disguise herself as Councilwoman Hawley and stop Project Insight.

Allies

 * S.H.I.E.L.D. (First Incarnation) - Former Employers
 * Nick Fury - Former Director
 * Maria Hill - Former Deputy Director
 * Phil Coulson - Former Colleague
 * Melinda May - Former Colleague
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Good Friend, Former Colleague and Partner
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Best Friend, Former Colleague and Partner
 * Sharon Carter - Former Colleague
 * Lillian - Former Colleague
 * Kristen - Former Colleague
 * Stark Industries
 * Pepper Potts - Former Boss (as Natalie Rushman)
 * Happy Hogan - Former Co-worker (as Natalie Rushman)
 * Avengers - Former Teammates
 * Iron Man's Team
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man
 * James Rhodes/War Machine
 * Vision
 * Captain America's Team - Former Teamates and Temporary Enemies
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Former Team Leader, Good Friend and Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Partner
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Best Friend and Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague and Former Partner
 * Sam Wilson/Falcon - Friend and Former Teammate
 * Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch - Enemy and Enthraller turned Teammate
 * Bruce Banner/Hulk - Love Interest and Former Teammate
 * Thor - Former Teammate
 * Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver † - Enemy turned Teammate
 * Vera Brezneva
 * Erik Selvig
 * Helen Cho
 * Barton Family - Aunt-Like Relationship to the Children
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Best Friend, Former Colleague and Former Partner
 * Laura Barton - Close Friend
 * Lila Barton
 * Cooper Barton
 * Nathaniel Barton
 * Red Room
 * Madame B. - Mentor
 * Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier - Longtime Enemy (while under HYDRA control) turned Situational Ally
 * Peter Parker/Spider-Man
 * T'Chaka †
 * Joint Counter Terrorist Centre
 * Everett Ross

Enemies

 * Justin Hammer
 * Ivan Vanko/Whiplash †
 * Emil Blonsky/Abomination
 * Samuel Sterns
 * Mikhail Fjodorov †
 * General Starodoub
 * Chuzhoi
 * Rogusskii
 * Georgi Luchkov
 * Loki
 * Chitauri
 * Baker
 * Georges Batroc
 * Ten Rings
 * Sofia † - Former Fan
 * Richard Frampton †
 * HYDRA
 * Alexander Pierce † - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Superior
 * STRIKE
 * Jack Rollins - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague
 * Jasper Sitwell † - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague
 * Ultron †
 * Ultron Sentries †
 * Brock Rumlow/Crossbones † - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague
 * Thaddeus Ross - Ally turned Enemy
 * Scott Lang/Ant-Man
 * T'Challa/Black Panther - Ally turned Traitor

Trivia
"Oh, looks like I'll be able to make my date with Ms. Romanoff after all."

- Iron Man


 * In the comics, Black Widow is the product of a Soviet Super Soldier experiment, and has had relationships with both Bucky Barnes and Daredevil.
 * In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Widow wore a necklace with an arrow pendant as a symbol of her friendship with Hawkeye.
 * Black Widow shares her birthday with her actress, Scarlett Johansson.
 * Black Widow is mentioned in the non-canon video game Iron Man. While battling Maggia forces in Afghanistan, Tony Stark comments that he may be able to make it for his date with Ms. Romanoff after all.
 * Black Widow has had a different hairstyle in each of her film appearances so far, one per movie.
 * According to Sam Koenig, Black Widow is the subject to a large amount of "steamy" internet FanFiction. Some even alongside Quake their relationship being informally called Quack.

Behind the Scenes

 * Scarlett Johansson was pregnant during the filming of Avengers: Age of Ultron, so many of her scenes were scheduled early in filming before she began to show. To help hide her pregnancy later in filming, three stunt doubles were hired. This caused a lot of confusion among the other actors since, according to them, all of the stunt women looked very similar to Johansson. Chris Evans stated that it got to the point where he would say hello and start a conversation with one of them, only to realize that the person he was talking to was not Johansson. Ultimately, some scenes used CGI to hide Johansson's pregnancy.
 * The role of Black Widow was originally offered to  but she turned it down.