- "You won't win. Not against me. Not against S.H.I.E.L.D."
- ―Black Widow to Yellowjacket[src]
The Assassination of Natasha Romanoff was a murder of Natasha Romanoff carried out by Yellowjacket to disrupt the Avengers Initiative.
Background[]
- "You took everything from me. I wanted you to hurt. To witness everything you've ever worked for... fought for... hoped for... die."
- ―Yellowjacket[src]
Following the steps of her mother, Hope van Dyne joined S.H.I.E.L.D., however, she was killed during a mission in Odesa. Blinded by grief and rage, Hank Pym blamed S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury in van Dyne's death and swore revenge. Using his old S.H.I.E.L.D. clearance, Pym found out that Fury started the Avengers Initiative to put together a group of remarkable individuals. Armed with the Yellowjacket Suit, Pym took it upon himself to ruin everything Fury wanted to build by killing any candidate for the Initiative.
Tony Stark is killed by Yellowjacket
Using the ampule with the Lithium Dioxide, Pym managed to kill Tony Stark, making it look like Black Widow did it. When S.H.I.E.L.D. apprehended Black Widow, she escaped from the agents to find the true culprit behind Stark's murder, as Fury ordered her. Romanoff arrived to the Culver University where she approached Betty Ross, asking her for help. Ross ran some tests on the antidote ampule but could not find any trace of foreign substances but noted that the antidote did not enter Stark's body at the moment of his death. She told Romanoff that whatever was the cause of Stark's death, it was not biological, as the tip had been shattered by a tiny object.
Hulk is killed by Yellowjacket
Romanoff was later informed by Fury that the murderer is targeting the Avengers Initiative candidates, as Clint Barton was killed as well, and Bruce Banner. Romanoff found Banner hiding at the university and told him that they need to run away before the murderer finds them. However, the US military led by Thaddeus Ross confronts them. During the battle with the military, Yellowjacket killed Hulk using the Pym Particle Disc.[1]
Assassination[]
Natasha Romanoff looks through files in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database
- "Fury, it's Hope! It's all about Hope!"
- ―Natasha Romanoff[src]
In the wake of Bruce Banner's death, Black Widow hid at Manassas Public Library to investigate the murders. After getting access to the Avengers Initiative files in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database from Phil Coulson, Romanoff discovered that Hope van Dyne accessed the files the last day, despite being dead for two years. After checking through the files, Romanoff figured out that Hank Pym was behind the murders.
Natasha Romanoff moments before being killed by Yellowjacket
Romanoff tried to contact Nick Fury about Pym but she noticed that she was not alone at the library, so she prepared for a fight with Pym. Being of small size at night, Romanoff could not see him to land a hit or fend off his attacks. Using his strength and the shrunken state, Yellowjacket quickly overwhelmed her by hitting her against the walls and the ceiling. Finally she tried to reach for her phone as it connected to Fury's voice message, screaming "Hope. It's all about Hope." before being dragged off into the shadows, and was killed by Pym.[1]
Aftermath[]
During the investigation, Nick Fury received a message from Natasha Romanoff before she was killed. Fury managed to deduce that she meant Hope van Dyne, and all assassinations were carried out by Hank Pym who wanted to avenge the death of his daughter. Disguising himself as Fury, Loki confronts Pym at van Dyne's grave, making him admit to killing Thor and other Avengers Initiative candidates.
Loki defeated Pym and ordered the Einherjar to take him into custody for killing Thor. However, Loki then turned against Fury and ordered his army to conquer Earth for him, and since there was no Avengers to stop him, he succeeded.[1]