*Natalia Romanova was Born in Stalingrad in 1928. Just an ordinary girl with talent for dancing. When the Nazi's attacked Stalingrad in 1942, her home was destroyed and her father died.
*Rescued from her burning home by a Russian soilder (named Ivan Petrovitch) who would become her foster father and one of her most trusted confidantes.
*Two years later, she was kidnapped by Baron Von Strucker (along with other talented young ballerinas) to bring to Madripoor, to be trained by The Hand as assassins. Fortunately she was rescued by Ivan, Captain America, and a man named James Howlett, who she would encounter several more times over the years.
*Despite this incident, Natasha managed a normal life for a few years, gaining some fame as a ballerina. She married a famous test pilot by the name of Alexi Shostakov. Her life was about to take a drastic turn, however.
*KGB agents had been observing the couple, and decided they would make excellent agents. They approached Alexi first, and persuaded him join... this included faking his death (during an experimental rocket test flight), and then becoming the Red Guardian (the Soviet version of Captain America). Forbidden to contact his wife, Natasha would grieve deeply. She decided to apply to join the KGB of her own accord, but found herself unable to make the grade. Somewhat randomly aided by the meddling Amora the Enchantress of Asgard, young Natasha was able to eventually impress her skeptical instructors. Devoting herself to intensive training with The Red Room Academy of the KGB, she would eventually become one of their best recruits, and was specially selected to receive a Russian variant of the Super-Soilder Serum (much like the one given to Captain America), and given the codename Black Widow.
*During the Cold War, Natalia gained a deadly reputation within the KGB and CIA. she was frequently employed to get close to men to gain all sorts of information and then in many cases killing the men after, as befitting her codename. Going on numerous missions for the Soviets, she would meet numerous spies. This also included an encounter with (and against) James Howlett, who referred to himself as Logan (from the Weapon-X memory-wipe). At the end of the Cold War, while still working for the Soviets, she began to have many doubts about her work.
*Sent on a mission to assassinate a Russian defector scientist who'd begun working with Stark Industries (Professor Anton Banko), Natasha first encountered Iron Man, who foiled her plot. In planning to face the emerging challenges of metahumans, Natasha seduced the young archer known as Hawkeye, who was perceived as a villain, and the two battled together against Iron Man and The Avengers. However, unlike anybody she'd previously seduced, she began to fall to in love with him. Combined with her mounting distrust of her employers, she decided to leave the organization. Russian intelligence attempted to recaptured her, but she eventually bought her freedom with threats of blackmail.
*While she worked with The Avengers for some time, she eventually broke away from the team (along with Hawkeye) when Nick Fury offered her a place with S.H.I.E.L.D. as an agent. Resettling in the United States, she arranged the new identity of Natasha Romanov. Now a freelance agent, she began a solo career, occassionally helping The Avengers. She would eventually be given full membership when aiding them in a battle against Magneto.
*Natasha began a romance with Daredevil, and they would work together as partners based in New York, and later moving to California. After the relationship ended, she formed a new superhero team called The Champions wherein she dated one of the members, Hercules. This group's awkward personality dynamics caused it to disband, and she returned to New York and worked with both S.H.I.E.L.D. (with Level 9 clearance) and The Avengers extensively.
*With The Avengers, Widow would confront a wide variety of villains, especially HYDRA. She eventually became a deputy leader of the team, and was even briefly the leader of The Avengers during a time when Captain American had resigned.
CONFIDENT
Natasha has gone through countless near-death, explosive situations, and this has given her a great degree of awareness of her abilities, clarity when directing strategy, and courage when engaging hostile, unknown situations. She's very cool under pressure, and in most tense situations, she can think tactically with (relative) calm. Has she had to defuse a bomb with seconds left on clock? Check. Has she had to negotiate hostages with alien masterminds? Check. Has she had to sneak into a top-level security facility? Check.
PROFESSIONAL
Natasha regards her role as serious business, and one is rarely going to find Widow goofing off. Even when not devoted to a task, she's reading, researching, training, or developing something to give her an edge.
TACTICAL
Highly pragmatic, Widow may be both resourceful and creative when trying to decide how to accomplish a particular task at hand. She's been trained to infiltrate, engage dangerous enemies, and foil schemes... and she will usually consider various options for the best course of action.
STUBBORN
Tash doesn't care if her entrails are dragging behind her, She'll do what she intends to. While one may appreciate her tenacity, they will soon realize that this behavior may sometimes push her into some unwise situations just to prove a point.
DRY SENSE OF HUMOR
While full of commentary and quips, Natasha's dry delivery sometimes go over the heads of those around her, and her jadedness shows.
FEMINIST
The Widow is a political progressive, at least for the times. She's strong pro-women's lib, and will confront sexism head-on. She also makes efforts to stay aware of significant political movements and the passage of controversial laws.
GENERALLY SUSPICIOUS
A spy first and a hero second, she rarely trusts anyone. Always with at least a secret or two tucked in her back pocket, Natasha is never going to be completely open with anyone. Likewise, she will frequently assumes ulterior motives in others.
LOYAL
Fiercely loyal to what she believes in... although she's not going tell you what it is. She cares about her teammates, friends, and fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents deeply, and would only 'hurt'/dishonor them if it were an essential part of her mission.
SUPER-SOLDIER SERUM: Natasha has taken a Super-Soldier Serum created by The Red Room. Because of this, she has reached the peak-level of her physiology, making her as strong, agile, fast, and as durable as she can possibly be without being classified as superhuman. It is also worth noting that Natasha's natural aging has been dramatically slowed, and to this day she still appears to be approx. 27 years old, despite being born prior to World War II.
IDENTITIES: Natasha has several fully formed fake identities. They come with documented histories, paperwork, and can be checked with depth. They include: Natalia Shostakova (Russian Mob big wigs' daughter), Black Pearl(Information Broker), Natalie Rushman (S.H.I.E.L.D. Analyst), Laura Mathers (Fashion Designer), and Oktober (KGB Agent).
S.H.I.E.L.D. AGENT: A high ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, with level 9 clearance. She has access to almost all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s classified data and files, except for those reserved for Assistant Director and above. Her agent status grants her a measure of legal authority in countries who are members of the United Nations.
RUSSIAN CONTACTS: A large part of Natasha's introduction to the world of intelligence has granted her a myriad of Russian contacts, including Ivan Petrovitch, The Red Room, the Russian Mafia, and Russian Intelligence (KGB and otherwise).
WIDOW'S BITE (BRACERS): One of Natasha's trademark weapon's is a pair of custom bracers. These fire a 30K Volt electrical beam, which may incapacitate a target (with no special resistance) at a range of 20 feet. They also contain tear gas, smoke pellets (15-foot diameter effect), and a retractable grapple line which can fire up to 50 feet.
WIDOW'S COSTUME: When suited up, Black Widow's costume is a kevlar weave with fire retardant and insulating properties. It can withstand small arms fire, preventing penetration of bullets and blades. The kinetic force of those items can still cause injury, however, in the form of blunt trauma. The costume also has micro suction cups in the gloves and boots, allowing her to climb vertically on walls and surfaces. Her belt contains her explosive discs, and pouches for carrying things.
ALLIES: Widow has a long career where she's worked with numerous superheroes over the years, and in some cases had close friendships and/or intimacy. Most notable of these would be Hawkeye, Tony Stark, Daredevil, Winter Soldier, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. She is also an Avenger which allows her access to technology throughout the mansion, as well as familiarity with their active roster both current and past. Other heroes that Natasha has particularly worked with in the past: Beast, Angel, Iceman, Psylocke, Ghost Rider, Hercules, Valkyrie, Silver Sable, Dagger, Luke Cage, and The Fantastic Four.
LONER: Natasha has a hard time sticking with teams or even friends. Her profession requires her to act alone a lot of the time, and most people would be horrified by the things she has done. There are exceptions, of course, but they are rare.
WORKAHOLIC: Natasha has been part of the spy game for so long, it's like the air she breathes. With her mind almost always on work, she is frequently difficult to connect with on an interpersonal level. In moments of ongoing crisis, she will neglect her own health and sleep to focus on a task.
DIFFICULT TO TRUST: Those that haven't worked personally with Black Widow may find her worthy of suspicion, based on her long history of spy work. Some may even consider her a 'former villain.'
WIDOW CURSE: The Widow has left a trail of failed partnerships and broken romances behind her. She seems very unlucky when it comes to involvement with others. This will likely affect future relationships, as well as interactions with past lovers (e.g. Hawkeye, Daredevil, Hercules).
ENEMIES: With a career as long as Natasha's, and having been a double and even triple agent at times, she has made a long list of enemies, many of whom would love to end her. This includes numerous international, criminal and underground organizations (particularly Russian), and many enemies of the Avengers such as A.I.M., HYDRA, The Sinister Six, Egghead, Astrologer, Watchlord, Grey Gargoyle, Bullseye, Mole Man, The Skrulls, etc.
