Natasha Romanoff

Taken during Infancy Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanoff was born on December 3, 1984 in Volgograd, Soviet Union. As an infant, she was deemed by the Red Room to possess genetic potential, and was purchased from her birth family. However, Romanoff's mother was not in agreement and proceeded to search for her, until General Dreykov had her killed to prevent the Red Room Program's existence from being revealed.[12] Romanoff was brought up within the Red Room Academy, where she endured both an education and indoctrination into the world of spy-craft.[18] Romanoff became the star pupil in this strict training environment.[19] As part of her training, she was taught to compartmentalize her feelings. As she grew up within the Red Room program, she heard stories about the legendary Captain America.

Temporary Family Life In 1992, Romanoff was granted a reprieve from the Red Room and was given an undercover assignment. Along with another girl named Yelena Belova, the two acted as the daughters of Alexei Shostakov and Melina Vostokoff and relocated to the United States of America, where Shostakov and Vostokoff were tasked with retrieving cognitive data from the North Institute, a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility secretly run by Hydra. For three years the four lived as an American family in Mount Vernon, Ohio and while aware that the family aspect was a simple ruse, Romanoff loved them all like they were her actual family while Shostakov and Vostokoff loved the two as their daughters.

In 1995, Shostakov successfully stole the data and burned down the North Institute. Realizing that they had to leave Ohio and that she had to return to the Red Room, Romanoff became upset while Vostakoff apologized. As they fled to an airstrip, they faced resistance from S.H.I.E.L.D., who injured Vostakoff. Romanoff was then forced to fly the plane herself and successfully landed in Cuba. Upon arriving, Romanoff apologized to Vostakoff, who told her not to let the Red Room take her heart.

As soldiers attempted to take Belova away, Romanoff went to Belova's defense and held the soldiers at gunpoint while Belova clung to her. As Romanoff threatened to shoot the guards, Shostakov attempted to calm her down. Romanoff expressed her refusal to return to the Red Room or to allow Belova to be indoctrinated into the program, citing Belova's age, to which Shostakov reminded her that she was even younger. As he took the gun from her, Shostakov told Romanoff that she and Belova would be all right, and that they were to take care of each other. However, on Dreykov's signal, Romanoff and Belova were sedated and placed on a plane headed to the Red Room Academy.

Red Room Training Romanoff awoke in a cargo container with several other girls, watching as Dreykov told his men which girls to kill and which to take. As a guard took Yelena Belova away, Romanoff rushed to her younger sister's side and gave her a photograph of their family before another guard pulled her away. Returning to the Red Room Academy, she resumed her prior training, undergoing psychological conditioning and physical training, while exceeding in her marksmanship abilities.[12] During one of her training exercises, she was forced to execute an innocent man, which would later haunt her.

As a final ceremony to complete her training, Romanoff was given an involuntary hysterectomy and had her ovaries and uterus removed,[12] with the Red Room citing the need for sterilization as they believed pregnancy was the one thing that would prevent a Widow from completing their mission, a procedure which she deeply regretted later in her life.[18] Following her graduation, Romanoff was given the mantle of "Black Widow"[3] and was placed in the KGB by General Dreykov, and soon became regarded as a master spy and one of the world's greatest assassins.

Getting Red in Her Ledger In one of her missions, Romanoff killed many members of a prostitution ring and set the place on fire, leaving the women inside to die. However, one of them managed to escape and became a huge fan of Black Widow.[9] She was also involved with a hospital fire and went to São Paulo.[3] As she rose in the ranks, she would think about the stories she heard about Captain America, incredulous that such a strong embodiment of good could exist.

Recruited by Clint Barton While on a mission for the Red Room, Romanoff had a run-in with Clint Barton, causing her to appear on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, so Nick Fury sent Barton to eliminate her. Barton went against this order, recognizing Romanoff's skills and seeing the good in her, and recommended her for recruitment into S.H.I.E.L.D.

Budapest Operation In 2008, in order to defect to S.H.I.E.L.D., she was tasked with assassinating Dreykov in Budapest. During the mission, Romanoff and Clint Barton rigged the building with bombs, and Romanoff used Dreykov's daughter, Antonia, to ensure his location.

Romanoff, knowing that Antonia was in the building, gave the order to detonate, seemingly killing Dreykov and his daughter. This mission would haunt Romanoff, although she convinced herself that killing Antonia was necessary to completing the mission, and clearing herself from the Red Room. After engaging in a firefight with the Hungarian Special Forces, the two agents hid themselves for ten days, two of which were spent inside the ceiling of a subway station, before being able to leave the city.[12] Officially defecting from Russia, Romanoff joined the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D.[3] Over time, Romanoff would completely drop her Russian accent.

Hawkeye's Partner As part of her induction, Romanoff had to inform Fury of her training from the Red Room Academy.[19] Following her defection, she formed a lasting partnership with Clint Barton, becoming best friends with him. Together, they had tactical missions in many other locations.[3] The pair grew so close that Romanoff was the only other person Barton talked about his secret family. She became a good friend to Barton's wife, Laura, and adopted an aunt-like relationship with their children, Cooper and Lila.[18] Romanoff even trusted Barton enough to talk about Yelena Belova and how much she loved and missed her.

Ambushed by Winter Soldier In 2009,[1] on one of her earliest S.H.I.E.L.D. missions,[19] Romanoff was assigned to protect a nuclear scientist. Despite having escorted the engineer from Iran and successfully made it to the rendezvous in Odesa, Ukraine, Romanoff and the scientist were both ambushed by Winter Soldier, an assassin sent by Hydra to neutralize the scientist as he was deemed a threat.

Although she and the scientist were pushed over a cliff, Romanoff managed to save both herself and the man she was protecting. Seeing this, Winter Soldier fired a single round through Romanoff's stomach and into the scientist, effectively killing him.

Watching Tony Stark In May 2010, shortly after her encounter with Winter Soldier,[19] Romanoff was then sent on one of her usual missions, to ruin an operation of the Ten Rings. She boarded the terrorists' plane and caused its explosion. Just as Romanoff was fighting off a Ten Rings operative in the plane, she was assigned by Nick Fury to infiltrate Stark Industries to spy on Tony Stark. Under the name "Natalie Rushman," Romanoff pretended to have modeled in 2004, as well as working in Japan, Italy, France and the United States in the early 2000s. To further polish her identity, she was given a BA and MA in history from the University of Southern Carolina in 2005 and 2007, respectively. She was also given the backstory that she had interned at Hammer Industries while ostensibly studying at Harvard University in 2010.[2] Therefore, Romanoff was successfully hired as a Stark Industries notary public by Bambi Arbogast. She worked her way at getting to Stark in many ways, including secretly poisoning Samantha Carlisle (non-lethally) in order to deliver documents to Stark.

Romanoff's ulterior motive for her employment under her S.H.I.E.L.D. operation was to keep an eye on Stark after he signed his company over to Pepper Potts. In reality, she had been assigned to assess whether he was suitable for the Avengers Initiative. Romanoff arrived at Tony Stark's Mansion as the notary to deliver the documents needed to finalize Potts' promotion, catching the attention of Stark and Happy Hogan while they were boxing in a ring.

Romanoff then approached Stark and Hogan before requesting Potts to sign the papers. As Potts did so, Stark inquired Romanoff about her name, and she proceeded with her cover name, Natalie Rushman. Stark, unaware of Romanoff's true identity, asked her to come into the boxing ring so that the two could talk. Potts insisted that Stark was in an eccentric mood, to which Romanoff assured her that it was fine.

Entering the boxing ring, Romanoff faced Stark who was casually drinking some water out of thirst. He then told Hogan to give her a boxing lesson, for which Hogan didn't take seriously as he was unaware of her past training as a spy. Stark asked Romanoff to spell her last name and ran a search on her. He discovered in her credentials that she was fluent in French, Italian, Russian, and Latin and had done some modeling in Japan.

As Romanoff watched Stark ogle her, Hogan threw a jab at her, but she blocked the blow and scissored him around the head, pinning him to the ground. Romanoff then got out of the ring and obtained Stark's fingerprint despite an initial misunderstanding. She asked if he needed any further assistance with anything else, and Potts politely dismissed her. Romanoff left, leaving Stark astounded. She went on to become his new personal assistant.

Incident in Monaco Maintaining her cover as Tony Stark's assistant, Romanoff met Stark and Pepper Potts in Monaco and greeted the two of them. As Stark returned the sentiment, remembering that she was an employee under Potts, Romanoff guided the two of them in front of photographers so that their arrival would be photographed.

After taking the photos, Stark walked with Romanoff. Proceeding with his schedule, Stark inquired about his activities, and Romanoff informed him of his 9:30 dinner, to which he told her he'd arrive at 11. Under Stark's request that she join them for dinner, Romanoff consulted one of the waiters and issued a reservation that night, as well as arranging a corner table for them.

When Stark appeared on the television, contesting in the Monaco Grand Prix, Potts called Romanoff over to see if she knew about it, which she didn't. Potts started to fret, noting that he shouldn't have participated in the race. In an attempt to prevent Stark from racing, Potts asked for Romanoff to get Happy Hogan and bring him to her so they could stop him.

Tony Stark's Party Following the Duel of Monaco which culminated in the arrest of Ivan Vanko, the son of Anton Vanko, who harbored revenge against the Stark family, Romanoff and Pepper Potts were left to deal with the public relations mess back at Tony Stark's mansion. Later one evening as Stark observed the condition of the Arc Reactor in his chest worsen, Romanoff entered his room, asking which watch he would like to wear at his birthday party, and Stark responded that he would look at them in a minute.

The two then talked about whether Stark should cancel his party due to recent events. Romanoff agreed that he should, as it would be an inappropriate time to host friends and colleagues after he was nearly killed by Vanko in Monaco. She then handed Stark a glass of martini and his collection of watches. The two traded items, with Stark insisting that he choose his watch before ordering Romanoff to cover up some of his bruises he sustained from the fight.

As Romanoff applied concealer on his wounds, Stark admitted that she was mysterious, noting that it was hard for him to detect where she could be from. Despite Stark's attempt to elicit a response from Romanoff as to where she was from, unaware of her past as a child assassin in the Red Room Academy and the fact that she was an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Romanoff dodged the question and continued to cover his injuries.

Stark then asked her what she would do if it was her last birthday. In a moment of sincerity, Romanoff stated that she would do whatever she wanted with whoever she wanted to do it with before leaving.[2] Taking in what she said, Stark got really drunk, flirting with Romanoff and showing her how to use his Mark IV gauntlet to blast an ice sculpture.[25] After being frustrated with Stark's behavior, James Rhodes stole Iron Man Armor: Mark II and engaged in a fight with Stark, causing all the party guests to leave.

During Stark's and Rhodes' fight, Romanoff ran into Pepper Potts, who confronted her by saying that she knew something wasn't right with Stark ever since Romanoff arrived. Suddenly, the fight made its way into the living room where all the guests were hanging out and resulted in the two of them evacuating the mansion.[2] Romanoff then contacted Nick Fury and debriefed him on the situation that had developed. When he offered to come, she told him not to as Stark had flown away.

Revealing Herself Romanoff met with Nick Fury at Randy's Donuts to provide a short-term antidote to Tony Stark's palladium poisoning.[26] Sneaking in from the back entrance, Romanoff surprised Stark as she revealed herself to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent the entire time. Stark took off his sunglasses to get a better look at her. Seeing that she lied to him, Stark said Romanoff was fired, but she made it clear that it wasn't up to him.

Fury introduced her to Stark, revealing that Natalie Rushman isn't her name and she was assigned by Fury to watch him. Romanoff then gave Stark a shot of lithium dioxide, which she explained postponed the effects of the Arc Reactor's radiation, which was poisoning his body, so he could work on a cure. Later, Romanoff, along with Fury and Phil Coulson, went to Stark's mansion and she was told by Fury that she was to remain in position as an assistant at Stark Industries.

Later at the Stark Industries Headquarters, Romanoff walked into Pepper Potts' office while Stark was visiting her and requested for Potts to sign a form. She then was told to sort out the personal belongings with Stark. When Potts left, Stark grilled Romanoff, telling her that he found it amazing how she does what she does. When he pondered if she could really speak Latin, Romanoff replied with a quote on the nature of deceptiveness, though translated that Stark could either drive himself or she would have him collected.

Hunt for Ivan Vanko At the Stark Expo, Romanoff was in attendance with Pepper Potts when Iron Man interrupted Hammer Industries' showcase on their Hammer Drones. As the drones went out of control and began attacking the event, Romanoff and Potts followed Justin Hammer, with Romanoff interrogating and threatening him, and discovered that Ivan Vanko had taken control over them. Romanoff left Potts and went outside, where she ordered Happy Hogan to drive to the Hammer Industries Headquarters.

When they arrived at the facility, Romanoff told Hogan, who was confused about what she was wearing, to stay in the car. She broke into the facility using an ID card after several attempts and the two were confronted by a guard, who Hogan engaged in a fight while Romanoff continued to Vanko.

She then defeated any guards in her way using multiple gadgets like her Taser Disks, Flash Bombs, wire, and pepper spray as well as her martial arts skills. Approaching the control room, which she believed as Vanko's location, Romanoff subdued all the remaining guards with ease and continued to the location. Upon storming into the room however, she instead found two guards dead and Vanko nowhere to be found. In reality, he had disappeared moments before Romanoff and Hogan arrived at the facility and was heading towards the Stark Expo so that he could ambush Tony Stark.

Romanoff hacked into the computer Vanko used and was able to free Rhodes' battle armor from his control. She complimented Iron Man's new Arc Reactor before interrupting his and Potts' subsequent argument to inform him that Whiplash was arriving at his location.[2] Romanoff then retrieved Hammer Industries data before Whiplash's explosive drones went off, which damaged a majority of the Stark Expo and facility.

Capture of Samuel Sterns Returning to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters with the data, she was given orders by Nick Fury to go to Culver University and watch over Bruce Banner. She arrived and witnessed Banner get locked in the bridge by Thaddeus Ross and the United States Army; Banner then transformed into the Hulk 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.[29] 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 brainpower had been augmented exponentially.[30] After a brief dialogue with him, during which Sterns identified Black Widow's birthplace from a hint of an 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.

Security on the Helicarrier Ignorant that Nick Fury had ordered Hawkeye to check the security of the Avengers Initiative database, Romanoff 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.

Back in Russia Once again on a mission, Romanoff arrived in Moscow where she searched for missing Stark Industries technology. Disguised as Tatiana Sokolova, she worked at a nightclub. 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, Romanoff talked to Sofia and learned that she is a "fan" and wants to take over the name of the 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 sports 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 Starodoub. Coulson gave Romanoff the necessary equipment to infiltrate the yacht belonging to Yuri Klementiev, one of Starodoub's business partners, where she met Sofia again, an encounter which cost them Gennady Markov's life.[10]

When Coulson discovered that Sofia was employed by Richard Frampton, Natasha infiltrated his headquarters in Vladivostok. She discovered that Frampton works for the Ten Rings 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.

Interrogated by Georgi Luchkov In May 2012, Romanoff was tasked by S.H.I.E.L.D. to find and take down Georgi Luchkov, who illegally sold weapons to the highest bidder. Romanoff was sent to spy on Luchkov's activities in Russia; however, she was knocked out from behind by his henchmen, who caught her sneaking around. When she awoke, she found herself tied to a chair, yet when Luchkov interrogated her, he unknowingly spilled all of the information.

However, as Luchkov was preparing to seemingly torture Romanoff, the interrogation was interrupted when Phil Coulson called and requested to speak to Romanoff. When Luchkov asked who was speaking to him, Coulson responded with the threat of sending a missile strike to their current location within the next thirteen seconds and assured him that he and his henchmen wouldn't have time to make it out of the facility.

Coulson informed Romanoff that she needed to come in, which she initially refused as she was in the middle of an interrogation and was working at getting more information out of the Russian general, but Coulson claimed that she had to come in now as a certain situation involving S.H.I.E.L.D. took precedence over her mission. She continued to oppose, claiming that Luchkov gave her everything. Luchkov, confused by her statement, misunderstood Romanoff's cryptic message and claimed to his henchmen that he was not giving her everything.

Once Coulson informed her that Clint Barton was compromised following Loki's threat on Earth as an incentive. Romanoff put Coulson on hold and then immediately freed herself and proceeded to defeat Luchkov and his men. After having explained to Romanoff that Barton's whereabouts were unknown, Coulson told Romanoff to go recruit "the big guy" who she thought was Tony Stark, to which Coulson revealed he was going to cover, before realizing he meant Bruce Banner. Romanoff then picked up her shoes and left the warehouse and went to go induct Banner into the Avengers.

Recruiting 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. As the girl fled through the window and disappeared into the night, Banner realized that it was a set up as Romanoff appeared in the hut wearing a traditional Indian sari, claiming that he picked a great place to settle. Banner, astonished, asked Romanoff if intelligence agencies used children to lure their targets into specific locations.

Romanoff responded that she was used as a spy during her childhood, alluding to her time in the Red Room Academy. 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, awaiting an order to apprehend or kill Banner should he be uncooperative or transform. As Romanoff introduced herself, Banner inquired if she was sent to kill him, to which she responded no and that she was working on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Banner curiously asked Romanoff how they found him, and she reminded him that they never lost track of his whereabouts. When Romanoff revealed to the doctor that Nick Fury wished to recruit him, Banner presented her with a hypothetical situation in which he refused. Romanoff then promised that she would persuade him to join if he refused. 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 flew into a rage to which she reacted by pulling a gun on him and aiming it at his head, but Banner calmly explained he was testing her. Wary but taking his words, Romanoff then ordered agents outside to stand down as Banner was not a hostile threat, and she successfully convinced Banner to come with her.

Assembling on the Helicarrier Romanoff brought Bruce Banner onto the Helicarrier, to help locate the Tesseract. Phil Coulson then arrived with Steve Rogers and introduced the two before Romanoff told Coulson that he was needed on the bridge. The two then walked together, they got acquainted, and asked him if Coulson asked him to sign his trading cards. Romanoff then explained that Coulson's cards were vintage and was proud of owning them.

She introduced Rogers to Banner, despite the two having an awkward conversation initially with the latter having conceived that Rogers cared only about Banner's use. As Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to lift the Helicarrier into the air, Romanoff recommended that they move inside as it would become hard to breathe. The Helicarrier then began to take off so the three went inside and headed towards the main control room which contained Agents Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Jasper Sitwell, and Maria Hill. Inside the Helicarrier, Romanoff assisted Nick Fury and other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in their global search for Clint Barton.

Banner observed their work and asked them what they were doing, to which Fury responded that they were searching for Barton, who was missing, using cell phone signals, cameras, wireless phones, to triangulate his location, but Romanoff warned that using that method wouldn't find Barton and Loki in time so they could thwart his next plan. Under Fury's orders, Romanoff showed Banner to his new laboratory aboard the Helicarrier, promising that S.H.I.E.L.D. has the scientific and modernly advanced resources and equipment for him to complete his work.

Capturing 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 "Shoot to Thrill" started to play on the Quinjet as Iron Man flew in to help while greeting Romanoff. 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 retrieve him. Rogers then went to join Stark, even though Romanoff warned him that he should sit this one out as Thor and Loki came from legends and were basically gods, but he chose to fight anyway.

Interrogating 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 nonchalantly informed him that Loki had killed eighty people in two days making Thor state 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. Loki instead told Romanoff that she fought in the service of killers her whole life, asking her if she would be willing to sacrifice the fate of humanity for the safety of 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 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 After figuring out Loki's plan to unleash Hulk, Romanoff swiftly left the interrogation room made her way to the lab Bruce Banner was working in to escort him to his designated room in an attempt to thwart Loki's plans from coming to fruition. Banner looked at Romanoff shocked, asking her if she knew about Phase 2, which involved S.H.I.E.L.D. using the Tesseract to create weapons, which is what the Avengers believed Nick Fury wanted them for.

Romanoff instead attempted to convince Banner to leave the room as his transformation into Hulk and subsequent rampage was an integral part of Loki's escape plan. After Banner reminded them that he remained peacefully unbothered for two years in Kolkata, India, Romanoff then warned him a second time that Loki was manipulating him and using him as well as the rest of the Avengers to finally put his plans of the Chitauri Invasion into effect, which Banner did not believe and only thought about Fury's lie and still wondered if Romanoff knew about the second phase.

A shocked Banner then asked her what she was doing the whole time, to which she responded that he did not willingly come to the Helicarrier to assist the Avengers in finding the Tesseract just to watch her. An argument erupted between the Avengers due to the effects of the Mind Stone. While the group argued, Clint Barton, under the control of Loki, fired an explosive arrow onto the Helicarrier which blew up the lab. Romanoff was briefly knocked out and she and Banner were thrown into another room.

Attack on the Helicarrier While Romanoff lay senseless on the floor, a large piece of equipment had fallen on to her foot, and she awoke to find herself trapped with Bruce Banner transforming into Hulk. Romanoff attempted to calm Banner down, but he was in too much pain. 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. 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, which winded her and broke two of her ribs. As Hulk moved to kill Romanoff, Thor charged into Hulk saving Romanoff.

Still traumatized after her encounter with Hulk, Romanoff was forced to recover 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. He immediately turned around sensing her presence and the two 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.

Barton fired several arrows at, although Romanoff was able to dodge them, agilely moving between the confounded area. Barton used all his top-level training to kill his friend, and Romanoff was able to steal Barton's bow off him, causing him to draw out his knife. When the fight got dirtier, including attempting to drive the knife into her neck while pulling her hair back, Romanoff used her teeth to bite him in order to disarm Barton, forcing him to drop his knife. Despite this, Barton was no match for Romanoff's speed and agility.

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 recognized 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 rehabilitated. She was then informed of Phil Coulson's death by Nick Fury.

Clint Barton's Recovery 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 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 to New York City 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 the mission they took place in Budapest, which Hawkeye told Black Widow that he remembered Budapest differently. Meanwhile, Captain America won the trust of the NYPD officers, who assisted the Avengers in their fight.

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 Bite and guns to kill dozens of Chitauri soldiers. Eventually, for Black Widow, the fight was almost too exhausting for her. After a while, she decided to change her positions and asked Captain America to give her a boost so she could fight the Chitauri from their ships.

Closing the Portal Eventually, 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. Selvig expressed horror at his actions; however, Romanoff, assured him that it wasn't his fault as he was brainwashed with the Scepter. Romanoff then asked Selvig how to close the portal. Selvig told her that breaking through the energy shield created by the Tesseract Accelerator would require the Scepter. Romanoff went to retrieve the Scepter and prepared to close the portal.

However, World Security Council decided to launch a nuclear missile on New York City to end the Chitauri Invasion once and for all; this prompted Iron Man to intercept the nuclear missile and fly it straight through the portal, where he released the missile on the Chitauri Command Center, which destroyed the station. Romanoff and Selvig used the Scepter to finally close the portal for good right after Stark descended back to Earth and landed on the streets of the downtown, thus ending the Chitauri Invasion.

Moments after the invasion ended, Romanoff, alongside the other Avengers, confronted Loki on the top level of Stark Tower who got up after having been thrown to the ground multiple times by Hulk. While she held the Scepter in her hands, the others armed themselves with weapons with Barton armed with his arrows, Captain America with his shield, Iron Man with his repulsors, and Thor armed with Mjølnir. A subdued Loki then asked for the drink that Tony Stark offered him earlier, finally accepting his defeat.

After the Battle of New York, a cadre of STRIKE agents led by Alexander Pierce arrived at Stark Tower. Brock Rumlow and Jasper Sitwell arrived on the top floor to intercept the Scepter. Romanoff gave STRIKE the Scepter then warned Sitwell, who was holding the item, to be careful with the weapon as it had the capability to erase minds. Both Sitwell and Rumlow promised to exercise caution with the weapon. As Loki apprehended, Romanoff and Barton elected to remain in Stark Tower to rest from the battle.

Later, the Avengers took a breather at the Shawarma Palace[3] before they were interrupted by War Machine, who arrived too late to help in the battle.[35] The Avengers gathered together in Central Park the next day to send Thor with Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard. 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.

Recovering Zodiac 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 was tasked to infiltrate Baker's terrorist cell under an alias. 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 Brock Rumlow confronted Baker's cell in the Skydeck of Willis Tower, and after a brief combat, subdued the terrorists, and recovered the Zodiac.

Saving Sana Amanat Receiving intel that Sana Amanat was going to be abducted, Nick Fury dispatched Romanoff and Steve Rogers to New York City 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, Rogers succeeded in taking out the last mercenary with a little help from Amanat herself.

Picking up Steve Rogers In 2014, 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 to the car, Romanoff joked about his age by calling him a fossil and greeted Wilson. The two then drove away to meet up with the STRIKE team.

Fighting the Pirates Romanoff and Steve Rogers were sent with the STRIKE unit to retake the Lemurian Star that was hijacked by pirates led by Georges Batroc. Romanoff and Rogers were debriefed about their mission by Brock Rumlow. As the team got ready to land, Romanoff and Rogers chatted about Saturday night plans, which Rogers had none of. Romanoff suggested he ask a coworker out but Rogers claimed he was too busy as he jumped out of the Quinjet without a parachute.

As Rogers and the rest of the STRIKE team prepared to rescue the hostages, Romanoff then advised that he ask out the nurse across the hall from him. Rogers once again declined and told her to secure the engine room first, as Romanoff quipped that she was multi-tasking. As Batroc ordered Gerald Durand to start the engines, Romanoff snuck up behind Durand and knocked him out, as well as several others as she grappled down the boat. Rogers asked Romanoff for her status while she was in the middle of a fight with a few pirates.

Romanoff secured the room and defeated the final pirate with a blow to the face using a steel pipe. She then proceeded with her mission to retrieve confidential information regarding Project Insight on a flash drive. When Rogers incapacitated Batroc, he discovered Romanoff's real mission of downloading encrypted S.H.I.E.L.D. files. She insisted that his mission was to rescue the hostages, while hers was to secure the intel on the Lemurian Star. As they were arguing about the mission, Batroc threw a grenade at them which Rogers knocked away while Romanoff shot the glass, and the two jumped through the window, just getting clear of the blast. Romanoff took responsibility for Batroc escaping and the two made their way back to the Quinjet.

Nick Fury's "Death" Romanoff met up with Steve Rogers at the hospital and witnessed Nick Fury being operated on. She asked Rogers about the shooter; he responded that the assailant was fast, strong and had a metal arm. This description seemingly confirmed to Romanoff that the assassin who shot Fury near Rogers' apartment was Winter Soldier. As Maria Hill joined them, she told the two the ballistics were untraceable, and Romanoff provided the fact that the bullets were Soviet-made.

The three then watched as the doctors attempted to revive Fury but were failing to do so as he was shot multiple times near the heart. Fury's unsuccessful surgery left Romanoff devastated as she watched the doctors announce that he was deceased. As Fury seemingly died due to his many injuries, she mourned his "death" and urged him not to die on her. Romanoff was ultimately forced to say her goodbyes to Fury when Hill told them that she needed to take his body.

Sometime later, Romanoff was allowed to analyze Fury's corpse. After shedding some tears in private, she sensed Rogers' presence and immediately stormed out of the autopsy room. Romanoff then asked him why Fury was in his apartment the night he was shot, which Rogers claimed not to know, but she could tell that he was lying. Their brief conversation was interrupted by Brock Rumlow, who informed Rogers that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed him back at the Triskelion.

After Rogers was made a fugitive by Alexander Pierce, 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 approached behind Rogers while chewing gum, implying she had taken it. Rogers then demanded to know the USB's location and what was on it, to which Romanoff told him that it was safe but she didn't know its contents.

Rogers then shared his theory that Fury hired Georges Batroc and his pirates to hijack the Lemurian Star, which Romanoff confirmed, explaining that the ship was dirty and Fury needed a way to obtain the files about the true intentions of Project Insight. She then told Rogers that Fury was killed by the assassin known as the Winter Soldier and how she had encountered him in 2009 during her thwarted mission in Odesa.

Romanoff then warned Rogers that the Winter Soldier was a ghost story, noting that many of the intelligence communities don't believe he even exists. She also provided Rogers advice that going after him is a dead end since she had tried for years to uncover the Winter Soldier's true identity after their first confrontation but failed to do so. Rogers still insisted that they find the assassin. Romanoff was then deemed an ally by him, who decided to uncover the mystery behind Project Insight with her.

On the Run from S.H.I.E.L.D. Romanoff, who was now also on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D., went with Steve Rogers to an Apple Store in a mall to see if there was any valuable information on the drive. As she tried to decrypt the USB, Romanoff warned Rogers that they had nine minutes until S.H.I.E.L.D. would find them. She was unable to override the drive's protective A.I. and instead began tracing the origin of its files. Aaron asked if the two needed help and Romanoff answered that she and Rogers were looking up honeymoon destinations as the USB located where the files came from: Wheaton, New Jersey.

The conversation shifted as Aaron claimed to have the same glasses that Steve was wearing as part of his disguise, followed by an awkward silence as Romanoff agreed with him. The two left the store moments later, only to discover that the STRIKE unit had already arrived at the mall searching for them. Romanoff and Rogers evaded Brock Rumlow and other STRIKE operatives blended in as bystanders without engaging them, with Romanoff kissing Rogers at one point to make Rumlow avert his gaze.

Hydra's Plan They stole a car and drove to Camp Lehigh in New Jersey. Romanoff put her feet on the dash before being told by Rogers to take them off. The two talked during the drive, including Romanoff asking if the time they kissed in the mall was the first kiss Rogers had since 1945. They then arrived at the army camp where Rogers had trained during World War II. At first, Romanoff thought the base was a dead end due to there being no heat signatures of radio signals, making her believe whoever wrote the files must have used a router to throw people off.

Rogers then discovered a building that was in the wrong location in the base and they entered. There, the pair found a secret storage room full of old computers inside an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. office. They also discovered a more modern looking USB slot and inserted the drive. Having opened and activated the USB files, Romanoff quoted a line from an old movie, asking Rogers if he had watched it, which he affirmed. The computers powered up and someone began to talk to them.

The computerized voice greeted Romanoff and Rogers by their full names and birth dates, much to their surprise. The voice turned out to be Arnim Zola, who had transferred his mind into the S.H.I.E.L.D. database as an A.I. in the 1970s, after being told he would soon die. Romanoff identified Zola as a member of Operation Paperclip, which involved S.H.I.E.L.D. recruiting defected Nazi scientists to help their cause.

When Rogers noted that Hydra died with the Red Skull's demise, Zola countered his statement, revealing that he used his recruitment as an opportunity to revive the organization. To prove this to the two oblivious S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Zola played footage of Hydra's defeat during World War II and explained that following his recruitment, he secretly rebuilt Hydra cells within S.H.I.E.L.D. while maintaining his new position in the intelligence agency as a cover.

Zola then brought up examples of operational anomalies across the globe, implying that Hydra masterminded, or at least aided, dozens of events that changed history. Romanoff and Rogers soon learned that Zola was also involved in the Winter Soldier Program, with him providing some blurred photos of Winter Soldier eliminating Hydra threats such as Howard Stark, also showing Nick Fury's recently updated file from the Internet.

At the instance upon Zola confirming that Hydra's plan with Project Insight involved humanity giving up their freedom and gloating that Captain America's death was meaningless, Rogers angrily punched the monitor screen. However, Zola simply appeared on the other computer monitors. As they tried to extract more information about Project Insight and Zola's algorithm, Romanoff detected a missile that Alexander Pierce had sent to blow up Camp Lehigh. They both took shelter from the blast inside the base, though she was knocked unconscious.

Seeking Refuge The next day, Romanoff and Steve Rogers went to seek refuge with Sam Wilson since everyone else they knew was trying to kill them. Romanoff confided in Rogers that when she joined S.H.I.E.L.D., she believed she was going straight instead of just trading the KGB for Hydra. Romanoff then asked if Rogers would trust her if it was up to her to save his life and he told her that he trusts her now. Wilson then interrupted the two to inform them that he made breakfast, which he was unsure if that was something they ate.

Romanoff and Rogers began to discuss who had the authority to launch a domestic missile strike at them which Rogers figured out was Alexander Pierce, noting Zola's algorithm was on board the Lemurian Star with Jasper Sitwell. As the two planned on how to kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer while being the two most wanted people in Washington, Wilson suggested that he do it and showed Romanoff and Rogers files of missions that he used the EXO-7 Falcon suits on.

Wilson told them where they could find one of the winged suits and the protection it has, which Romanoff saw as no trouble. She read the file and to her surprise learned that Wilson was involved in the mission involving the capture of Khalid Khandil in Afghanistan. Wilson also noted how he lost his best friend and wingman, Ronald Riley, during the apprehension. The three geared up and headed towards Jasper Sitwell's current location to interrogate him.

Kidnapping Jasper Sitwell Focusing their attention on Jasper Sitwell, Romanoff, Wilson, and Rogers located the Hydra mole and abducted him. Despite having been interrogated at the top of the roof as a means of intimidating him, Sitwell refused to answer their questions, only taunting Rogers that he could not throw him off the building. In response, Romanoff to kicked him off the building for Wilson to catch. She then casually brought up another S.H.I.E.L.D. employee who Rogers could date.

Terrified, Sitwell finally confessed that Hydra had hijacked Project Insight, further explaining that Zola's Algorithm was developed to eliminate potential threats to their operations, including Bruce Banner and Stephen Strange, alongside many others. Still under duress, Sitwell proceeded to reveal that Hydra's ultimate plan was to use the Insight Helicarriers to eliminate the list of threats directly from the Triskelion.

Battle of Washington, D.C. As Romanoff, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson drove their way to infiltrate the Triskelion, they were interrupted by an attack from Winter Soldier who jumped on their car and threw Jasper Sitwell out, killing him. Romanoff went to shoot Winter Soldier when an oncoming car ran into them from behind, causing her to drop her gun. When Winter Soldier caused the car to crash, Rogers grabbed Romanoff and Wilson before jumping out of the moving vehicle.

While Rogers crashed into a bus, Romanoff and Wilson came under heavy fire. As Winter Soldier and Hydra mercenaries shot at the two, Romanoff continued to shoot back at them while hiding behind a car, until Winter Soldier shot the car shielding her with one of his grenade launchers, forcing her onto the intersecting highway. Romanoff ran away from the incoming cars and used her Bite to grapple off the bridge while a car fell off and exploded behind her.

As the firefight continued, Romanoff attempted to outrun Winter Soldier, only for her to see his shadow waiting for her above the highway. She then decided to trick the assassin into thinking that he killed her. Believing that he successfully killed Romanoff, Winter Soldier attempted to shoot at a bus' engine to cause an explosion, until she suddenly shot the assassin in his face from the ground. Romanoff then used that opportunity to move behind the bus for protection.

However, Winter Soldier survived due to his protective goggles and responded by shooting in Romanoff's direction with his gun. As the two spies exchanged gunfire, Romanoff decided to run in the hope to escape but Winter Soldier personally decided to pursue her while the mercenaries were dispatched to find and kill Rogers. Knowing she could not escape Winter Soldier, Romanoff distracted him with a radio message on her phone, letting her get the jump on him. As the car exploded, however, Winter Soldier immediately discerned the trick and turned around to continue looking for her.

When Winter Soldier spotted her, he engaged in a hand-to-hand fight with Romanoff. She was able to use her skills as a former spy to utilize deception and gadgets in order to gain the upper hand against her opponent despite his enhanced physiology. Romanoff managed to temporarily subdue Winter Soldier and attempted to strangle him. However, he threw her off and attempted to shoot her until Romanoff disabled his prosthetic arm with her taser disk.

After briefly incapacitating Winter Soldier, Romanoff continued to run, urging civilians to get out of harm's way, until she was shot in the shoulder. As Winter Soldier was about to finally eliminate Romanoff, Rogers interrupted their fight, saving her. Rogers then fought Winter Soldier himself until his mask was removed. Before Winter Soldier could shoot Rogers, Romanoff saved him by firing a grenade launcher, causing Winter Soldier to flee. A team of STRIKE agents led by Brock Rumlow and Jack Rollins then apprehended Romanoff, Rogers and Wilson.

Reunited with Nick Fury During the drive, Steve Rogers informed Sam Wilson and Romanoff that Winter Soldier's true identity was Bucky Barnes, his best friend who supposedly perished during World War II. Wilson asked how it was possible given that the last time Steve saw Bucky was 70 years ago. As Rogers deduced that Arnim Zola was most likely the mastermind behind Bucky's transformation into the assassin that he currently was, Romanoff assured Steve that it was not his fault.

Wilson could see the Romanoff needed a doctor as she was losing blood from her gunshot wound and insisted one of the STRIKE guards to treat her injury. One of the guards drew an electric rod as a threat; however, the guard threatening them instead neutralized the other STRIKE operative sitting across from them. Their rescuer revealed herself to be Maria Hill, who asked about Wilson's identity before using a Mouse Hole to escape with the three fugitives.

Hill took them to a secret facility where an alive Nick Fury shocked Romanoff. She was then taken to Dr. Fine, who treated her gunshot wound as Fury told them how he faked his death: He used a drug developed by Bruce Banner, Tetrodotoxin B, to relieve stress.[1] Romanoff could not help but express distress over how Fury didn't loop her in on his state.[37] While Fine put pressure on her injury, Fury elaborated on his history with Alexander Pierce, noting that when he met him in Bogotá years ago, Pierce was offered a Nobel Peace Prize for his heroic actions during a hostage situation.

After the naked Romanoff was bandaged up, Hill and Fury revealed that there was a plan in place to stop Project Insight by disabling it inside the Triskelion. However, Rogers seized control of the mission much to Fury's dismay, claiming that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to be thoroughly destroyed to ensure Hydra's destruction and condemned Fury for withholding information about the Hydra Uprising. The group agreed that in the end all of it, both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra had to be eliminated for good.

Battle at the Triskelion To stop Project Insight, Romanoff used a Photostatic Veil to disguise herself as Hawley and infiltrated the World Security Council. As she stayed with Alexander Pierce, Captain America, Falcon and Maria Hill infiltrated the Triskelion and revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised by Hydra. The council was held hostage by STRIKE, who were all Hydra agents, until Romanoff took them down and stopped Pierce from executing Singh, thus revealing herself to everyone. She then began disabling security protocols, releasing all of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra's secrets onto the Internet.[1] Pierce warned Romanoff that she would also be revealing her own dark secrets as a former KGB assassin, but an unsettled Romanoff continued uploading the files.

When the encryption needed to be disabled, which required two Alpha Level members, Romanoff told Pierce that company was coming right as Nick Fury arrived. Fury and Pierce gave their authorizations to release all of the files and Romanoff quickly noted that it was trending on the Internet. Pierce then activated a trigger on his phone causing all of the council members to die from fatal chest shots due to their security tags except for Romanoff's.

As Captain America and Falcon were successful in destroying the Helicarriers, Romanoff was ordered by Pierce to accompany him in his attempted escape, claiming that she was going to fly with him to an undisclosed location as his hostage. However, Romanoff used her Bite to short out her security tag, knocking herself out and letting Fury shoot Pierce, killing him. Fury then checked on the unconscious Romanoff, who awoke shortly after, commenting on how much her weapon stung.

Romanoff and Fury then piloted the helicopter and flew to Falcon's location, where the final Helicarrier was crashing into the side of the building, destroying much of the Triskelion. They flew the chopper around the northwest corner to catch Falcon, who dove out of the window and fell through the chopper, but Romanoff caught and pulled him up. The three then flew away as Romanoff asked Hill if she knew where Captain America was.

A New Start Romanoff later attended an inquiry by the Department of Defense into the Hydra Uprising. When asked why no one has heard from Steve Rogers, Romanoff noted that she believed there was nothing more for him to say due to the wreck in the middle of the Potomac making his point. Romanoff also told them that Hydra was selling the government lies instead of intelligence, though General S. Scudder pointed out that Romanoff was responsible for handing out those lies.

When it was brought to attention that Romanoff should be arrested, she insisted that she and the other agents who fought against Hydra in its downfall would not be arrested because they are the best qualified to protect the world. Romanoff then left the inquiry, confident of her future within the Avengers. However, now that S.H.I.E.L.D. was defunct and her secrets were revealed to the world, Romanoff needed a new identity.

One Last Favor At the personal request of Steve Rogers, Romanoff had contacted some of her acquaintances in Kyiv who sent her an old top-secret document about Winter Soldier and his own long history working for Hydra.

Later, Romanoff stopped by Nick Fury's fake grave and told Rogers that she wasn't going with Fury nor staying, since she had blown all her covers and needed new ones. Romanoff gave the document to Rogers and requested him to call Sharon Carter in return before kissing him goodbye. As she left, Romanoff advised Rogers to be careful before digging deeper into finding Bucky Barnes, warning him that he may not want to cause himself more trouble.

Contact with Melinda May A few months later, after Phil Coulson's reorganization of S.H.I.E.L.D., Romanoff contacted Melinda May.

Fighting Hydra Over a year later, 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 Their next mission together was to recapture the Scepter from the Hydra Research Base in the lightly snowed Sokovian forest. Black Widow stole a Jeep so she and Hawkeye could keep up with the rest of the Avengers as they fought Hydra soldiers. Black Widow crashed the jeep and pursued to fight on foot using her skills and weapons to kill many Hydra operatives sent by Baron Strucker. When Thor pointed out that the Scepter must be at the base at long last, Black Widow said that the long last was lasting a little longer.

When Hawkeye was injured, Black Widow immediately went to aid and told the others that they needed to evacuate. When the battle was won, Black Widow watched as the remaining Hydra soldiers were being apprehended by the Iron Legion. Captain America told Black Widow to get to Hulk and calm him down. As Black Widow 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 Barton would have been killed if he had not fought. Romanoff asked Thor for an assessment of Banner's skills on the battlefield; Thor commented on Hulk's violence has 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 When the Avengers returned from Sokovia, Romanoff stayed by Clint Barton's side while his injured skin was being repaired by Helen Cho using a device called the Regeneration Cradle. Romanoff asked if her friend was going to be ok and she joked that pretending to need him brought the team together. Bruce Banner explained 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 Hydra 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 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 to claim that it was a question that she didn't need answering.

Attack on Avengers Tower The party 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 bar and dragged Bruce Banner after her causing him to fall on her, which she reminded him to transform into Hulk. She then drew a pistol concealed under the bar to help with the fight.

She then covered Banner, shooting at the attacker, as the two made their way to a safer sort upstairs. 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. Eventually, all the armors were defeated except for the first Iron Legion who announced his intentions to end the Avengers to achieve his idea of peace and save the world.

Argument 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 Strucker in his prison cell and leaving the word "peace" written in his blood as a message to the Avengers about his future plans. Together, they worked out that Ultron's next target was Vibranium and he would get that from Ulysses Klaue, an arms dealer and a former associate of von Strucker, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Battle at the Salvage Yard 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 Ulysses Klaue sent his mercenaries to attack the Avengers.

Black Widow took down many of Klaue's men to protect the rest of the Avengers from attack as they took down the Ultron Sentries. Klaue's men then turned their attention to Hawkeye, who managed to take them down and clear the area. Black Widow was then incapacitated when Wanda Maximoff snuck up behind Widow and inflicted a nightmarish vision upon her. Widow languished in a scene from her past while the fight carried on around her and the enemy made their escape.

Seeing Visions In the vision that Wanda Maximoff 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 then executed.

Romanoff proceeded to relive her experiences during her graduation, doing some training where she was holding back so she would not have to go through the ceremony. Madame B. made it clear that the ceremony was necessary for Romanoff to take her place in the world, which she believed she didn't have. Romanoff was then sterilized, 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 lullaby 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 Still suffering from the effects along with the rest of the Avengers, Romanoff was forced to make a quick escape to the Quinjet not being able to give Hulk his lullaby. Iron Man was then forced to stop Hulk's current destructive rampage through Johannesburg, as Banner was also affected by Wanda Maximoff's powers.

The Avengers become unpopular due to a massive battle between Hulk and Iron Man in his "Hulkbuster" armor in the middle of South Africa; at the same time, many of the members were still suffering from the effects of Maximoff's visions. Maria Hill stated that there was no information about Banner's arrest order yet. Knowing they needed to get away and recover, Clint Barton flew the team to his homestead, realizing that no one would be able to find them there.

The Avengers arrived at Barton's homestead, where Barton helped Romanoff make her way into the house as she was still haunted by the ghosts of her past. Soon though, Romanoff's troubles washed away when she was warmly greeted by Laura Barton and their two children, Cooper and Lila, who consider her family by calling her "Auntie Nat." Romanoff talked with Laura about her pregnancy, only to be disappointed when she found out that the baby is a boy and not going to be a "Natasha," but a "Nathaniel."

A Life with Bruce Banner As Romanoff waited for Bruce Banner to get out of the shower, she thought about her visions and a dream she had about being an Avenger. When Banner finished, the two talked about their relationship as well as the visions they were shown. Romanoff told Banner about the dream she had where she believed she was an Avenger and not an assassin that the Red Room created.

Romanoff suggested that they could run away together but it was rejected by Banner as he believed he could not live a normal life like what Clint Barton had since he was both a threat and unable to have kids. Romanoff revealed that she was also not able to have children due to the Red Room's graduation ceremony where she was sterilized to eliminate distractions. Believing herself to be a monster like how Banner considers himself, the two then considered starting a new life with one another.

Nick Fury's Inspiration Nick Fury also arrived at the farm and spoke with the group at length about stopping Ultron, mentioning his omnipresence. Meanwhile, Tony Stark volunteered to go to Norway to find out who changed the nuclear codes Ultron was planning to obtain. As they listened, Romanoff was brought a painting of a butterfly by Lila Barton, which she happily accepted.

Fury went on to inspire the Avengers after their defeat by Ultron and called the A.I. "a platinum bastard," causing Romanoff to continue a running joke between the Avengers about Steve Rogers telling Stark to watch his language. While trying to think what Ultron's next move would be, Banner figured out he wanted to evolve by using the Regeneration Cradle. Romanoff, Barton, and Rogers prepared to leave for Seoul, where they believed Ultron would be with Helen Cho as he needed to use the Cradle.

Battle of Seoul 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 the Regeneration Cradle in South Korea. The trio raced for their objective and found that Ultron's plan to create a new android body for itself was 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, Black Widow dropped to the streets on a motorcycle to pursue it herself. Black Widow then picked up Captain America's shield, which he dropped before being shot by Ultron. Retrieving the shield, she sarcastically claimed that she was always picking up after them. She then followed the directions Barton gave her until she got to Captain America's location so she could assist him. As she made her way, she noticed Captain America's Shield on the road and picked it up.

She eventually made her way to their location where Ultron was beating Captain America and threw the captain his shield. As a response, Ultron Sentries started to shoot at her. Black Widow then boarded the truck and found Ultron's second body. Unbeknownst to her, Ultron Sentries pursued the truck she infiltrated and lifted it up to a point in which it became airborne so they could retrieve the cradle.

Romanoff soon realized that what had transpired and reported her status to Barton as an incentive for him not to shoot as she was inside the vehicle with the cradle. Shocked, Barton asked how she wanted him to retrieve the object, to which she replied that he shouldn't have asked, but she was successful in delivering the dormant android to Hawkeye. However, whilst entering the Quinjet, she was knocked out and taken captive by Ultron.

Ultron's Plans Revealed When she awoke, Romanoff found that she had been transported back to a Hydra Research Base in Sokovia, where Ultron made a show of demonstrating his latest upgrade to her as a means of intimidating her. She awoke the sight of Ultron making repairs to a damaged body of his.

Ultron revealed to her his plan, still believing that the Avengers are the problem, before confining her to a cell. Romanoff watched in shock and backed up into a cell as Ultron destroyed his body after building a new and stronger one. When Ultron left, Romanoff turned to use an old Cold War-era communication technique in a bid to reveal her location to the Avengers without being detected, but could do little else except sit and wait.

Rescued by Bruce Banner Hawkeye eventually received Romanoff's signal and revealed it to the rest of the Avengers leading them to fly to Sokovia to defeat Ultron and rescue her. As she sat in her cell, Thor destroyed a wall and he and Bruce Banner entered to find Romanoff. Banner eventually made his way to the cell and freed her by blasting the cell open with Chitauri Gun.

While Banner wanted to run away with Romanoff, she knew that she had to stay and fight. After kissing Banner, she pushed him down a hole, causing him to transform into Hulk. Romanoff then held onto Hulk as he jumped from Hydra Research Base to the airborne Sokovia. The two made their way to Novi Grad and continued to help the rest of the Avengers fight to stop Ultron from levitating the city.

Joining the Fight Black Widow regrouped with Captain America at the town hall, where she saw Wanda Maximoff, and asked if she was wearing her jacket. Captain America informed her that she was now fighting with them, but that didn't explain the jacket to her. They were then joined by Hawkeye, who gave Black Widow her batons. Captain America told them that fighting the robots was getting them nowhere, as the air was getting thin.

Maximoff and Hawkeye left to evacuate civilians, and Black Widow asked Captain America what they were going to do. He told her they fight robots, so she took out her batons, as Pietro Maximoff encountered them and joked about fighting robots another time. Black Widow then proceeded to fight Ultron's army, using her batons to electrocute them. She was later assisted by Captain America, who threw her his shield, which she used to fight.

Reinforcements 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, Captain America refused to entertain the idea.

Black Widow, however, tried to persuade Captain America to consider the option as the world's population would logically take precedence over the people of Novi Grad. When Captain America declared he wouldn't leave Novi Grad and its people to face 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 Captain America 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 her view was about to get a lot better. Fury revealed his Helicarrier and used it to enact Captain America's plan and evacuate the civilians while War Machine joined the battle. Fury sent out a squad of rescue boats to evacuate the citizens while the Avengers ensured no one was left behind.

Protecting the Key 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 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, 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 it. Black Widow went with Hawkeye and confiscated a car to get to the rescue boats. During the drive, they made small talk about Hawkeye renovating his homestead.

Losing Bruce Banner 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. However, the process was interrupted by Ultron, who raked Hulk with gunfire whilst at the controls of the Avengers' own Quinjet and knocked Black Widow out.

Hulk grabbed Black Widow and bore her to safety on a newly arrived Helicarrier, before leaping after Ultron to vent his rage. Black Widow 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, stating that it was harder for the Avengers to track him down, but Hulk simply severed the connection.

New Avengers With the Ultron Offensive neutralized, Romanoff returned to the Avengers Compound with the rest of her teammates. Since her plan to run away with Banner had failed, due to him missing in action, she had nothing else but to remain a superhero.

After being sent a Skype video of the newly-born Nathaniel Pietro Barton, Romanoff joined Captain America in co-leading the second incarnation of the Avengers, featuring Wanda Maximoff, War Machine, Vision and Falcon. They started training the new Avengers night and day, preparing them for whatever threats they might face.

That summer, Ant-Man breached the facility, and Falcon engaged him in a fight that he ultimately lost. Upon his defeat, Falcon told Romanoff through the commlink it was important to him that Captain America never found about his defeat.

Attack on Ultimo While sparring with Steve Rogers, Romanoff was asked for her evaluation on the new recruits for the Avengers, with Rogers referring back to when Romanoff was tasked with evaluating Tony Stark. Romanoff gave her opinion on each of the members, but ultimately told Rogers that they were untested and needed to be put into a real situation to see how they work as a team. Later, the Avengers were assembled to Eastern Europe, where they discovered a giant robot called Ultimo attacking. Learning that it was being controlled by Hydra, Romanoff knocked out the commander, allowing the rest of the team to destroy Ultimo.

Currently, it is July 2015, 2 months post-Ultron.

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