Black Widow (Yelena Belova)
Encyclopedia
Black Widow is a fictional character
, a spy
in the . She first appears in Inhumans
#5 (March 1999) and was created by Paul Jenkins
and Jae Lee
.
n spy of the GRU
. She debuted briefly in Inhumans
#5 (March 1999), and was fully introduced in the 1999 Marvel Knights mini-series Black Widow. A second miniseries, also titled "Black Widow" and featuring Natasha Romanoff and Daredevil, followed in 2001. The next year, she did a solo turn in her own three-issue miniseries, also titled Black Widow (officially Black Widow: Pale Little Spider in the series' postal
indicia
) under the mature-audience Marvel MAX
imprint. This June to August 2002 story arc, by writer Greg Rucka
and artist Igor Kordey
, was a flashback
to the story of her becoming the second modern Black Widow, in events preceding her Inhumans appearance.
spy
and assassin
who was trained by the same spymasters who trained Natasha Romanoff, the first Black Widow. After the death of her trainer, Pyotr Vasilievich Starkovsky, she is activated as the new Black Widow and deployed to investigate. However, she is still set to battle Romanoff for the official title. The battle is inconclusive, and later confrontations between the two lead Belova to doubt herself. Belova eventually retires to Cuba, where she becomes a successful businesswoman and model.
She is lured back, however, by the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and becomes involved in the agency's mining of vibranium
in the Antarctic Savage Land
. Shortly afterward, she barely survives an attack by Sauron
, receiving severe burns and being subsequently approached with an offer for revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. and the New Avengers.
Belova is genetically altered by the terrorist organization HYDRA
, as she had suffered debilitating and disfiguring injuries after her last encounter with the New Avengers in the Savage Land
. HYDRA
recruited her with the prospect of revenge and after hiring the services of A.I.M. transferred her mind into a new Super-Adaptoid
body. This body appeared as Belova had originally until it began to absorb powers, at which time it changed as the original did, though now yellow in color.
Now equipped with the ability to copy all of the New Avengers' powers, she engages the superhero team in combat. She is eventually defeated by a combination of Tony Stark's 49 successive Iron Man
armors—from the first, Tales of Suspense
#39, to the then-current—and the Sentry's
use of his Void
persona, which she absorbs with the rest of the Sentry's powers and energy. When she is defeated, HYDRA kills her using a remote self-destruct mechanism they had implanted in her, rather than let her reveal intelligence to the New Avengers.
She has since turned up alive and working with a vigilante group, the Vanguard.
Yelena Belova appeared to join Norman Osborn
's Thunderbolts
, however it was eventually revealed to be actually Natasha Romanova in disguise, acting as a double agent for Nick Fury
. She believed she was disguised as Belova on Fury's behalf, planted for Osborn to find and invite into the Thunderbolts. However, Osborn revealed to her that he had tricked her into taking on Belova's appearance in order to get her to do his dirty work. After her escape from the Thunderbolts, Osborn then revealed an apparent Yelena Belova in stasis.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
in the . She first appears in Inhumans
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
#5 (March 1999) and was created by Paul Jenkins
Paul Jenkins (writer)
Paul Jenkins is a British comic book writer and Gary Gygax's stepson. He has had much success crossing over into the American comic book market. Primarily working for Marvel Comics, he has had a big part shaping the characters of the company over the past decade.-Life and career:Paul Jenkins...
and Jae Lee
Jae Lee
Jae Lee is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Inhumans and The Sentry, both with Paul Jenkins.-Career:Lee first rose to prominence in the industry for his work on Marvel's Namor the Sub-Mariner, Inhumans , and The Sentry, as well as his creator-owned character Hellshock at...
.
Publication history
Belova, the second modern Black Widow after Natalia Romanova, was initially a post-Soviet RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n spy of the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
. She debuted briefly in Inhumans
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
#5 (March 1999), and was fully introduced in the 1999 Marvel Knights mini-series Black Widow. A second miniseries, also titled "Black Widow" and featuring Natasha Romanoff and Daredevil, followed in 2001. The next year, she did a solo turn in her own three-issue miniseries, also titled Black Widow (officially Black Widow: Pale Little Spider in the series' postal
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
indicia
Indicia
In philately, indicia are markings on a mail piece showing that postage has been prepaid by the sender. Indicia is the plural of the latin word indicium, meaning distinguishing marks, signs or identifying marks...
) under the mature-audience Marvel MAX
MAX (comics)
MAX is an imprint of Marvel Comics aimed at a niche 'adults only' audience, launched in 2001 after Marvel broke with the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system...
imprint. This June to August 2002 story arc, by writer Greg Rucka
Greg Rucka
Gregory "Greg" Rucka is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.-Career:Rucka's writing career...
and artist Igor Kordey
Igor Kordey
-Career:While his best-known work is featured in New X-Men, he has a very diverse repertoire, moving between traditional pencils and inks to fully painted panels. Because of his speed as an artist, at his peak, he was producing artwork for three or four monthly books at the same time...
, was a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to the story of her becoming the second modern Black Widow, in events preceding her Inhumans appearance.
Fictional character biography
Belova is an amoralAmorality
Amorality is an absence of, indifference towards, or disregard for moral beliefs. Any entity that is not sentient may be considered amoral. In addition, it can be argued that sentient but non-human creatures, like dogs, have no concept of morality and are therefore amoral...
spy
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
and assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
who was trained by the same spymasters who trained Natasha Romanoff, the first Black Widow. After the death of her trainer, Pyotr Vasilievich Starkovsky, she is activated as the new Black Widow and deployed to investigate. However, she is still set to battle Romanoff for the official title. The battle is inconclusive, and later confrontations between the two lead Belova to doubt herself. Belova eventually retires to Cuba, where she becomes a successful businesswoman and model.
She is lured back, however, by the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and becomes involved in the agency's mining of vibranium
Vibranium
Vibranium is a fictional metal that appears in the Marvel Universe. It is most commonly known as one of the materials used to construct Captain America's shield, but it is also noted for its connection to the Black Panther and his native homeland of Wakanda .-Publication history:Vibranium first...
in the Antarctic Savage Land
Savage Land
The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land within the fictional Marvel Comics Universe. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in X-Men #10...
. Shortly afterward, she barely survives an attack by Sauron
Sauron (comics)
Sauron is a comic book character, a supervillain in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. An enemy of the X-Men, the character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams. He first fully appeared as Sauron in X-Men #60 ....
, receiving severe burns and being subsequently approached with an offer for revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. and the New Avengers.
Belova is genetically altered by the terrorist organization HYDRA
HYDRA
HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...
, as she had suffered debilitating and disfiguring injuries after her last encounter with the New Avengers in the Savage Land
Savage Land
The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land within the fictional Marvel Comics Universe. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in X-Men #10...
. HYDRA
HYDRA
HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...
recruited her with the prospect of revenge and after hiring the services of A.I.M. transferred her mind into a new Super-Adaptoid
Super-Adaptoid
The Super-Adaptoid is the name of two fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.The first Super-Adaptoid appeared in Tales of Suspense #82 The Super-Adaptoid is the name of two fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.The first...
body. This body appeared as Belova had originally until it began to absorb powers, at which time it changed as the original did, though now yellow in color.
Now equipped with the ability to copy all of the New Avengers' powers, she engages the superhero team in combat. She is eventually defeated by a combination of Tony Stark's 49 successive Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
armors—from the first, Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
#39, to the then-current—and the Sentry's
Sentry (Robert Reynolds)
The Sentry is a fictional character in the . The character first appears in The Sentry #1 and was created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, with uncredited conceptual contributions by Rick Veitch.-Creation:...
use of his Void
Sentry (Robert Reynolds)
The Sentry is a fictional character in the . The character first appears in The Sentry #1 and was created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, with uncredited conceptual contributions by Rick Veitch.-Creation:...
persona, which she absorbs with the rest of the Sentry's powers and energy. When she is defeated, HYDRA kills her using a remote self-destruct mechanism they had implanted in her, rather than let her reveal intelligence to the New Avengers.
She has since turned up alive and working with a vigilante group, the Vanguard.
Yelena Belova appeared to join Norman Osborn
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
's Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts (comics)
The Thunderbolts are a Marvel Comics superhero team, which consists mostly of former supervillains. The group first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449 , and was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley.-Publication history:...
, however it was eventually revealed to be actually Natasha Romanova in disguise, acting as a double agent for Nick Fury
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
. She believed she was disguised as Belova on Fury's behalf, planted for Osborn to find and invite into the Thunderbolts. However, Osborn revealed to her that he had tricked her into taking on Belova's appearance in order to get her to do his dirty work. After her escape from the Thunderbolts, Osborn then revealed an apparent Yelena Belova in stasis.
External links
- Yelena Belova at Marvel.com
- Yelena Belova at the Marvel Directory
- Yelena Belova at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe