BIOGRAPHY - Page 11
One evening, Natasha learned from the news that her old ballet teacher Oksana Bolishinko was in the United States to seek treatment for her blindness. Despite Ivan’s warnings, Natasha felt like she had to see Oksana again, one more time. Black Widow chose to sneak into the Russian embassy, even though she was currently a diplomatic pariah and expatriate from her home 
country. Members of the KGB security team tried to stop her but were unsuccessful. Natasha found Oksana in the dance studio and apologized for giving up her dreams of being a ballerina to be turned into a spy by the State. Oksana forgave her, as many of her students were taken from her over the years to serve the interests of the State. Indeed, the KGB officer in charge of Oksana’s security detail allowed Black Widow to depart, for he was also one of her students and understood Natasha’s dedication to their teacher. [Solo Avengers #7]
[Note: This issue is at odds with the revelations from Black Widow (3rd series) #4 that Natasha’s ballet history was a memory implant from the Red Room. It’s possible Oksana Bolishinko was a Red Room operative who existed to help occasionally reinforce those memory implants among operatives.]
Captain America soon initiated a major change in the Avengers' operating parameters. Instead of relying upon a set roster with all other members inactive, he redesigned the team to operate as a more fluid membership with many members available as on-call reserves. Black Widow was among the many former Avengers who agreed to participate in this experiment. [Avengers (1st series) #305] Black Widow was summoned up from the reserves when Atlantis invaded New York, and during the Acts of Vengeance affair when super-villains struck at unfamiliar foes to cause confusion and gain an advantage. [Avengers Annual #18, Avengers (1st series) #313] Being on-call allowed her to summon help on a mission against A.I.M., reuniting with Hawkeye. [Solo Avengers #14-16] She was also activated by Peggy Carter when Captain America went missing on a mission investigating the drug trade in New York. Black Widow crossed paths with Cap’s new girlfriend, the reformed criminal Diamondback. Although they initially fought because of 
their unfamiliarity with each other, Diamond ultimately impressed the Widow with her skills and commitment. Natasha came to respect Rachel’s relationship with Cap when many other Avengers didn’t and offered to work with and train her in the future. [Captain America (1st series) #373-377]
On a reconnaissance mission for S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow reunited with her “Little Uncle” Logan in an encounter that eerily mirrored one of their first meetings. Baron Strucker’s children, Fenris, were planning an alliance with Matsu’o Tsurayaba, genin of the Hand, to take place near Madripoor. Logan and his X-Men allies, Psylocke and Jubilee, had been tracking the Hand while Natasha had come at the meet from the Fenris angle. They attempted to infiltrate and disrupt the meeting, but it was a false flag operation using decoys. The real Matsu’o and Fenris met at a second site, moving forward with their plans. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #268]
[Note: While previous stories had tied Natasha’s childhood to the World War II era, most had been back in the 1970’s when such references were suitably topical. Released in 1990, the above issue was the first published story calling attention to the fact that Black Widow was over 50 years old, and therefore significantly older than she appeared.]
While hunting a man named Yves Chevrier for S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow crossed paths with the Symkarian Silver Sable of the Wild Pack in Paris, who had a personal grudge against the criminal. They initially fought over who would bring the target in but he tried to escape and ended up tumbling off the Eiffel Tower to his death. Seeing no reason left to fight, Natasha and Silver made peace and went for a drink. [Marvel Comics Presents (1st series) #53] As relationships between America and Russia began to thaw, Black Widow had the opportunity to openly approach and reconnect with her old teammate, Darkstar. Laynia was connected to the Soviet Super-Soldiers 
back home, working towards a better Russia from within. They were catching up at Natasha’s apartment when they were attacked by Starlight, formerly the female Red Guardian and successor to Natasha’s ex-husband’s legacy. Starlight was under the influence of the egomaniacal Presence – Darkstar’s father – but Black Widow and Darkstar managed to free her to act of her own will again. Despite their reservations, Natasha and Laynia allowed Tania to return to the Presence and continue her efforts to reform him for the better. [Marvel Comics Presents (1st series) #70]
The Avengers soon went through another transition, breaking their ties with the American government for special clearance and support. Instead, the team became an international peacekeeping force with a new charter and special dispensations from the United Nations. A new roster was chosen and the Black Widow made her wishes known to join the active roster full-time. 
She was voted in by the fully assembled Avengers and would soon fight against the Brethren, the Deviants, Hate-Monger, extra-terrestrial and extra-dimensional invasions, and other threats. Natasha’s tactical knowledge, training in information gathering and past leadership experience made her indispensable to the chairman Captain America over numerous missions and campaigns. [Avengers (1st series) #329-342]
One morning, Natasha awoke with a sense of uneasiness and dread. She couldn’t put a finger on the reason until the news mentioned the date regarding upcoming peace talks between the United States and the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. A horrified Natasha realized Project: Oktober would soon be activated. [Iron Man (1st series) #269] From her time in the KGB, Natasha remembered Oktober as a sleeper agent created to act on buried programming when the proper criteria were met. Set to position themselves within NORAD, Oktober would start a nuclear war if left unchecked. Her old contacts from the KGB dismissed Oktober as a myth, and even the attaché at the embassy thought it too unlikely that Oktober would succeed to risk the political fallout of trying to alert the Americans. Realizing she would have to act on her own, Natasha weighed which of her Avengers teammates could be trusted with the dangers involved. [Iron Man (1st series) #271-273]
Black Widow reached out to Tony Stark, revealing for the first time that she knew he and Iron Man were one and the same. Natasha claimed Oktober was set to act on a timetable, meaning there was only ninety minutes to save the world. As Iron Man, Stark brought Black Widow to NORAD at breakneck speed. An automated security test running at Cheyenne Mountain, though, meant that the military staff couldn’t open the door for the Avengers even if they wanted to. Iron Man guided Black Widow through the various defenses and dangers until they forced their way into the Joshua 
Room, the only location where a single individual could potentially launch a nuclear first strike using NORAD’s systems. Once the sealed door was opened, and Iron Man was satisfied no one had already made their way inside, he prepared to defend the Joshua Room against Oktober should they arrive. And so, with her mission parameters satisfied, Natasha Romanoff revealed herself to BE Oktober and disabled Stark using a device she planted on him. [Iron Man (1st series) #276]
Iron Man awakened too late to stop the nuclear launch. Mercifully, Tony Stark had helped design much of the nuclear missiles guidance systems. Iron Man flew out of NORAD at all available haste and intercepted the nukes, using his disruptors to safely divert the missiles up into space and prevent Russia from becoming an irradiated wasteland. Back at Cheyenne Mountain, Iron Man found the Black Widow, free of her programming now that her instructions were completed. Talking VERY fast, Natasha convinced Stark to follow her to the Russian embassy in New York where her attaché contact was found gloating over his work in Project: Oktober. Apparently, the attaché had predicted the fall of the Soviet Union many years ago while working with the KGB and installed the Oktober behavior programming in Natalia Romanova, correctly predicting she would be in position to implement it. The first stage of the Oktober programming convinced her of the direness of the threat and compelled Natasha to reach the Joshua Room by any means. Only when Iron Man got her to her destination did her second-stage programming kick in and reveal Oktober’s true intentions. The attaché wanted preemptive revenge again Moscow for failing Communism and giving in to the demands of the West. Fortunately, the attaché was pressed into making a full confession which exonerated Natasha Romanoff of treason and attempted mass murder. [Iron Man (1st series) #277]
[Note: The above is one of several topical stories where Natasha reacted to Glasnost and the fall of the Soviet Union. Though very relevant at the time, the sliding timescale of the Marvel Universe now means the Soviet Union collapsed before Natasha’s first appearance. Another curiosity is Iron Man #273 where Natasha visited the Avengers and was introduced to She-Hulk by Captain America, despite having met several times and being on the same active roster.]
Black Widow giving her full dedication to the Avengers for the first time in their long association proved to be a good fit. Captain America made her deputy leader of the team, assisting him in overseeing training and administrative matters. Following Operation: Galactic Storm, Cap intended to take a leave of absence and wrestle with some personal matters. He approached Natasha to replace him full time as the Avengers chairwoman and field leader, and she accepted. [Avengers (1st series) #343-348, Captain America (1st series) #401-402] A true professional on the surface, privately Natasha was elated at being trusted with such a responsibility after her long and checkered past. She tried to celebrate with Ivan, but her old friend and father figure was 
rather dour. It seemed Ivan had always hoped “being a super-hero” was a passing phase for his Tzarina, and they would return to the espionage work they conducted together in decades’ past. Seeing her as Avengers chairwoman finally showed Ivan that wasn’t to be, and he chose to step away from her life and fade into the background. [Black Widow: Deadly Origin #3]
Black Widow aided S.H.I.E.L.D. when the serial killer Peter Malum was freed from custody by his militia followers after finally being captured following several decades on the run. Natasha confronted Malum during his escape through the wilderness but was overconfident and got savagely beaten by the murderer. Nick Fury pressed her to continue with the mission after revealing Malum’s history as a scientist who invented S.L.A.M. (Supersonic Low-Altitude Missile), a nuclear reactor-powered ramjet with unlimited range, dozens of H-bombs in tow and a radioactive exhaust that was just as deadly as its payload. His initial prototype was kept under permanent armed guard by the government until the radioactive half-life was safe, and intelligence indicated Malum intended to build a second version of his doomsday machine.
Black Widow located a facility containing components Malum would likely need for his device. Sure enough, she was on base when Malum and his militia arrived to loot the facility. Matters became more complicated when the Punisher also arrived on scene, intent on killing Malum for his history as a serial killer. Until his dangerous new project could be located, Black Widow was forced to keep Malum alive versus Punisher’s sniper fire. Malum escaped, but Natasha recruited Castle as an ally to continue the chase. Malum’s new reactor was “hot” enough to track and they zeroed in on an airport in Alaska. Black Widow and Punisher got aboard Malum’s plane, only to discover he had retrofitted the jetliner to launch the S.L.A.M. from inside. Worse, while Malum’s confederates believed they were only threatening to use the missile for ransom, Malum was a 
nihilist who wanted to trigger his device regardless. Punisher grabbed the controls after Malum killed his own pilot, and Black Widow fought the mad scientist hand-to-hand before stabbing him and tossing him out the ruptured hull. The missile was disarmed and taken into custody alongside its brother, ending the whole affair and allowing the world to keep on spinning. [Punisher/Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday’s Web]