BIOGRAPHY - Page 3
A few years later, Madame Natasha was chosen for a mission to the United States by her 
Communist backers. The scientist Anton Vanko had defected to the west, taking his Crimson Dynamo armor with him to work for Stark Industries. Natasha and her partner, Boris Turgenov, were assigned to eliminate Vanko, Tony Stark, and his armored bodyguard Iron Man if possible. Natasha played the role of a lovely foreign visitor, whose “brother” Boris wanted to tour the Stark Industries plant for his role as a teacher back home. While Natasha was wined and dined by Tony Stark, Boris infiltrated a secure area and knocked out Vanko, taking him back to a covert submarine and donning the Crimson Dynamo armor for himself. When the Dynamo attacked Stark Industries, Tony Stark returned and got involved in his secret identity as Iron Man. He initially believed Vanko had turned against him, but soon learned the truth after Vanko escaped his captors. Doctor Vanko sacrificed himself to destroy his armored creation and kill Boris. Natasha’s role in the plot was exposed, and she fled into the night, afraid of both the American authorities and the price of failure if she were found by her own people. [Tales of Suspense #52]
While in hiding, the Black Widow read a news report that Tony Stark had developed a groundbreaking new anti-gravity device. Believing she could use this device to redeem her reputation, Natasha made plans and reached out to Tony Stark. She claimed she wanted to defect and managed to incapacitate Stark long enough to steal his device. Confident in her position, the Widow reconnected with her Communist backers, who agreed she had proven herself with this theft. However, they next demanded she steal all the gold in Fort Knox as a final demonstration of her effectiveness, and Natasha agreed. During the attack, Iron Man intervened with new technology to neutralize the anti-gravity effect, and the device was destroyed, leaving Madame Natasha with nothing once more. [Tales of Suspense #53]
Seeking a way to get back into the Soviet Union’s good graces, Natasha spotted a costumed man being chased by the police and offered him a quick lift to safety in her vehicle. The young archer Hawkeye had tried to stop a burglary, only to be blamed by the police when they spotted him with 
the discarded jewels. Natasha saw the opportunity to seduce a powerful pawn, and Hawkeye was quickly smitten with the Black Widow. He had started his career in part out of jealousy towards Iron Man, so when Natasha claimed the Armored Avenger was her enemy as well, Hawkeye was eager to take a shot at him. After an attempt at sabotage in one of Stark’s plants, Hawkeye was pursued by Iron Man to the marina where he and Natasha had planned a rendezvous. However, Natasha got too close to the action, and the impact from Hawkeye’s demolition blast arrowhead ricocheted off of Iron Man and injured her. Hawkeye immediately abandoned his attack on Iron Man to get the wounded Black Widow to a doctor. [Tales of Suspense #57]
Young and in love, Hawkeye was still a hero at heart, and ultimately no fool. He soon realized Natasha was a foreign spy and shuddered at the idea of committing real treason. Natasha had to 
use all of her wiles to convince Clint Barton that she was not loyal to any country, but to the broader cause of world peace. She dangled a thread of logic before Hawkeye that weapons dealers like Stark were a threat to innocents, while also playing off of his guilt for being partly responsible for her injuries. Hawkeye was twisted inside by what he was doing, but he was also still so in love with Natasha that he repeatedly allowed himself to be convinced. [Untold Tales of Spider-Man #17]
After news broke that Tony Stark was missing and Iron Man was suspected by the police of foul play, Natasha saw an opportunity. She convinced Hawkeye to make another raid on Stark’s plant for weapon plans, despite his reservations. While Hawkeye was out, however, the KGB became tired of waiting for Madame Natasha’s success. The spymaster Sergi Amkov kidnapped Natasha in New York, forcing her back to Russia 
and leaving Hawkeye in the lurch. As she departed without him, Natasha began to wonder if she truly felt something for the romantic archer. [Tales of Suspense #60] Behind the Iron Curtain, Natasha was informed she would have one final chance to succeed against Iron Man, or face death. Natasha became defiant and refused to continue serving as a Soviet pawn. In response, the Soviets showed Natasha her parents, being held under guard to ensure her compliance. Helpless, the Black Widow agreed to serve.
[Note: These people were not Natasha’s real parents, of course. They were apparently actors from the Red Room, conditioned to trigger one of Natasha’s many memory implants to keep her in line, as related in Black Widow: Deadly Origin #2.]
Comrade Brushnev was a scientist who provided Natasha with technological equipment which appealed to her codename as Black Widow. He gave her special boots allowing her to walk on walls and ceilings, and a bracelet which fired a “Widow’s Line” to swing between buildings. Under orders, Black Widow returned to the United States and reconnected with Hawkeye. Clint was overjoyed to see Natasha again after she went missing, and she quickly manipulated him into making another strike against Iron Man, for her sake. Hawkeye and the Black Widow intercepted a car with Tony Stark’s employees, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts, taking them hostage. They demanded Iron Man turn himself over to them at a secluded location. Stark got the drop on his foes by appearing in his civilian guise, then changing into Iron Man under cover of a smoke pellet. Black Widow and Hawkeye tried to fight against the Golden Avenger, but Natasha was injured again and Hawkeye once more broke off the attack to get her to safety. [Tales of Suspense #64]
While on the run from the law and the Communists, Hawkeye and the Black Widow were finally located by Natasha’s angry backers. Natasha was gunned down by a group of spies and her body taken away, leaving Hawkeye uncertain whether she was alive or dead. [Avengers (1st series) #16] This time, the Black Widow was brought to an expert in brainwashing, Doctor Yen, who reinforced her devotion to her Communist supervisors. Once the Black Widow was properly conditioned, she returned to America to continue the fight against Capitalism. Natasha recruited the super-villains Swordsman and Power Man to fulfill her mission of destroying the Avengers. In her absence, however, Hawkeye had achieved his dreams of becoming a hero and earned a spot 
on the Avengers. When Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. passed along an espionage report that the Black Widow was seen re-entering the country, Clint was overjoyed that Natasha was still alive. He traveled to their former hideout and found her there, but the cold Black Widow only wanted his support in her mission. The Avengers followed Hawkeye and fought against the Widow’s mercenaries, driving them into retreat. [Avengers (1st series) #29]
Natasha’s brainwashing was not foolproof, and slowly degraded over time. She compulsively felt hatred towards the Avengers but could not reconcile it with the feelings towards Hawkeye she still had. Meanwhile, she kept Swordsman and Power Man in line by subtly fueling their competition over her. The Avengers’ search pattern eventually located the villains, and Captain America supported Hawkeye’s request to go after Natasha alone. While Hawkeye fought with her henchmen, Natasha revealed her bracelet’s newest accessory, the “Widow’s Bite.” Using the electrified charge against Hawkeye affected Black Widow emotionally, however, and she shook off the remaining influence of her brainwashing. Natasha turned her bite against Power Man, saving Hawkeye from his attacker and lovingly reuniting with Clint. [Avengers (1st series) #30]
