BIOGRAPHY - Page 6
Natasha was soon caught up in personal business, however, as Danny French emerged from her past and left a message with Ivan for her to contact him. Natasha was reluctant to share her past with French with either Ivan or Matthew, making them worry about how secretive she was being. When she found him, Danny was cagey about Project Four and why he contacted her, and tried making a pass at Natasha, which she rebuffed. As Black Widow helped Daredevil fight the likes of Electro and Purple Man, she remained distracted by French. When Mister Fear began secretly assaulting them with fear gas, Natasha’s fixation led her to believe Danny French was somehow behind it. With Matt continuing to treat her as a junior partner, the Black Widow ran off to confront him alone.
Black Widow tracked down Danny French and satisfied herself he wasn’t responsible for her attacks. As they traded information, they were assaulted and captured by Damon Dran, the true mind behind Project Four. Dran was a munitions dealer who feared nuclear war, and 
commissioned Project Four as the solution to his own worries. In a double-cross, Dran had hired Danny and Natasha to steal the energy globe from his own project, eliminating his hired scientists as a means of covering his tracks. Now, he had finally tracked down French to retrieve his property. Once the globe’s location was confirmed, Damon Dran sent a hypnotized Black Widow out to kill Daredevil or be killed in turn.
Daredevil helped Natasha recover and saved Danny French from Dran’s mansion, but Dran used 
the energy globe to mutate himself into a giant called the Indestructible Man, able to withstand a nuclear holocaust with his great power. Black Widow, Daredevil, Danny and Ivan confronted the Indestructible Man as he trampled across the Oakland Bridge. It was Danny who realized the energy globe was Damon Dran’s weakness, and he used a javelin to destroy the globe, leaving Dran to be consumed by the energy he tried to harness. The explosion of the globe fatally wounded Danny French, though, and he choked out a good-bye to Natasha before expiring. [Daredevil (1st series) #88-94]
Black Widow and Daredevil next confronted the Man-Bull, a former foe of Matt’s who came out west seeking revenge. He injured Ivan first, and later had his associate Itch shoot Daredevil while they were brawling in the diamond district. A furious Black Widow stood up to Man-Bull, forcing the imposing figure to flee. She only let him go in order to make sure Matt got proper treatment for his gunshot. Natasha pursued Man-Bull on her own after Daredevil was out of surgery and out of danger. Although she managed to find Bull Taurens easily enough, the Man-Bull’s raw strength was too much for her this time. Man-Bull seriously injured Black Widow while poisoning the city’s 
water supply, and it fell on Daredevil to crawl from his sickbed and finish the job against Taurens. [Daredevil (1st series) #95-96] The inaction only made Natasha cranky, especially as Matt recovered faster and went back into action without her. She tried joining him against the Dark Messiah and his Disciples of Doom, but her injuries were clearly still hindering her prowess. [Daredevil (1st series) #97-98]
The wounded couple returned from their battle with the Dark Messiah to find Hawkeye of all people at the North Shore mansion. Clint had recently been rejected by the Scarlet Witch for Vision and quit the Avengers in a huff. His wounded ego led him to come out west and try to lay a claim on Natasha’s love. Hawkeye was part of her past but, when Daredevil started acting possessive and speaking for her, Natasha instinctively shot back that she was free to make her own choices. Daredevil and Hawkeye ended up fighting a senseless battle with each other over Black Widow, first trying to “win” her in a fight and later agreeing to force her to choose between 
them. Their antics were put aside when the Avengers arrived to seek aid. Half the team had been kidnapped by Magneto (along with the X-Men), and the remaining assemblers hoped to recruit Daredevil and Black Widow to even the odds. Hawkeye’s ego led him to stalk off after the Avengers didn’t come to him first, but Matt and Natasha agreed to help, at least until the other Avengers were rescued. [Daredevil (1st series) #99]
The Avengers had limited success against Magneto in their first fight, as he succeeded in kidnapping members of the Atomic Energy Commission. Black Widow tried to help Daredevil during the fight, but he brushed off her aid as unnecessary, further souring their partnership. The Avengers won, freeing the other captive heroes and civilians. Captain America offered Daredevil 
and Black Widow permanent spots as members of the team after their performance. Matt chose to decline for both of them, which was the final straw for Natasha. She rejected his decision and chose to join the team over Daredevil’s objections, sending him home to California without her. [Avengers (1st series) #111] Black Widow’s decision proved to be too impulsive, however. Natasha was far more action-oriented than the deliberative body the Avengers served as. When Black Panther was kidnapped by the Lion God, Black Widow wanted to be searching the rooftops for his trail while the Avengers held a meeting and made phone calls to their contact network. By the end of the mission, Natasha realized she was only avoiding her problems by joining the Avengers. She thanked the team for their membership offer but decided to reconnect with Daredevil and fix their relationship. [Avengers (1st series) #112]
Natasha returned to San Francisco and quickly made up with Matt, although they did little to address the growing issues between them. Black Widow was furious when Murdock was kidnapped by a super-villain named Angar the Screamer. Matt escaped on his own and changed to Daredevil, but Angar’s psychedelic screech caused several of their friends on the SFPD to become injured fighting off his hallucinations. Natasha seized Angar and threatened to kill him if he didn’t stop the illusions, a show of temper which startled Matthew. Black Widow continued to have poor luck in their coming confrontations with Stilt-Man, Ramrod and Kraven. She was captured or injured in the fights repeatedly, hampering her desire to be treated as an equal by Daredevil. Even her contributions to their investigation work and strategy were often shot down by Matthew, making her wonder why she bothered. [Daredevil (1st series) #101-107]
They reached a breaking point after the defeat of Kerwin J. Broderick, an insane attorney and crime boss empowered by Titan technology. Moondragon, Priestess of Titan, helped them defeat Kerwin and moved into the North Shore mansion for a time afterwards to adjust to life on Earth. Matthew and Moondragon were strongly attracted to each other, and Matt openly admitted to Natasha he wasn’t sure if he preferred her over Moondragon. When they were interrupted by purse snatchers during a personal argument, Black Widow lost control and began brutally beating one of the thugs. Daredevil forcibly removed her from the criminal and slapped Natasha to get her attention. Natasha was livid over the way Matt treated her, and any chance of them talking 
through their problems fell through when Matt heard Foggy Nelson had been shot. He immediately prepared to rush back to New York, but Natasha stood firm that D.A. Nelson was no friend of hers after persecuting her in court. Forced to choose between his relationship with Natasha and his friendship with Nelson, Daredevil didn’t hesitate and left for Manhattan. Matt and Natasha both knew he wasn’t coming back, and she quietly cried with Ivan over what a mess her life had become. [Daredevil (1st series) #108]