BIOGRAPHY - Page 9
One evening, the Black Widow’s bath was interrupted at her penthouse by a fire team of disguised agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “Happy” Sam Sawyer had been given authority by the President to run a special operation, and he wanted to put Natasha through her paces before selecting her for the mission. Nick Fury objected to the field test and to using Black Widow for the mission. When a 
furious Black Widow forced her way into the Helicarrier, Fury explained that Ivan Petrovich had disappeared before turning up in enemy hands. S.H.I.E.L.D. was concerned he had either been kidnapped or defected back to foreign powers. Fury didn’t want to use Natasha for the operation because of her personal stake in Ivan’s wellbeing, but now that she knew it was fruitless to try and keep her away.
Picking up Ivan’s trail in Moscow, Black Widow was provided with a false identity as Laura Matthers, an American scientist looking to defect to the Soviet Union. She was picked up in Moscow by the KGB and brought in to contribute on a top-secret Soviet project, one which intelligence reports indicated Ivan was also present for. As Matthers, Black Widow was introduced to her co-contributor, Michael Corcoran. Another American scientist, Michael had a passion for pure science which he held above any sense of nationalism. Natasha came to appreciate Michael’s dedication to his calling, even if she disagreed with it, as she got closer to him for information on Ivan’s whereabouts.
Natasha fell into a trap when she made her move, however. Michael and the Soviets had known her true identity, and deliberately fed her false information to deliver back to S.H.I.E.L.D. However, the other operatives surprised Michael by suddenly killing him in front of Natasha. Soon, the entire 
complex was alive with false reports that the Black Widow had murdered the defector scientist for the Americans. Natasha faced slim odds escaping from the KGB, collecting several injuries including a severe bite from the guard dogs. Once she reported to her S.H.I.E.L.D. handlers, Black Widow’s description of the unique dagger used to kill Michael led them to a curio shop in Hong Kong. However, she was surprised by a team of mercenaries sent to capture her.
The first five mercenaries fell relatively quickly, but Black Widow struggled to beat the Iron Maiden. Formerly Melina Vostokoff of the KGB, the Maiden had gone independent to prove herself better than the constant comparisons to Romanova and considered beating Black Widow a personal goal. Black Widow could not breach Iron Maiden’s exoskeletal armor with her Widow’s Bite, but she received a reprieve from Jimmy Woo and the local S.H.I.E.L.D. office. Natasha and Woo pursued a fleeing Maiden into the sewers. Natasha finally found a weakness to exploit when she had Jimmy blow open a drain beneath Melina, causing her heavy armor to drag her down deeper into the sewers. Before they could recover, however, Natasha and Jimmy were assaulted in the dark by another mercenary. Using infrared lenses, Snapdragon overcame the virtually helpless duo and took Natasha prisoner.
When she awoke hours later, Black Widow was on an island in the China Sea. The hidden base was owned by Snapdragon’s employer, Natasha’s old foe Damon Dran the Indestructible Man. It had all been a complicated revenge plot, using Ivan to draw out Black Widow, then have Dran’s people kill Michael to frame her for murder in the Soviet Union. Finally, a body double had been left behind with Jimmy Woo, posing as Natasha to link up with S.H.I.E.L.D. and lure them to the island base. The fake “Natasha” would then assassinate Nick Fury at the proper moment as Damon Dran’s base opened fire, framing Black Widow as a traitor to both her countries and leaving her an international fugitive. Dran then planned to set her loose in a world aching for her death as a final vengeance.
Natasha was incarcerated as Damon Dran prepared for zero hour against S.H.I.E.L.D. She escaped her cell and ran across Ivan, who had been brainwashed into serving loyally under Dran. Still, he could not bring himself to pull the trigger and shoot Natasha, and the inner conflict began to shake loose his real memories. Next, Black Widow crossed paths with Snapdragon again. Natasha was prepared for her this time and managed to overcome her foe. Black Widow radioed 
the Helicarrier and displayed the dog bite injuries she got in Moscow, proving she was the real Natasha as the body double hadn’t had time to fake those recent wounds with cosmetics. Nick Fury gunned down his would-be assassin and put S.H.I.E.L.D. on alert before Damon Dran’s hidden weapons opened fire on them. Black Widow pulled Ivan to safety, leaving Damon Dran, Snapdragon, and the other villains inside the exploding base as the Helicarrier rained fire upon them. [Marvel Fanfare (1st series) #10-13]
Black Widow remained in contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. and continued making her services available to the agency. She was in consideration for the Avengers as well from time to time during roster shake-ups. Once, she and about a dozen other prospective members were summoned telepathically to the mansion. The presumptive and self-important Moondragon had decided she was best qualified to sort out the Avengers’ membership. When Natasha and others expressed 
interest in leaving, however, she did “permit” their departure. As she left, Black Widow wistfully thought the odd afternoon was worth it to have seen Hawkeye again. [Avengers (1st series) #211] Black Widow had a second, more respectful invitation to join the Avengers on their next membership drive. The Wasp was interested in adding more female members to the team, given the opportunity, and she hosted Natasha at her New Jersey mansion along with Spider-Woman, She-Hulk, Dazzler and Invisible Girl. Still, Black Widow politely declined and remained committed to her work with S.H.I.E.L.D. [Avengers (1st series) #221]
During her work for S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow learned the ninja assassin cult the Hand was 
operating in North America. The Hand practiced sacrifice and resurrection magic, and she caught them retrieving the body of their elite warrior Kirigi from the city morgue. The Widow beat several ninjas but the rest escaped with the body after tripping her up with foot spikes. The spikes were coated with a poison similar to the one used by the Hand to disintegrate members after they failed. Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. could only identify the poison as an aggressive form of molecular cancer, likely to kill Natasha in a matter of days. Black Widow refused to sit around the medical center waiting for a possible cure, and she took to the streets on her own behalf.
After checking in with Ivan, Natasha sought out Daredevil and discovered he was already embroiled in a war with the Hand. The poison ran its course as she located Matt, however, and Natasha died at his feet. Fortunately, Daredevil’s mentor Stick ran the Chaste, the Hand’s opposite number. The Chaste knew how to move life energy around and purged the Hand’s poisons from Black Widow’s body, bringing her back to life. The Chaste had beaten Kirigi, and so the Hand would now move to another champion. Matt’s girlfriend from college, Elektra Natchios, had trained with the Hand before going independent and getting killed by Bullseye. Now, the Hand would bring her back as an enforcer under their control. Black Widow and Daredevil fought alongside the Chaste as a fist of the Hand closed on them. They grew too many and so Stick and the remaining Chaste sacrificed themselves to destroy the ninja, leaving only his protégé Stone to guide Matt and Natasha.
As they rested for the next bout with the Hand, Natasha saw how badly Matt was dealing with the loss of Elektra and Stick. He told her he was engaged to marry Heather Glenn, but a drunk and wasted Heather stumbled into Matt’s apartment as they were preparing to leave. Natasha saw how utterly helpless and dependent Heather had become on Matt, though she kept her own counsel when Matt warned her not to intrude on his private life. Instead, as they split up to search for the Hand, Black Widow dropped in on Foggy Nelson. Foggy was also worried about Matt, as their practice had gone to pieces ever since Elektra died in his arms. He agreed that Matt and 
Heather’s relationship had become toxic – Matt even bankrupted Glenn Industries just to make Heather more dependent on him, to feel loved. At Foggy’s suggestion, Natasha used her espionage talent to forge notes to Matt and Heather, each demanding to end the engagement and cut all ties with one another. Black Widow, Daredevil and Stone reunited and prevent the Hand from resurrecting Elektra. Afterwards, Natasha dipped back out of Matt Murdock’s life, leaving him alone to recover from his losses, and hopefully grow stronger from them. [Daredevil (1st series) #187-190]