BIOGRAPHY - Page 10
Black Widow reconnected with Daredevil again only weeks later. After he was injured fighting Bullseye and Lord Darkwind, she acted as his legs (and fists) investigating a hit made on Foggy Nelson. [Daredevil (1st series) #200-201] She also assisted Matt in a case involving the shooting of a pawnbroker during a blackout. It was a difficult case for Matt’s judicial conscience, for he had 
to defend two different young men, each innocent of the murder but guilty of other crimes for which they had escaped prosecution. Natasha had always been more pragmatic than Matt and didn’t struggle nearly as much as he did getting his hands dirty in the matter. [Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #140-141] Around the same time, the Vision requested Black Widow and several reserve Avengers appear on Wonder Man’s behalf as guests for a late-night television show. Natasha was between assignments and honored his request. As it happened, she had the opportunity to meet Hawkeye’s new bride, Mockingbird, another ex-spy and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. In spite or because of their similarities, Natasha and Bobbi got along well. [Avengers (1st series) #239]
As a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, Black Widow continued to occasionally cross paths with Daredevil. Anton Krapotkin, a Russian defector, had access to a particular microchip, and Natasha was captured by Hydra while trying to retrieve it for S.H.I.E.L.D. They allowed her to call Matt Murdock in an effort to make Daredevil retrieve the microchip in exchange for her life. Black Widow was paralyzed and left hanging above a pressure-sensitive bomb for Daredevil to find. Only the sudden pounding of her heartbeat warned him of the danger as he slowly approached. [Daredevil (1st series) #207] On another occasion, a man called the Cossack tested a weapon which caused blindness on the Widow. Natasha hoped Daredevil would be able to teach her to operative 
without sight, as Stick did for him. Mercifully, the effect proved temporary. [Daredevil (1st series) #217] Finally, she helped Daredevil search the swamps when his new girlfriend Glorianna O’Breen went down in a plane carrying her mission target, Doctor Ephesus Sadd, who re-engineered Mr. Fear’s gas. Heather Glenn had committed suicide after their break-up, and Matt was beginning to fear he was as cursed as the Black Widow once believed she was. [Daredevil (1st series) #222]
[Note: When Heather died in #220, Matt acknowledged he had eventually realized the break-up notes were forgeries. However, he was never shown actually confronting Foggy or Natasha about their manipulations.]
When the Avengers, East and West Coast branches, were targeted by the government on trumped up charges, Black Widow joined several reservists who stepped forward to aid the team in their time of need. Working with a group again, even temporarily, made Natasha reflect on her time with Matt and how she had neglected him during his recent troubles. [West Coast Avengers Annual #1] Matt Murdock’s life was destroyed by the Kingpin once the crimelord learned his secret identity – blowing up his home, fabricating criminal charges and taking away his law license. Natasha found him living in poverty in Hell’s Kitchen, working at a diner and back with Karen Page. He claimed he was happy and had no need for vengeance on the Kingpin or to rebuild his old life. Natasha had her doubts, but she could only push so far.
[Note: In West Coast Avengers Annual #1, Black Widow and Mockingbird were mistakenly depicted as if they were meeting again for the first time, neglecting Avengers (1st series) #239.]
Black Widow also had a mission in Hell’s Kitchen. A shadow op connected to the C.I.A. called Project: Reptile was surgically manipulating men’s brains to make them better soldiers. Jack Hazzard was one such soldier who had gone AWOL and was now wandering Hell’s Kitchen with the mental ability to trigger heart attacks in others when he got stressed. Psych-ops indicated Hazzard would either commit suicide or go nuclear and take a bunch of people with him. Natasha was assigned to make sure the former happened. She found Matthew after Hazzard had already 
claimed one victim, and was initially hesitant to let Daredevil help, given her mission parameters. Hazzard’s profile suggested he was extremely religious, though, and Black Widow recognized Matthew’s Daredevil costume could help provoke her target into going over the edge. Matt was furious when he realized ‘Tasha had manipulated him, especially when Hazzard proved to be a tragic figure. Dreaming of being a soldier, Jack Hazzard realized his government made him a weapon instead of a hero. When Black Widow had a gun trained on him, Hazzard grabbed her hands and forced her to pull the trigger, shooting him between the eyes. [Daredevil (1st series) #236]
Natasha was shaken by the outcome of the Hazzard affair, reaching her limits on what she was willing to compromise “for the national interest.” A passing acquaintance with a prominent Senator’s wife brought Natasha’s attention to a new cause. An anti-drug initiative from Congress was intended to better regulate the use of steroids and illegal drugs in professional sports. Black Widow was asked to spearhead a support measure by super-heroes to also speak out in favor of the initiative and against drug use. To better appeal to the public, she was asked to find a male counterpart to stand with her for the initiative. To her surprise, Daredevil was unwilling to help. 
Matt had retreated from the public eye as Daredevil, believing vigilantes did their work better in the shadows. What remained of his instincts as a lawyer also opposed mandatory drug testing because of his views on the right to privacy. [Daredevil (1st series) #237] Natasha’s efforts to proceed alone proved unsuccessful, as the media sensationalized her public stance rather than applauding it. [Daredevil (1st series) #239]
Black Widow ultimately found it more fulfilling when she brought down a second test subject of Project: Reptile called Agent Crock the Backwards Man, who had been sent to silence her after her questionable performance against Hazzard. Knowing how Hazzard had been abused, she initially didn’t want to be forced into another kill or be killed scenario with Crock and hesitated against him. Instead of killing Crock, Natasha found a way to reach out to the Backwards Man and console him, helping to redeem her failure with Hazzard. [Daredevil (1st series) #247]
Black Widow received word from Nick Fury that an old S.H.I.E.L.D. contact and friend named Anne Baxter had been murdered. Natasha wanted to be involved in the investigation, and Fury revealed nearly a dozen Esper agents (telepaths, psychics, etc.) had been killed in the last few months in and around Manhattan, butchered by a knife. Anne died in the same way, indicating her pursuit of the serial killer or killers had gotten too close. Black Widow brought in Daredevil to consult on the case, and Matt pointed out that S.H.I.E.L.D. Esper identities were highly classified. Either the killer had access to S.H.I.E.L.D. files or identification happened some other way. Natasha had Fury search for similar cases, and they learned the psychic agents were only a small part of the forty similar killings that turned up.
Black Widow and Daredevil reasoned that the killer must have some way of identifying telepaths, 
and possibly had psychic abilities of their own. To bait a trap, Nick Fury had all but one Esper agent transferred out of the area, except for a retired agent named Fred Wilson. Because telepaths might be involved, Wilson wasn’t informed he was being used as bait, and the two-person detail shadowing him weren’t informed why or that Daredevil and Natasha were also keeping watch. It took more than a week, but a burly man with a knife finally attacked Wilson and attempted to abduct him. Black Widow got the drop on him at first but was unprepared for the killer to have a partner in the van. She was abducted too, along with Wilson and one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. detail. Daredevil and their S.H.I.E.L.D. back-up were delayed by traffic until Matt alone was trying to catch the van as it disappeared into the Catskill Mountains.
Natasha and the others were chained up in a remote cabin by her captor, Rose. A telepath abused as a child, Rose grew up into a woman able to control others and sickly addicted to the psychic agony of people dying around her. She fixated on targeting other telepaths to remove competition and make her feel more special and unique. Her partner, Charlie, was a serial killer in his own 
right before Rose sunk her psychic talons into his mind, using him for brute force and labor in her killings. Rose finished playing with her other two victims and killed them just as an exhausted Daredevil reached the cabin, following Natasha’s tracking beacon. Charlie and Rose overcame Daredevil and brought him inside their abattoir as well. Black Widow worked her way free and killed Charlie, forcing Rose to face her personally. The fight was a distraction, though, as Rose telepathically seized Black Widow’s mind and tried to make her slit her own throat. Matt was strong enough to strike Rose once, distracting her so Natasha could turn the knife on Rose instead. [Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir]
After breaking up an intelligence trafficking sale for S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha was approached at a party by members of the KGB. They provided her with photos and video showing her husband, Alexi Shastakov, had survived the destruction of the Psychotron facility years ago, and was back in Soviet hands trying to fully recover. In exchange for reuniting the two of them, the KGB wanted Black Widow to steal a memo from the United Nations regarding a trade conference. When Natasha complied, however, the Russian agents revealed they had secretly filmed her stealing the memo to use it as blackmail against her. They used the film to force her into completing their real task – acquiring the master matrix for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Life Model Decoy android technology.
Black Widow had known she was being set up but went along with the scheme to find out for sure if Red Guardian was alive or dead. She discreetly prepared her own video recording the KGB operatives as they explained the trap to her in her penthouse, forwarding the video on to Nick Fury. Natasha still went through with the theft, infiltrating a S.H.I.E.L.D. base and absconding with the master matrix. Her KGB handlers arranged for transit back to Moscow after Natasha insisted on seeing Alexi in person before making the hand off. Black Widow learned the “Alexi” in the recordings was an android of Soviet 
design, imprinted with a copy of the Red Guardian’s personality. The master matrix was necessary to stabilize the android’s personality and make it fully functional. Once she knew the truth, Black Widow lashed out at her deceivers and destroyed the Red Guardian android. Nick Fury prevented her from being arrested after connecting with his Soviet counterparts and revealing the KGB agents had been rogues and the Natasha mission was unauthorized by the Kremlin. Black Widow was cleared and returned to America, hoping to heal from the old wounds the encounter with “Alexi” had opened in her heart. [Black Widow: The Coldest War]