COSTUME GALLERY
1) Natasha was first introduced as a femme fatale, a spy akin to Mata Hari who allowed her partners to fight for her, such as Crimson Dynamo or Hawkeye. As a result, she wore no costume or exotic weaponry. [Tales of Suspense #52]
2) For her first official costume, Natasha wore a black, strapless unitard with a belt around her waist. She wore a mesh under-suit along with a set of gloves and boots. Her domino mask was patterned after her partner, Hawkeye, and she wore ‘B’ earrings and a ‘W’ clasp holding a short cape on her shoulders. (This costume was occasionally presented as shades of blue or a gray/purple coloration. However, this was presumably due to the ink and shading limitations of Marvel Comics at the time.) Her "Widow’s Line" and "Widow’s Bite" were fired from bracelets on her wrists. [Tales of Suspense #64]
3) To separate herself from her past associations, Natasha designed her own modified costume, which became the basic template of every costume she would wear from then on. (Retcons would often depict a version of this costume in her past, however.) This black catsuit covered her from the neck down. Her golden bracelets were made of a set of cylinders, containing the tech for her “Widow’s Line” grappling wire and “Widow’s Bite” taser charge. Her belt was made of a ring of coin-shaped discs, with four cartridges on the backside. Various elements were concealed in her belt, including gases, poisons, etc. [Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #86]
4) Natasha later switched to a lighter gray-colored catsuit with a high collar built into it. It had a small black spider emblem on her left breast. It also had a large white (or black) spider emblem on her back. Like many of the Avengers during the period she wore this costume, the Black Widow occasionally accessorized with a brown leather jacket with an ‘A’ insignia on the arms. She also occasionally wore the coin-shaped belt from her previous costume, and a version of her bracelets which was fully concealed under her costume instead of being visible. [Daredevil (1st series) #186]
5) During her extended period as Avengers chairwoman, Natasha reverted to a blue-black catsuit. This version came with eight red, slightly bent rectangles around her abdomen, evoking the image of a spider. [Avengers: The Crossing #1]
6) After the Avengers apparently died, Natasha returned to her roots as an espionage agent and her classic catsuit costume. This basic look would change slightly several times, presented as a uniform gray, black or blue-black color, zipped or unzipped, etc. The most significant change was a black and red hourglass symbol now emblazoned on her belt’s buckle, which was previously blank. For a time, she discarded her wrist bracelets as too clunky and did without them. [Thunderbolts (1st series) #9]
7) On a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow adopted a modified version of her costume. Made of blue-black material, she had grey metal plating on her shoulders, belt and knees. A black widow hourglass made up her belt buckle. Her Widow’s bracelets were re-engineered as larger gauntlets that fit over most of her forearms. [Journey into Mystery #517]
--) Working for the Initiative, Black Widow wore a basic black bodysuit with no additional standard equipment, symbols, or accoutrements. She varied her bodysuit during this time period, sometimes wearing versions with a red hourglass on the left breast and backside, or a more elaborate red-and-black spider emblem swapping between slight variations of Costume 3 and 6. She only occasionally accessorized with a belt, her bracelets or a bandolier of grenades or ammunition. [Mighty Avengers (1st series) #1]
8) While posing as Yelena Belova in the Thunderbolts, Natasha used a “genetic disguise” injection to physically modify her appearance. She wore a basic black bodysuit with Widow’s bracelets and occasionally a set of specially-designed goggles with night vision and presumably other visual modes. [Thunderbolts (1st series) #128] She returned to her classic look after the infiltration ran its course.
9) After Secret Wars, Black Widow wore a slightly different version of her traditional costume. Her Widow’s belt was now woven into her costume instead of an independent piece. Her bracelets also carried new features like hotwiring cars and a “taser punch” that redirected her Widow’s Bite as she delivered her blows. [Black Widow (6th series) #1]
10) On a mission in space, Black Widow had T’Challa modify one of Tony Stark’s War Machine armors for her use. The form-fitting “War Widow” suit traced her belt buckle and costume design while serving as a space-capable all-encompassing armor. In addition to repulsor rays in the palms, she also had retractable shoulder launchers and waldo arms capable of firing laser and particle beams. [Avengers (7th series) #28]
11) After losing her new family, Black Widow adopted a new tech-enhanced costume from an unknown designer. The basic black bodysuit adds a jacket and hoodie she hasn’t used before, concealing a miniature parachute for base-jumping. The red hourglass rests just underneath her cleavage and her belt storage comes from a ring of black discs around her mid-section. The suit carries a red lining that connects the clothing to her bracelets and carries a power charge, illuminating red and boosting her strength for brief periods. [Black Widow (8th series) #5]