Yelena Belova () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is depicted as a spy and was the second modern-era character to use the Black Widow name. Originally created by Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones for Marvel Knights: Wave 2 Sketchbook #1 (January 1998), Belova made her first appearance in Inhumans vol. 2 #5 (January 1999) by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee. She was trained as a spy and assassin in the Red Room. Originally, Yelena was a foe of Natasha Romanova and was sent to kill her, but the two later became allies. She was also a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., Vanguard, and HYDRA; the latter organization changed her into a version of Super-Adaptoid. As Super-Adaptoid, she was one of the members of the High Council of A.I.M. After being freed from her Super-Adaptoid identity, Belova reverted back to her old Black Widow identity before adopting the codename White Widow.
Florence Pugh portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Widow, the miniseries Hawkeye (both 2021), and the upcoming film Thunderbolts (2024).
Publication history
Belova, the second modern Black Widow after Natasha Romanova (Natasha Romanoff), was initially a Russian spy of the GRU. She first appeared in Marvel Knights: Wave 2 Sketchbook #1 (January 1998), then appeared briefly in Inhumans (Vol. 2) #5 (March 1999), and was fully introduced in the 1999 Marvel Knights mini-series Black Widow. A second miniseries also titled Black Widow featuring Natasha Romanoff and Daredevil followed in 2001. The next year, she did a solo turn in her own three-issue miniseries, Black Widow: Pale Little Spider under the mature audience Marvel MAX imprint. The storyline by writer Greg Rucka and artist Igor Kordey was a flashback to her taking on the mantle of the second modern Black Widow.
Fictional character biography
Belova is an amoral spy and assassin who was trained at the Red Room by the same spymasters who trained Natasha Romanoff, the first Black Widow. Yelena was born in Moscow, Soviet Russia; at the age of 15 she was recruited by the GRU. After the death of her trainer, Pyotr Vasilievich Starkovsky, she is activated as the new Black Widow and deployed to investigate. She apprehends and eliminates his killer, unaware that both his murder and the investigation were part of a ploy to get Belova to assert herself as the new Black Widow. Believing herself to be the rightful successor to the "Black Widow" title, Yelena enthusiastically volunteers for a mission that will put her at odds with Natasha, although the meeting and confrontations between the two do not lead to a decisive battle. Natasha refers to Yelena as "little one" and "russkaya", meaning "Russian", and encourages her to find what makes her unique and her personal identity rather than blindly devote herself to her nation. But Yelena remains steadfastly loyal to the Russian people: "For me, though, no matter where it is that I am living... I am still Russian. And like many Russians, though I am welcoming what it is our leaders do to make us strong... I am not so much wanting to take orders from them. My loyalty is to Russian people. And Russian people we understand there is no Russia if there is no world." Natasha later subjects Yelena to a cruel but necessary manipulation to shatter her illusions about the "Black Widow" title and teach her the reality of the espionage industry. Belova eventually retires to Cuba, where she becomes a successful businesswoman and model.
She is lured back, however, by the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and becomes involved in the agency's vibranium mining in the Antarctic Savage Land. Shortly afterward, she barely survives an attack by Sauron, receiving severe burns and being subsequently approached with an offer for revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. and the New Avengers.