Top 10 Worst Things to Happen to Black Widow
#10: Running from a Rampaging Hulk
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“The Avengers” (2012) When Natasha met Bruce Banner, it was clear she was scared of what would happen if Hulk came out. Unfortunately, she’s forced to face her fears later on. Loki’s evil plot eventually leads to Black Widow being trapped with Bruce as he solely starts hulking out. After her attempts to calm him down fail, she’s forced to fight for her life alone against the angry green guy. Since Natasha has no way to harm the Hulk, all she can do is run and try to survive his hits until backup arrives. Judging by the stunned look on her face after the incident, Hulk’s rampage truly shook her to the core.
#9: Getting Kidnapped By Ultron
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“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015) During “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, Natasha puts her life on the line to prevent Ultron from getting a powerful new body. But her brave actions get her kidnapped and knocked unconscious by one of the villain's drones. When Natasha wakes up, she finds herself trapped in an underground facility with no way out. Ultron makes matters worse by giving an intimidating speech while she can’t fight back. Fortunately, the villain's flair for the dramatic gave Natasha an opportunity to secretly reach out to the Avengers. But if Ultron had discovered what she was doing, there was a real chance that her friends wouldn’t have found her until it was too late.
#8: Natasha’s Old Employers Clone Her Without Consent
“Tales of Suspense Vol 1: Issue #104” The morally bankrupt people who ran the Red Room program made tons of Black Widow clones that they intended to use as weapons. After one of these Natasha copies gains all the memories of the original, she decides to take the rest of the imitators out. The good clone goes undercover as a Red Room teacher until she finally gets an opening to rebel. She’s forced to fight a ton of her fellow copies solo until Hawkeye and Winter Soldier arrive to lend a hand. By the end of the story, it’s unclear if the original Black Widow was even aware these clones existed. But we know she wouldn’t approve of her likeness being used to spread more misery.
#7: Being Forced to Fight Her Foster Father
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“Black Widow: Deadly Origin Issue #4” No matter what Natasha did or who she worked for, Ivan Petrovich was consistently there as her father figure. So, she was genuinely hurt when she heard that he had been executed. But the situation was worse than she imagined. It turned out that Ivan faked his demise so he could manipulate her while he became a powerful robotic supervillain. Unfortunately, she had no choice but to fight her father figure for the greater good. Although Natasha kept her composure and managed to eliminate Ivan, the battle couldn’t have been easy. She had to watch a loved one she thought was lost get twisted beyond recognition before dealing the final blow.
#6: Black Widow Is Hunted by the Winter Soldier
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“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) Before the events of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, the ruthless Winter Soldier shot Natasha just so he could get his target. He tries to eliminate her again when she teams up with Cap and gets on HYDRA’s bad side. Natasha has to do everything she can to stay out of Winter Soldier’s metal grip. And since he’s enhanced with a version of the super soldier serum, she’s only able to slow him down. The Winter Soldier eventually manages to shoot her again and leave her with a wound that could’ve cost Natasha her life if it was left untreated. In both cases, she was hurt by the relentless assassin while trying to do some good. Natasha never deserved to be attacked by the deadly villain.
#5: Defeating Hawkeye so She Can Sacrifice Her Life
“Avengers: Endgame” (2019) Upon arriving on Vormir to get the Soul Stone, Hawkeye and Black Widow discover one of them has to give up their life to pick up the cosmic item. The heroine decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to complete the plan to restore the billions of lives that were lost. But Hawkeye argues that he should be the one to die. Black Widow is forced to fight her closest friend in the world to keep him from losing his life. She finally triumphs in the end after she forces Hawkeye to let go of her. Although Black Widow knew what she was doing, giving up her life while hurting her best friend had to be unimaginably painful.
#4: Interrogated so Hard That She Developed a Split Identity
“Marvel Team Up #85” Spider-Man is on patrol in New York City when he notices his fellow superhero Natasha is being attacked by multiple assailants. But when he talks to her one-on-one, she insists that she’s a schoolteacher named Nancy Rushman who has massive gaps in her memory. Black Widow is attacked by enemies and allies for days on end before she finally learns the truth. It turns out that she was captured by supervillains and refused to talk. So, they interrogated and tormented her so harshly for so long that she developed a split personality to protect her mind. Seeing Natasha suffer so much for being loyal to her friends was horrific. She nearly and literally lost herself to save others.
#3: Brainwashed & Forced to Fight Her Loved Ones
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“Winter Soldier Volume 1 Issue #12” While Black Widow and Bucky Barnes were working together and dating, the heroine is kidnapped by a villain named Leo Nokokov. He proceeds to brainwash her and force her to fight against her boyfriend. During a climactic showdown, Hawkweye is forced to shoot her in the leg to get her away from the villain. When Natasha finally gets medical attention to patch her up and undo the brainwashing, it’s revealed that she no longer has any memories of Bucky. It was bad enough that she was forced to attack people against her will. But losing all the memories of someone that loved and understood her made her horrible days of brainwashing even worse.
#2: Assassinated By a Warped Captain America
“Secret Empire Issue #7” After Captain America’s twisted into becoming a villain named Hydra Supreme, Black Widow teams up with heroes to try and bring him down permanently. She and her fellow heroes learn that the young Miles Morales is apparently destined to strike the fatal blow. So, Natasha has the young Spider-Man locked away so he won’t become a killer. But when Miles escapes and tries to fight Cap anyway, she stands in between them. In the heat of battle, the evil Steve ends her life with one blow. All Natasha wanted to do was prevent Miles from doing something he couldn’t take back. Sadly, that noble act was only achieved after a twisted version of Cap took her life. Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Getting Abandoned by Bruce Banner “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015) Forced to Go on the Run After Siding with Captain America “Captain America: Civil War” (2016) Being Told to Assassinate Her Ally Marina “Black Widow Issue #20” (2015) Nearly Assassinated After Parting Ways With Hawkeye “The Avengers Volume 1: Issue #16” (1965) Orphaned at a Young Age Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008-)
#1: Enduring Training in the Red Room
Marvel Comics & Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008-) Virtually every version of Black Widow had to endure the Red Room as a child. This Russian program was designed to train young girls to become deadly agents. While accounts differ of what Natasha faces in the Red Room, there are some horrifying recurring events. She often gets rigorous physical punishment, is occasionally brainwashed and encouraged to take innocent lives. One of the worst aspects of the Red Room is that the people in charge make it so it’s impossible or extremely difficult for Natasha to conceive a child. The amount of suffering she had to endure at a young age is terrible to imagine. Natasha was forced to become a deadly assassin before she understood that it would lead to a lifetime of pain.
