Warning! This article contains spoilers for Wastelanders: Black Widow #1
The Marvel Comics assassin Black Widow became a prominent member of the Avengers after proving that she is one of the greatest fighters on the planet, but in Marvel’s darkest future she is murdered by a surprising MCU villain, Baron Zemo. Zemo is one of the most successful MCU villains, as he was easily able to drive a nearly permanent wedge between Iron Man and Captain America. In the comics though, he just masterminded the defeat of a different hero, Black Widow.
In Wastelanders: Black Widow #1 by Steven S. DeKnight and Well-Bee, fans are thrown into the alternate future first introduced in the comic series Old Man Logan, only this time it is through the eyes of Black Widow. However, this Black Widow is not Natasha Romanoff, but instead her sister, Yelena. Yelena is on a mission to rescue a scientist from the villainous clutches of the Lizard before he reveals confidential scientific secrets. Before Yelena breaks into the Lizard’s lair, she reflects back on what her life has become in this futuristic wasteland, including her adoption of the name Black Widow.
As established in Old Man Logan, this version of Marvel’s future became a desolate wasteland after every villain on Earth came together and killed all the superheroes of the world. During the villainous uprising, Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow is betrayed by someone she thought was an ally. Instead, that supposed ally turned out to be Baron Zemo in disguise, and he used the element of surprise to kill Black Widow in cold blood. After Natasha’s death, Yelena took the mantle of Black Widow and carried on her sister’s heroic moniker long after Natasha’s tragic death.
The involvement of the Winter Soldier’s MCU enemy in Black Widow’s ultimate demise isn’t this comic storyline’s only tie to the film universe. Just as in Wastelanders: Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff died tragically in the MCU and her sister, Yelena, has stepped up to take her place. While the live-action version of Yelena hasn’t officially declared herself in line with the Avengers, her appearance in the Disney+ series Hawkeye set her up for future Avengers stories.
While Baron Zemo is the sworn enemy of the Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he proves to be Black Widow’s arch-enemy in this comic storyline as he is the villain who succeeds in killing her once and for all. Even though Natasha Romanoff was killed by the Winter Soldier’s MCU nemesis, her legacy lived on in Yelena who carried on the Black Widow name in the desolate wasteland of Marvel Comics’ future.