Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow has been dealt quite the rough hand in life. Taken as a young child and inducted into the U.S.S.R.'s "Black Widow Ops" Program, Natasha was trained to be an expert killer in the covert "Red Room" facility. From there, she was initiated as a KGB operative where manipulation and brainwashing molded her into an impeccable assassin. Years later, she would seek atonement by joining S.H.I.E.L.D. and later becoming a costumed hero, all in hopes of absolving herself from the monstrous acts she was made to commit. But even to this day, Natasha's past is so intertwined with her very identity, she may never truly be exonerated.
In the second issue of the latest Black Widow series from Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande, Natasha finds herself living a blissful suburban life in a San Francisco hillside mansion. After getting ambushed by assailants unknown, Natasha is brainwashed to forget her life as the Black Widow and now knows only of her new luxurious life as a married architect with a one-year-old baby. The why behind this twist has yet to be fully unveiled, though the villainous Arcade along with a group of concealed observers watch Natasha's every move from the shadows. But despite hints of nefarious intentions behind the scenes, Natasha's new life seems to have granted her everything she's ever wanted. And yet, her deep-seated instincts still won't allow her to accept it.
When Hawkeye and Winter Soldier catch wind that a missing Natasha is living a new life in San Francisco, they arrive undercover to investigate. Though they show up with the intention of rescuing Natasha, they're baffled to discover how content and happy she is. Acting as a random passerby, Clint confronts her to find that she has no memory of their relationship. But even more bewildering, Clint has never seen Natasha happier. Clint returns to Bucky and admits he's unsure if its even right to remove Natasha from her euphoric existence.
While Clint and Bucky ruminate over their ethical conundrum, Natasha's subconscious is way ahead of them. After leaving a night gala, she discovers a group of thugs assaulting a young woman in an alleyway. Natasha's Black Widow persona instinctively comes out to play and violently disables the hooligans. Upon returning home and under some sort of subconscious trance, Natasha begins building a bomb in her garage. And to her horror, she can't figure out why.
It seems as though even when her mind is wiped clean, Natasha has a hardwired failsafe that returns her to the weapon she was built to be. And while this will undoubtedly be what saves her from the master plan she is being buttered for, it also emphasizes Natasha's great tragedy - that even when she is presented with unbridled happiness in a home to call her own and a family that loves her, the ghost of her former life will always return to reclaim her. The monster she was made to be in the Red Room can never truly be vanquished. One thing's for sure, the people toying with Natasha's life are in for a rude awakening when the Black Widow is once again unleashed.