Warning: spoilers ahead for Black Widow #2!
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is ready to introduce its version of Red Guardian in the upcoming Black Widow film, Marvel Comics has just teased his return to the mainstream Earth-616 comics universe as well. Alexei Shostakov has long been absent and thought to be dead in the comics, but what better time could there be for Marvel to have him return than in their latest Black Widow series? Now that's some good synergy.
Thus far in the new Black Widow series from writer Kelly Thompson with art by Elena Casagrande, Natasha is living a simple life in San Francisco, with no memory of her past or status as one of the world's deadliest operatives, much less her title as an Avenger. Instead, Natasha believes that she's simply a civilian architect with an infant son, soon to be married to her fiancé. This is after she had completely disappeared for months, but her allies (and exes) Hawkeye and Winter Soldier get a lead on her whereabouts and begin to investigate. When they realize that she doesn't remember them or her past life, they don't reveal the truth to her just yet, choosing to wait and monitor more to figure out what's really going on.
In Black Widow #2, Natasha returns home after a date with her fiancé (as well as taking out a group of thugs). After paying the babysitter, she enters her son's room and sings to him. However, she's also being monitored from secret cameras all over the house. Fans know that they've all been set up by Arcade, who has been hired by a mysterious organization to keep tabs on Natasha as she leads the false life she's been living. However, instead of Arcade viewing Natasha and her son, it's none other than Alexi Shostakov, the Red Guardian, once a husband and partner to Natasha before she defected to the US and SHIELD.
Red Guardian seems torn about what's being done to Natasha, despite the issue's implication that he is playing a large role in her current predicament. It's possible that Alexei still has feelings for her even now in the present, despite her betrayal of their country (and him personally). With Red Guardian's involvement, it is possible that this is the KGB or the Red Room seeking revenge on their wayward agent. Furthermore, it's long been assumed that Red Guardian was dead and gone. While this certainly seems like it's Alexei, given his conflicted feelings, this could very well be an all-new Red Guardian, which would certainly be interesting and - given Natasha's long history as a secret agent - wouldn't rule out a personal connection.
At the end of the issue, Natasha is seen building a bomb, only realizing what she's made as she nears completion. Combined with her loss of memory, it seems possible that Natasha could have been turned into an unwitting agent of the Russians, to be deployed as they see fit, especially with this confirmation that her mind has definitely been messed with. As Black Widow continues, here's hoping Clint and Bucky will be able to step in and help before Natasha does anything she might seriously regret.