Despite her prominence in certain Marvel storylines, Yelena Belova isn't as well-known as her former foe and occasional ally, Natasha Romanoff. With Black Widow set to premiere in only three months, MCU fans will finally get the chance to know a bit more about this mysterious new character.
Introduced only twenty-two years ago, Yelena is the second character to use the Black Widow alias. She also assumes the Super Adoptoid identity, albeit briefly. A member of prominent Marvel organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D., A.I.M., Vanguard, and even HYDRA, Belova goes through an intricate journey throughout her comic book history. In more ways than one, she is the ideal representation of the modern-day antihero.
Taking Over The Black Widow Mantle
Yelena spends her childhood in the same Red Room where Natasha received her own spy education. She goes into the field after the death of her trainer, Pyotr Vasilievich Starkovsky, and quickly apprehends and eliminates his killer.
This turns out to be her first proper mission and a test of sorts. By fulfilling it without letting her emotions get in the way, she asserts herself as the new Black Widow. The power dynamics of the Red Room are fascinating, and hopefully, the movie goes into them in more detail.
First Mission
Yelena actually debuts in Inhumans #5. As part of her very first mission, she lowers the barriers that surround Attilan, allowing for an invasion to take place.
Located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, before moving the Himalayas and eventually into space, Attilan is a popular Inhuman location in Marvel comics. Near the end of its existence, Attilan moves near New York City, where Thanos destroys it during his invasion of Earth.
First Encounter With Natasha
Convinced that she's the rightful successor to the Black Widow title, Yelena volunteers on a mission that will put her at odds with Natasha. The two finally meet, but their interactions don't lead to a real battle. Instead, Natasha adopts a gentler approach and tries to convince Yelena to abandon the Widow life and discover her true self.
When words fail to make Yelena understand, Natasha subjects the young spy to a tortuous and intense face-swap process which leaves Yelena feeling used and betrayed. Thus, Natasha successfully makes Yelena see the truth about the Red Room and the harsh realities of espionage.
Leading A Normal Life
Like many before her, Yelena tries to abandon the superhero lifestyle and pursue a normal one. After the cruel treatment she received at the hands of Natasha, Yelena defects Russia, abandoning her Black Widow persona.
Yelena becomes a lingerie model, eventually owning a large lingerie empire that makes her a millionaire.
Sauron & The Avengers
Yelena is lured back into the espionage business by the increasingly problematic S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming involved in the illegal mining of vibranium in the Savage Lands. The Avengers discover them and during the battle, the pteranodon-like villain Sauron arrives and nearly kills her, severely burning her.
While at the hospital, she receives a proposal from HYDRA to get back at S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. She accepts, wanting to kill Spider-Woman herself.
HYDRA & A.I.M.
Belova receives genetic alterations from HYDRA that heal her badly injured body. The evil organization recruits A.I.M.'s services and turns Belova into a new version of Super-Adaptoid. She then attacks Avengers tower before Luke Cage and Jessica Jones's wedding.
A fusion of human and machine, Belova battles the New Avengers and successfully copies their powers, almost beating them. She ultimately loses the fight thanks to Tony Stark's suits of armor and Sentry's Void persona. After realizing she won't win the fight, A.I.M. shuts her down and seemingly kills her.
Vanguard & Thunderbolts
Yelena later shows up, alive and kicking and working for the secret organization Vanguard. Once the team disbands, however, she goes back into hiding.
Norman Osborn then invites her to join the Thunderbolts, to which she agrees. After a long and entangled sequence of events, this version of Yelena turns out to be Natasha in disguise, acting under the orders of the spy Nick Fury. Osborn, however, already knew about Natasha's duplicity and used her all along. Once she escapes, Osborn reveals the real Yelena, preserved in stasis.
A.I.M Council
For a brief time, Yelena served in A.I.M.'s High Council after members of A.I.M. awoke her. She joins several other villains, including Taskmaster, Mentallo, Superia, and Andrew Forson, and assumes the position of Minister of State in the newly-created country of Bagalia.
Throughout this time, she retains her Super Adaptoid appearance and abilities. She seemingly dies again when an A.I.M. operative shoots her after mistaking her for the New Avenger Mockingbird.
Retaking The Black Widow Mantle
After Natasha's death at the hands of HYDRA's Captain America doppelganger, Yelena retakes the Black Widow identity to avenge Natasha's death. She spends several years traveling around the world, targeting high-ranking HYDRA members and corrupt government officials.
Eventually, her actions capture the attention of two of Natasha's former allies and partners, Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier. She has several clones, as a result of the Red Room's efforts to preserve their top agents, and some are known allies of the Natasha clone that's still around.
Yelena & Natasha
Throughout their comic book history, the two Black Widows share an uneasy and confrontational relationship. They sometimes act like close allies, others like sworn enemies. Natasha refers to Yelena as "little one," confirming the older-younger sibling dynamic they often engage in.
Yelena is notoriously more amoral than Natasha, which often causes conflict between the two. Their comic book partnership is never as close as the one Black Widow will seemingly depict, so it will be interesting to see how their relationship evolves in the MCU.