One of the greatest reveals in the MCU was dropped when Black Widow explained that, due to the particulars of her training and backstory, she was as incapable of having children as Bruce Banner. This tragic reality is one Natasha shares with her comic book counterpart — although the methods and details for the latter are even more disturbing than fans likely assume.
An agent of political warfare and espionage, there are a number of limited series which slowly fleshed out more of Black Widow’s complicated and bloody backstory. One such series was 2004’s Black Widow: Homecoming written by Richard K. Morgan and illustrated by artists Bill Sienkiewicz and Goran Parlov. In the series, Natasha painfully learns the extent of the brainwashing and manipulation she underwent at the Red Room in order to become a Black Widow agent. Near the end of her search, she confronts Lyudmila Kudrin, a former project leader and “mother” to its participants, and learns a devastating truth when she brings up a former comrade who was pregnant around the time of her death.
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Surprised by those details, Kudrin explains that the Black Widow program removed their ability to conceive children in exchange for their reduced aging and heightened immune systems. Describing pregnancy as a “disease” upon a woman’s body, she explains that the improvements made to Black Widows mean a pregnancy would be possible… but would then be interpreted as an attack upon the body, and cause a miscarriage as a fail-safe. “No Black Widow can ever have a child,” states Kudrin to an outraged Natasha. When the conversation concludes in a heated argument of capitalism vs. communism symbolized by the United States and Russia, Natasha realizes that this old-world mentality must end with the only languages it understands: violence and death.
With these details in mind, it is impressive that any of these elements of Agent Romanoff’s background were included for her depiction in the MCU, which tends to favor lighter backstories instead of darker ones for their characters. Since her debut in 2010’s Iron Man 2, It would have been easy for Black Widow to fall into the cliché of sexy international spy in a form fitting jumpsuit. But this peek into her backstory, while revealing the movie version implies a different form of infertility, leaves interesting questions behind. Especially regarding the Red Room program, and its extent in the matters of historical influence.
With the upcoming Black Widow film, which takes place in between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Natasha will return home where she has to confront her past as a spy and the remnants of her personal life that she left behind. As we see another Black Widow agent appear in the trailer, one can only wonder which other agents and secrets about the Red Room will be revealed. Hopefully, Black Widow will find the kind of peace and understanding about herself that seems appropriate and fulfilling considering what we know about her foreboding future.
