Marvel’s Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow may be one of the most skilled tacticians on earth, but it turns out she owes her unmatched expertise to the Asgardian goddess known as the Enchantress. Trained to be an expert spy and killer after being indoctrinated from childhood in the U.S.S.R.’s Red Room facility, Black Widow’s origins have always been steeped in a more grounded reality than most of her fellow costumed Avengers. However, in 2009, Marvel added a mystical spin to what readers thought they knew about Natasha’s learned skill set.
Though their opposing genre corners have allowed for little crossover room, Marvel’s Enchantress and Black Widow actually share some common attributes. Amora the Enchantress’ defining power of enchanting men and rendering them slaves to her will with her alluring beauty isn’t unlike Natasha’s own history of acting as a femme fatale against the KGB’s greatest targets. Not to mention that both characters are highly skilled when it comes to deception and extracting what they require from their enemies. Perhaps this is why Marvel opted to reveal that Natasha became the most effective secret agent on the planet thanks to the Enchantress’ fateful decision to magically grant her an impeccable prowess.
This secret moment from Natasha’s past is unveiled in Black Widow & The Marvel Girls #1 by Paul Tobin and Salva Espin. As Widow takes on a mission to assassinate one of the Red Room’s most notorious leaders in the present, she’s struck with a memory of her childhood in the Red Room, specifically the day the Enchantress showed up and changed everything. Surprisingly enough, it turns out young Natasha was actually among the least skilled in the “Black Widow Ops” program. So much so that her captors had just made the choice to dispose of her. Luckily for Nat, Amora the Enchantress shows up and decides to meddle with mortal affairs out of pure boredom.
Amora explains to Natasha that though her beauty has the power to get her far in life, she will need to develop specific skills to survive her current predicament. Amora then uses her Asgardian magic to temporarily download all the fighting skills Natasha has the potential to learn into her mind all at once. Now armed with the natural abilities of an unstoppable living weapon, Natasha makes her escape with the assistance of Amora by her side, fighting and shooting her way out of the Red Room facility with vicious ease.
However, when Natasha arrives at the perimeter fence with salvation right before her, Amora paralyzes Natasha with her magic, allowing the Red Room guards to capture her once again. As Nat fades out of consciousness, Amora tells her, “Never rely on beauty. It lies.” It’s a harsh lesson, but Amora ultimately saves Natasha’s life, as the head of the Red Room institute now sees new promise in this student that was previously believed to be disposable.
This untold tale from Natasha’s past manages to add an intriguing new genre twist to the character’s origins without stepping on the toes of her adversity. Enchantress doesn’t simply serve Natasha her skills on a silver platter, she merely opens her mind to the potential she has to rise to the top of the Red Room’s ranks. She also manages to teach Nat a harsh lesson that paves the way for her to become the expert in tactical manipulation she’ll soon be so notoriously known for. It’s one thing to show Natasha the skills she can acquire to take down an army, but the priceless lesson in the ingenious deception her beauty can be a smokescreen for is character defining. Linking the Black Widow‘s skills to Asgardian magic was a risky move, but one well worth the short story it brought about.
