Natasha Romanoff is the Avenger known as Black Widow. Born in the Soviet Union and orphaned as a child during an attack on Stalingrad, Natasha was rescued by Ivan Petrovich Bezukhov, who took her in and raised her. He trained her until her talents caught the attention of the KGB, who recruited Natasha into their ranks and sent her to the Red Room.

Natasha’s training in the arts of deception and espionage could’ve eliminated any need for emotional acceptance or attachments. However, this wasn’t true for Natasha. Since she first appeared in 1964’s Tales of Suspense #52 (by Stan Lee, N. Korok, Don Heck, and Sam Rosen), Black Widow has had quite a few meaningful romantic relationships.

Updated on September 24, 2022 by Scoot Allan: Fans have watched Natasha Romanoff assemble her own team of allies in the current ongoing series that highlight her numerous relationships with other costumed characters. Black Widow has served as a mentor, partner, and teammate to several Marvel characters over the years. She’s also had quite a few romantic relationships with heroes like Clint Barton/Hawkeye that have lasted across the decades or have been cut short before they had a chance to really develop.

13. Count Otto Von Doom
First Appearance: Marvel 1602(Vol. 1) #2, By Writer Neil Gaiman, Penciler/Inker Andy Kubert, Penciler/Colorist Richard Isanove, And Letterer Todd Klein

Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert created the Marvel 1602 universe. It placed the familiar heroes in an Elizabethan realm that felt like Camelot in many ways. It was an interesting setting, although many of the reimagined characters kept most of their well-known traits.

Natasha was still a spy in this universe who initially worked for Sir Nicolas Fury. However, she betrayed everyone to side with her secret lover, Count Otto Von Doom. Her relationship with the tyrant of Latveria didn’t end well, as he killed the multiversal Black Widow for daring to question his plans.

12. Nikolai

Black Widow’s first romantic relationship was with a soldier named Nikolai, who she met while both were serving with the Russian Army during WWII. There was no backstory for the young soldier, but Natasha and Nikolai fell in love and were eventually married. The relationship was short-lived, and the marriage didn’t have a happy ending.

After becoming pregnant with a baby girl, Natasha lost their baby during childbirth, and Nikolai died in battle. After this relationship ended, Natasha entered the Black Widow Program and began her training at the Red Room, which transformed her into a Russian sleeper agent.

11. Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
First Appearance: Captain America Comics (Vol. 1) #1, By Writer Joe Simon, Writer/Penciler Jack Kirby, And Inker Al Liederman

Black Widow would eventually meet and share a brief romance with Bucky Barnes during his time as the Winter Soldier. Captain America’s best friend and WWII sidekick was revived and brainwashed by the Russians after he seemingly got killed in action. Barnes then became an instructor in the Red Room. Natasha and Bucky developed romantic feelings and started a secret relationship.

The KGB discovered the two were romantically involved, and their relationship ended with Natasha’s engagement with Shostakov. Winter Soldier was returned to cryostasis after an assassination attempt went wrong and they deemed him unstable. Natasha and Barnes resumed their relationship decades later, after Bucky was freed from brainwashing.

10. Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian/Ronin
First Appearance: Avengers (Vol. 1) #43, By Writer Roy Thomas, Penciler John Buscema, Inker George Bell, And Letterer Jerry Feldman

Natalia was a ballerina when she first met Alexei Shostakov, a renowned Russian test pilot. While those were ultimately revealed to be memories implanted by the Red Room and their marriage was organized by the KGB, it was still real for them. Alexei and Natasha’s marriage was a happy one until the KGB decided to use them separately as agents.

In one of the saddest moments from Black Widow comics, Alexei appeared to die in a rocket test flight, which instilled in Natasha a strong desire to continue to serve her country as the Black Widow. Shostakov was then trained and enhanced as the Russian super-soldier known as the Red Guardian. While she learned he was alive, he became an enemy and took on the Ronin identity.

9. Michael Corcoran
First Appearance: Marvel Fanfare (Vol. 1) #11, By Writer Ralph Macchio, Writer/Penciler George Pérez, Inkers Jack Abel & Joe Sinnott, Colorist Ben Sean, And Letterer Tom Orzechowski

Once Natasha entered the spy world, she found herself in a few unexpected romantic relationships. She met American scientist Michael Corcoran in Marvel Fanfare #11. He defected to the Soviet side and their paths crossed when Black Widow was trying to locate her adoptive father, Ivan Petrovich.

Black Widow proved she was one of Marvel’s best infiltrators when she went undercover as a scientist. However, she eventually began a romance with Corcoran. Once she found what she was looking for and went to check the information out as Black Widow, the KGB sprang their trap and killed Corcoran in front of her.

8. Clint Barton/Hawkeye
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense (Vol. 1) #57, By Writer Stan Lee, Penciler/Inker Don Heck, And Letterer Sam Rosen

Natasha’s first encounter with Hawkeye occurred when she was attempting to infiltrate Stark Industries. He was a man on the run, wanted for murder. The two felt an immediate attraction to each other. Black Widow used that to manipulate Hawkeye against Iron Man. However, Hawkeye ultimately helped her free herself from the KGB and defect to the Avengers.

Black Widow and Hawkeye had an on-again, off-again relationship for a while after she joined the Avengers. However, when she retired as Black Widow, she discovered Hawkeye was too busy with the Avengers. Natasha decided to end the relationship and move on. The pair remained close friends and have reconciled quite a few times, but never in a lasting relationship.

7. Tony Stark/Iron Man
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense (Vol. 1) #39, By Writers Stan Lee & Larry Lieber, Penciler/Inker Don Heck, Colorist Stan Goldberg, And Letterer Artie Simek

One of Natasha’s earliest assignments as Black Widow was to infiltrate Stark Industries and assassinate Professor Anton Vanko/Crimson Dynamo, a top Russian scientist who defected to the United States. Iron Man stopped Natasha’s early attempts to thwart, but he ultimately helped give her the foundation she needed to defect from the KGB.

Once she joined the Avengers, Natasha and Tony become friends, but she wasn’t a major love interest for Iron Man. They had a brief romantic interlude when Iron Man helped her defeat a former student and partner who’d become Titanium Man. However, the Ultimate universe version of Black Widow was engaged to Stark before she ended up betraying him and her other teammates.

6. Peter Parker/Spider-Man
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy (Vol. 1) #15, By Writer Stan Lee, Writer/Penciler/Inker Steve Ditko, Colorist Stan Goldberg, And Letterer Artie Simek

Black Widow spent a lot of time working as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. when she wasn’t fighting with the Avengers. During a mission, Hydra captured Black Widow and mentally regressed her into one of her old cover identities, school teacher Nancy Rushman.

Rushman was rescued by Spider-Man, and the two felt a mutual attraction toward each other. However, both realized that something about the growing relationship didn’t feel right. Once her memory was restored, Black Widow admitted the feelings weren’t real, and she wasn’t interested in the wall-crawler. Thankfully, Peter Parker found love with others over the years.

5. Hercules
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery Annual (Vol. 1) #1, By Writer Stan Lee, Penciler Jack Kirby, Inker Vince Colletta, Colorist Stan Goldberg, And Letterer Sam Rosen

Black Widow remained on the west coast after breaking up with Daredevil, moving to Los Angeles to become a leader of the original Champions. There, she joined Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, Hercules, and the former X-Men Angel and Iceman. During her tenure with the Champions, Black Widow and Marvel’s most powerful demi-god Hercules had a brief romance.

When the Champions disbanded due to Angel’s bankruptcy, Black Widow and Hercules also split and went their separate ways. The two remained friends and continued to fight alongside each other as Avengers, fondly remembering their brief romantic relationship.

4. Matt Murdock/Daredevil
First Appearance: Daredevil (Vol. 1) #1, By Writer Stan Lee, Penciler/Inker Bill Everett, Inkers Steve Ditko & Sol Brodsky, And Letterer Sam Rosen

After Natasha broke off her relationship with Hawkeye, she returned to crime-fighting as Black Widow and hoped to start a new chapter in her life. As part of this new beginning, she moved to New York City and took on street-level crime. During this time, Natasha met Daredevil, and the two began a romantic relationship.

Black Widow and Daredevil soon moved to San Francisco to start a new life together and continue their vigilante lifestyle. However, they parted ways when Natasha felt Matt Murdock wasn’t treating her as an equal. They remained incredibly close and could always call on each other when needed.

3. Yelena Belova/White Widow
First Appearance: Inhumans (Vol. 2) #5, By Writer Paul Jenkins, Penciler/Inker Jae Lee, And Colorist Avalon Studios

Black Widow isn’t the only awesome Russian superhero, and Natasha Romanoff isn’t the only Black Widow. Yelena Belova briefly took on the role, but she was initially an enemy of Natasha’s and the rest of the Avengers. Belova briefly became the Super-Adaptoid before she died in battle.

Black Widow brought Belova back in a cloned body with all of her memories when she took down the Red Room. This gave Belova a new lease on life, and she started working alongside Romanoff as her ally, White Widow. While the two never had a romantic relationship, they have a long shared history that’s brought them closer than most heroes.

2. Luci Nguyen/Marigold
First Appearance: Black Widow (Vol. 8) #6, By Writer Kelly Thompson, Penciler/Inker Rafael De Latorre, Colorist Jordie Bellaire, And Letterer Cory Petit

Another of Black Widow’s close new partnerships was with a young hero known as Marigold. Natasha first met Luci Nguyen when she attempted to steal her wallet. However, Natasha and Yelena began training for a new life after Luci gained powerful electrical abilities.

As Marigold, Nguyen could charge and manipulate electrical energy with her arms, although she couldn’t touch anything without shocking it. Luci became Black Widow’s unofficial sidekick when she wasn’t training to control her newfound abilities. While not romantic, it’s a close relationship that helped define Natasha’s second life after her death during Secret Empire.

1. James Grey
First Appearance: Black Widow (Vol. 8) #1, By Writer Kelly Thompson, Penciler/Inker Elena Casagrande, Colorist Jordie Bellaire, And Letterer Cory Petit

Natasha unknowingly found a new love after Madame Hydra and a group of her enemies — including her ex-husband, Red Guardian — brainwashed her. Natasha was paired with a man named James Grey who’d been manipulated for years as a pawn in their plans against Black Widow. The pair got married and their genetics were combined to create a biological son named Stevie.

Black Widow eventually regained her memories, but her feelings for James and Stevie didn’t change. Black Widow’s most dangerous villains attempted to fulfill their mission to break Natasha by killing James and Stevie in an explosion. However, Black Widow saved them and secretly hid them away so they’d be safe and couldn’t be used against her again.