15 surprising facts you didn’t know about Black Widow

Black Widow facts

Marvel’s Black Widow has given Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) a solo movie at long last. Fans have been calling for Natasha to receive her own story for years, but she’s one of the original Avengers whose origin was only hinted at throughout the franchise’s many films — a truth made sadder by the fact that her movie finally debuted after her character’s untimely demise.

And although Black Widow isn’t technically an origin story for Natasha, it takes viewers back to where she was trained and fills in some important details about her life in the Red Room. Following her Avengers: Endgame fate, fans will come to understand what made Natasha the person she is by the time she reaches Vormir — and who.

Johansson’s character may be the central focus of Black Widow, but the film also gives viewers a glimpse of her relationships outside of the Avengers. They meet Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), all of whom have similar backgrounds to Natasha. Their inclusion offers a new perspective of the Marvel character fans know and love, emphasizing how many layers she has.

That’s true of Black Widow’s comic counterpart as well, and there are quite a few things fans might be surprised to learn about the Marvel hero — both on the page and off of it.