15 surprising facts you didn’t know about Black Widow

Natasha’s memories have been altered

Most Marvel films don’t dive as deeply into Natasha’s past as fans would have liked, but they do show enough to suggest Natasha’s memories were altered at some point. In the comics, she’s made to remember her training in the Red Room as ballet practice. A flashback to her doing ballet during Avengers: Age of Ultron makes that connection canon within the MCU.

Of course, in the fast-paced, constantly-under-attack world of the films, there’s no time to explore what Natasha remembers of her past — and how much of it is legitimate. She’s made references to her former life throughout the films, and her awareness of what she was put through certainly suggests she has access to her memories — even the brutal ones. However, it’s possible she only remembers bits and pieces of her training, or that she learned about what went on after the fact.

For the majority of the MCU, it’s easy to forget that Natasha’s mind has been messed with multiple times, especially since the later films distance her character from the Russian spy she once was. Of course, Black Widow places her history at the forefront of her story, bringing her past back to the character and the fans.

Still, given how little emphasis was put on Natasha’s altered memories previously, more casual fans may be surprised to learn just how intrusive her training actually was. It’s not fun to imagine Natasha going through such trials, especially after viewers have seen her move on from that life.