# Yelena Belova

Yelena Belova (Russian: Еле́на Бело́ва) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Devin Grayson and artist J.G. Jones, the character appeared as a sketch in Marvel Knights: Wave 2 Sketchbook #1 (January 1998) before debuting a year later in the second volume of Inhumans #5 (January 1999) by writer Paul Jenkins and artist Jae Lee.
Trained as an assassin in the Russian-based Red Room, Belova became the second modern-era character to use the Black Widow moniker, after Natasha Romanova. Originally sent to kill Romanova, the two became allies and have since worked together. Belova also became a version of Super-Adaptoid as a member of Hydra and A.I.M., before being freed and adopting the codename White Widow. Belova has been part of various teams and organisations including S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Thunderbolts.
Florence Pugh portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) beginning with the film Black Widow (2021) and the Disney miniseries Hawkeye (2021). Pugh's version is depicted as the sister of Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow.

## Publication history

Yelena Belova first appeared as a sketch in Marvel Knights: Wave 2 Sketchbook #1 (January 1998) by writer Devin Grayson and artist J.G. Jones. She debuted in Inhumans (Vol. 2) #5 (March 1999) by writer Paul Jenkins and artist Jae Lee. Belova starred in and was full introduced in the mini-series Black Widow (1999) by Grayson and Jones, as part of the Marvel Knights imprint. Belova was introduced as the second incarnation of the Black Widow after Natasha Romanova (Natasha Romanoff), her obsession turned rival.
Belova went on to star alongside Romanova and Daredevil in a second miniseries titled Black Widow (2001). The next year, she starred in her first solo three-issue miniseries, Black Widow: Pale Little Spider (2002) by writer Greg Rucka and artist Igor Kordey, under the mature audience Marvel MAX imprint.

## Fictional character biography

Yelena Belova was born in Moscow in Soviet times and later recruited into the Russian Federation (GRU). She was trained to be an assassin in the Red Room by the spymasters who trained Natasha Romanova, the first Black Widow later turned Avenger.
After the death of her trainer, she is activated and deployed to investigate his death. She tracks down and kills the killer, unaware that that the task was a ploy to get Belova to assert herself as the new Black Widow. Believing herself the rightful successor to the title, Belova volunteers to eliminate Romanova. During their confrontation, Romanova calls Belova "little one", encourages her to explore her personal identity rather than blindly devote herself to her nation, and subjects her to a cruel manipulation to teach her the reality of the espionage industry. Belova remains loyal to the GRU but retires to Cuba, where she becomes a successful businesswoman and model.
Belova is recruited by the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and becomes involved in the agency's vibranium mining in the Antarctic Savage Land. Shortly afterward, she barely survives an attack by Sauron, receiving severe burns and disfiguring injuries. She is later approached by a man working for the terrorist organization Hydra who offers her revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. and the New Avengers. Belova is experimented on and genetically altered by Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) scientists working for Hydra, who transform her into a version of the Super-Adaptoid. With this body, Belova gains the ability to copy the Avengers' powers. She is eventually defeated by a combination of Iron Man's armors and the Sentry's Void persona; in which the latter she absorbs along with the Sentry's powers. After her defeat, Hydra disables her with an implanted remote fail-safe mechanism.
At some point, Romanova assumes Belova's identity on behalf of Nick Fury and works with a vigilante group named the Vanguard. During the Dark Reign event, she joins Norman Osborn's incarnation of the Thunderbolts. Osborn reveals to Scourge that he has the real body of Belova in stasis, warning her that she could be his replacement on the team. Belova is later freed by A.I.M. who elect her as a member on their High Council alongside Andrew Forson, Graviton, Mentallo, Superia, and an undercover Taskmaster. S.H.I.E.L.D. soon targets A.I.M. and deploys agents Romanova, Hawkeye and Mockingbird to execute Forson. Belova attacks Romanova but is later shot by an A.I.M. agent after being mistaken for Mockingbird.
After the events of Secret Empire, Belova was revived as a clone and assumed the Black Widow identity once again in Romanova's honor (whom she believes is dead). She travels around the world to destroy Hydra's remnants, attracting the attention of Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier. Belova later assumed the White Widow monika. She was also a member of the Winter Soldier's Thunderbolts team alongside Sharon Carter, U.S. Agent and Shang-Chi amongst others, who were assembled to take down Doctor Doom.

## Powers and abilities

Belova is a trained spy and assassin having had extensive training in hand-to-hand combat. She has also had training in gymnastics and martial arts, and is in "peak athletic condition". As the Super-Adaptoid, Belova gained the power to mimic the abilities of other superheroes and absorb the power from anyone around her.

## Reception
### Accolades

* In 2019, Comic Book Resources ranked Yelena Belova 7th in their "10 Most Powerful Russians In Comics" list.
* In 2020, Scary Mommy included Yelena Belova in their "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic" list.
* In 2021, Screen Rant included Yelena Belova in their "10 Best Versions Of Black Widow From Marvel Comics" list and in their "Red Room's Most Powerful Members" list.

## In other media
### Television

Yelena Belova appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced by Julie Nathanson. In the show, Belova is depicted as the second incarnation of the Black Widow following Baron Strucker reactivating the Red Room program. As the self-proclaimed rival of Natasha Romanoff, Belova later rechristens herself the Crimson Widow while acting as a Hydra agent.

### Marvel Cinematic Universe

Yelena Belova appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by English actress Florence Pugh. This version is an adopted sister to Natasha Romanoff and was trained to be a Black Widow assassin in the Red Room.
* Pugh first appears in the live-action film Black Widow. Director Cate Shortland said that Romanoff would be "handing [Belova] the baton" in the film, which would "propel another female storyline". Scarlett Johansson, who portrays Romanoff, said Belova would stand on her own in comparison to Romanoff, while Pugh said there was a "generational difference" between the two, noting, Belova is "unapologetic, and confident in herself, and curious ... and emotionally brave". Additionally, Pugh stated Belova "knows exactly how to function in the areas in which she has been trained, but she has no clue how to live as a human being," calling her "a lethal weapon but also a bit of a kid". Violet McGraw portrays a young Yelena.
* Pugh reprises her role in the miniseries Hawkeye.
* An alternate universe variant of Belova will appear in the animated series Marvel Zombies.
* Pugh will reprise her role in Thunderbolts*.

### Video games

* Yelena Belova's Black Widow suit appears as an alternate costume for Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow in the PlayStation Portable version of Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Marvel Heroes, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.
* Black Widow appears in The Punisher: No Mercy as a agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
* Dark Widow appears as a miniboss in Marvel Avengers Alliance.
* Black Widow appears as a mini-boss and unlockable playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest, with the MCU incarnation being added in a later update.
* Black Widow appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions as part of the Black Widow film tie-in update.
* Black Widow appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight as part of the Black Widow film tie-in update.

### Miscellaneous

* Yelena Belova appears in Marvel Knights – Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D., voiced JoEllen Anklam.
* Yelena Belova appears in Marvel Knights: Inhumans, voiced by Sarah Edmondson.
* Yelena Belova appears in New Avengers: Breakout, written by Alisa Kwitney. This version is Natasha Romanoff's former friend and roommate from the Red Room program who becomes a member of a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. faction.
* A future incarnation of Yelena Belova appears in Marvel's Wastelanders, voiced by Eva Amurri. This version uses the alias of Samantha Sugarman.