Meet Marvel’s new Black Widow: What’s her connection to Natasha Romanoff?

Marvel has been in the popular conversation since some of the cast members of Avengers: Doomsday were revealed on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. While movies have had a reach, and the cast announcement is a major event, it is important to keep up with the source material on which these spectacles are based. Something major happened this week when the new Black Widow was introduced in Ultimate Wolverine #3, published on March 26, 2025.

Usually, Wolverine and Captain America team up to save a young Natasha from being held captive by the combined forces of The Hand and HYDRA. This happened during the Second World War. This is where it is imperative to note the one way in which Black Widow is different from her MCU counterpart.

While a human, Natasha, in the pages of Marvel Comics, underwent a procedure because of which she ages slowly. However, we don't know the origin of the Natasha introduced in Ultimate Wolverine #3 this week. So, for now, we don't know how similar she is to the Natasha Romanoff of the mainline continuity. Moreover, this universe's Winter Soldier is none other than Wolverine himself.

Set on Earth-6160, the creation of this Earth is linked to the council of The Maker. For the uninitiated, The Maker is an alternate version of a young Reed Richards who began as a hero but got corrupted and became a supervillain. He takes over the world and rewrites history by changing things.

For instance, Piotr (Colossus) and Illyana (Magik) Rasputin are villains, and Peter Parker starts as Spider-Man as an adult, Tony Stark is a wanted criminal (set by The Maker), and Wolverine is The Winter Soldier, not for HYDRA, but the Eurasian Republic, which is hunting mutants. Piotr and Illyana are part of the Eurasian Republic, who don't care about mutant rights like they do in Earth-616.

Explaining Black Widow's role in Marvel's Ultimate Wolverine #3:

The most interesting aspect of Ultimate Wolverine #3 is that the character introduced right in the first panel is none other than Black Widow, named Natasha Romanova, in this continuity. Then, Gambit and Kitty Pryde come to Natasha, seeking her services. It is revealed that this Natasha defected from the Eurasian Republic and wants to help the mutant rebels.

Her defection is very similar to Marvel's Earth-616's origin or defecting from Russia to S.H.I.E.L.D. However, some readers also theorize that Natasha can't be trusted. There are some continuities in the Marvel multiverse in which Natasha was an undercover spy. So, some believe that something similar might be happening here, too. But, for now, nothing is confirmed.

However, a breakthrough is seen on the last page of the issue when Kitty Pride recognizes a brainwashed Logan. But she is able to break through his brainwashing a bit this time in the last panel of the comic.