WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Marvel's Black Widow Prelude #1 by Peter David, Carlos Villa and Chris Sotomayor, on sale Wednesday, Jan. 15.
It's a pretty good time to be a Black Widow fan. Scarlett Johansson is finally set to star as the hero in a Marvel Studios solo film this year. Fans have demanded a Black Widow film for years, and they are finally getting their wish with a film slated to peel back the curtain on titular hero's origin.
Even though Black Widow died during Act 2 of Avengers: Endgame, there is still much to learn about her character. What was her childhood like? How did she get involved with Russia's Red Room? How did she go from a nefarious spy to Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.? All of these items are important aspects of the Black Widow character and are worth exploring.
Luckily, the feature film will answer some of these questions, but the comics are preparing to make some revelations as well. Marvel's Black Widow Prelude is a two-issue miniseries that helps set the stage for the May film, and a preview of the first issue begs the question of why Black Widow defected from the Red Room to join S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
The Marvel's Black Widow Prelude #1 features Secretary of State Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and a woman discussing Natasha Romanoff's history. Fans will remember Ross from Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He is the person who presented the Sokovia Accords to the Avengers, which caused a rift between Captain America and Iron Man.
We learn that Ross has no information on Black Widow's early years. However, at some point she drew the attention of the man behind the Red Room: General Dreykov. While Dreykov can be considered the brains of the Red Room, the person he put in charge of training its students was a woman named Madame B. Of course, we know Black Widow was the Red Room's star pupil, and how the program left her unable to have children. But sometime between graduating and being unleashed on the world, Black Widow became one of Nick Fury's most trusted agents.
The preview doesn't answer the Red Room-S.H.I.E.L.D. question, but once the issue arrives in stores on Jan. 15, it may reveal that information. Most diehard readers may choose to skip these Marvel prelude comics, but they have been known to include Easter eggs that aren't found in the MCU films. If you're looking forward to Black Widow, this week will see the release of a new trailer during the College Football National Championship game between the Clemson Tigers and LSU Tigers, and Marvel's Black Widow Prelude #1.