Black Widow may be an all-star Avenger with her own movie on the way, but before her run on the big screen, her profile wasn't nearly as huge outside of the comics. For this particular reason, other Marvel properties could throw around the name for unrelated characters without a second thought, and no one seemed to care. An example of this came in the still incredibly popular Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Featuring the introduction of the Spider-Slayer robots, the show's first foray into these mechanical assassins shares the same name as the redheaded Russian Avenger. As much as it may have seemed like a waste of the name, this Black Widow also had a basis in the comics.
Spider-Man's Black Widow
Episode 2 of Spider-Man: The Animated Series' first season, fittingly titled "The Spider Slayer," introduced the first of the series of deadly robots made with the intention of taking out the Webslinger. The episode begins with Spider-Man being attacked by numerous small flying drones, though he makes quick work of them. Watching the footage from afar are Norman Osborn, Spencer Smythe and Alistair Smythe. Osborn is aggravated that the elder Smythe has so far failed to eliminate Spider-Man, but Spencer reminds Osborn that the drones, along with his newest creations, are only meant to monitor and potentially capture the hero, not kill him.
Finally, Spencer and Alistair show Norman their most powerful robot yet: the Black Widow. The drone is a gigantic spider-shaped robot, covered with a durable hide and armed to the teeth with all manner of gadgets, including grappling hooks, lasers, tasers and the ability to shoot oil, acid and even fly. Spider-Man would have an exceptionally difficult time taking the robot out, only succeeding when his exploded web cartridge caused the Black Widow's jets to malfunction, leading the robot to fall into a vat of acid.
Secret Origin of the Spider-Slayers
The Spider-Slayer series of robots were first introduced in the comics in 1965's The Amazing Spider-Man #25, a year after Natasha Romanoff debuted. For the first several entries in the continuing series of would-be Spider-Man killers, the robots had typically humanoid appearances. However, this would change, and eventually, they would bear spider-like forms. The Spider-Slayer that the cartoon's Black Widow was based on was the Spider-Slayer Mark XV, which had appeared just two years before the episode aired in The Amazing Spider-Man #372.
The Mark XV, XVI and XVII Spider-Slayers were able to combine into the gigantic Mark XVIII -- a feature that was brought into the cartoon when the Black Widow returned, along with newer Spider-Slayer units. Though it might seem a bit jarring to hear the name applied to a relatively minor villain instead of a super spy, perhaps it's just proof that Spider-Man's franchise has always been Marvel's superior spider.