Natasha Romanova A.K.A. Black Widow is a Russian spy turned Avenger created by Stan Lee, Don Rico and Don Heck. She has appeared in countless comic book series since her creation in 1964 and is most famously portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise of films. Due to her immense popularity, many have even hoped for a solo movie that follows Black Widow’s adventures. Her backstory as a KGB spy as well as her martial arts skills, savviness with a gun, and computer hacking expertise make for a force to be reckoned with and could make a compelling movie on its own.
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Given that she is such a strong character (not to mention one of the only female superheroes currently depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), it is no wonder that she gets so much love and countless cosplayers love to dress up as her. Who wouldn’t want to role-play such a badass, strong female character? Scarlett Johansson is the definitive portrayal of the character for most people, but we've seen some amazing cosplay from some talented females dressed as the Avenger's resident spy. So with that in mind, let’s look at the 15 most mind-blowing Black Widow cosplays (in no particular order).
15 ISSSSE
IssssE does a really fantastic job getting into character for her different cosplay photoshoots. Little is known about her besides her love of cosplay and video games and that she often does very detailed work. She puts a lot of effort in her costumes and it shows, as most come out flawless. She also takes the time to immerse her characters in their world to great effect.
Her Black Widow (photographed by Sergio Aguirre) is particularly amazing due to the detail not only in her costume but in the level of detail she puts in the background of her images. You feel like you're actually watching Black Widow heading into battle. Make sure you check out all of her cosplays on her official DeviantArt page.
14 KATYUSKA MOONFOX
Katyuska Moonfox is a 23 year old cosplayer from Brisbane, Australia. Moonfox began cosplaying when she was 13 years old due to her passion for games like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. Her love of video games also pushed her to study programming and game design. Her website keeps her fans up-to-date on all of her upcoming cosplays and appearances, and she has also been very outspoken about her own body issues and body dysmorphia.
Sporting a healthy 367,000 followers on Instagram, Katyaska’s costumes leave very little to the imagination, and her fans love her for it. The same can be said for her Black Widow cosplay (photograph by whatabigcamera.com), which is leathery, skin tight, and shows enough skin for her fans to go wild. The costume also perfectly encapsulates the essence of the comic book character.
13 CONTAGIOUS COSTUMING
Contagious Costuming, whose real name is Caitlin, is a cosplayer and costume designer from Greensboro, North Carolina. She has been creating handmade costumes since 2011. She has won many awards over the years for her costumes including 1st place for a Saga costume contest and 1st place at Heroescon 2014 for the "Men’s" and "Best In Show" categories. She also commissions costumes for others. She even has a YouTube channel where she showcases some of her work and covers different ComicCons.
Her personal costumes include X-23, Emma Frost, Dr. Doom, Gamora and, of course, Black Widow. Her fabric costume makes for a more minimalistic look that perfectly suits the character. One could also appreciate that this is a more conservative take on the character that forgoes the ample cleavage for an efficient jumpsuit.
12 ALODIA GOSIENGFIAO
Alodia Gosiengfiao is a world-renowned cosplayer, singer and actress from the Philippines. She began cosplaying at the age of 15 thanks to encouragement from her friends. Since then she has amassed a huge online following thanks to her fantastic costumes and charming personality. She currently has over 200,000 subscribers on YouTube as well as over 650,000 followers on Instagram. She has received countless endorsements over the course of her career which has enabled her to pursue her cosplaying passion.
Her Black Widow, as photographed here by Gabriele Valenza in Italy, perfectly represents the Bishoujo statue that this particular look is based off of. It is a testament to Alodia’s popularity as a cosplayer, as she personifies the characters she plays in her photography with ease.
11 KARENSCARLET
Karenscarlet is a Russian artist and cosplayer. She has cosplayed as Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series, singer Lana Del Rey and Tauriel from The Hobbit series. As shown in the image above, her Black Widow (photographed by Fedorenko Julia) closely resembles Scarlett Johansson’s suit in the first Avengers film. It is black with a few splashes of navy blue and a S.H.I.E.L.D. crest on her sleeve just below her shoulder.
She also sports a similar red bob haircut, which has become iconic to the character. The costume makes for a great replica of the film’s design. Her take on the character is refreshing in that it’s not as overtly sexual as many other cosplayers on this list. It’s proof that you can be seductive without showing too much skin.
10 KRISTEN LANAE
Kristen Lanae does some really fantastic cosplay designs that perfectly replicate beloved superheroes. Her latest is an exact replica of Wonder Woman’s costume in the latest DCEU film. Her work is truly extraordinary. Her cosplays aren’t limited to comic book characters. They also include Jessica Rabbit, Cortana from the Halo universe, Daenerys Targaryen from the Game of Thrones series, Walter White from Breaking Bad and many more. What adds to the great quality of her work is that she immerses her characters in the fantastical worlds they inhabit using great props and image editing software to create realistic backgrounds for her shots.
Cosplay has also given her the confidence to speak to strangers more as it has been a way for her to break the ice at comic book conventions. Her Black Widow costumes appeals to the character’s seductive side with its lace trimmings and form-fitting design. Really great work.
9 ELENA SAMKO
Elena Samko boasts that she is one of the most unusual cosplayers in the world, because she can play both sexy and ugly characters seamlessly. She does all her costumes and makeup herself, which is an outstanding feat given how intricate some of her designs are. Some of her work is truly grotesque, yet beautiful in its detail so no matter how graphic and gross you think it is, you'll be impressed by the amount of love and detail she puts into her work.
Her Black Widow design is obviously less intricate than much of her work, yet it still deserves a spot on this list. Her take on the character has more of a gothic horror vibe than the rest of the cosplayers here due to her makeup choices, but it certainly makes for a great look!
8 FORKNINJA
Forkninja is an Australian cosplayer who has only posted a few costumes online, but her work is still fantastic. She has posted images of her Loki costume, as well as Arwen from Lord of the Rings and Naruto, all of which she is able to pull off almost effortlessly. Although she hasn't posted anything recently, that doesn't take anything away from her Black Widow costume (photograph above by Trung Do Photography).
Her portrayal in the images really brings Black Widow to life, as though she leapt out of the comic book pages. It's a great costume that combines the spandex jumpsuit with a long hairstyle often worn by the character. We would have really liked to see more of her work given the quality of the little available online.
7 YUKI COSPLAY
Yuki LeFay is a cosplayer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil who is extremely passionate about her art. She has been cosplaying for over 10 years, competing and judging contests around the world. She is a talented costume designer and makeup artist, and Yuki’s costumes include a slew of video game and comic book icons such as Dark Phoenix, Black Cat, Mystique and Samus Aran of the Metroid series (both the mech suit and body suit).
She currently has over 21,000 followers on Facebook and we suspect that number will grow as she continues to bring some of pop culture's biggest characters to life. Her Black Widow look is both sleek and sexy, capitalizing on her bountiful assets and she's able to use her strengths to really encapsulate not only the look of the character, but also the essence.
6 ANASTASYA ZELENOVA
Anastasya Zelenova is a Russian cosplayer who, much like a lot of the aficionados on this list, has a love for both comic book and video game characters. For those who understand Russian, Zelenova has a vlog on YouTube which she updates quite regularly. Even if you don’t understand what she is saying, you still get a glimpse of her process creating her makeup and showing off her different outfits.
Her Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman (from the DC Extended Universe) are quite breathtaking, but she also does a fine job with her Black Widow costume. Unlike many cosplayers, she opted for combat boots instead of high-heels which makes a far more sense when chasing down bad guys and being a total badass. Be sure to check out her other work.
5 CRYSTAL GRAZIANO
Crystal Graziano is a cosplayer and freelance artist from San Diego, California. She’s got a huge fanbase that consists of 113,000 followers on Facebook, 19,200 followers on Twitter and over 20,000 followers on Instagram. You will often find her interacting with fans on social media or at the various Comic Cons she attends periodically. Be sure to also check out her art on her website.
Graziano’s artistic eye translates well to her Black Widow costume which gets the look down perfectly. The golden belt and bracelets make for a nice touch reminiscent of the character’s comic book roots. Her look is an homage to the classic look she wears in the comic, while still adding enough of a modern twist to harken back to the character's look in the MCU.
4 VAMPBEAUTY
Vampbeauty’s YouTube page has 28,000 subscribers with good reason: not only does she show a behind-the-scenes look at her cosplaying, she also reviews action figures and model kits for her fans to check out. She also has almost 260,000 followers on Facebook, where she shows off her different costumes, including quite a few fantastic mech ones that are insanely detailed.
Her Black Widow, by comparison to some of these works, might seem pretty simple, but we suggest you read through her blog post to see just how difficult it is to do even the simplest looking costume if you want it to be the perfect tribute to a character. As a huge Marvel fan, she really took the time to piece together the best suit possible and it shows.
3 GIORGIACOSPLAY
Giorgiacosplay is an Italian cosplayer, Eurobeat singer and model. She has created over 40 costumes over the course of her career, which cover everything from anime, comic books, movies and video games. With over 100,000 followers on Facebook and 22,000 followers on Instagram, she has made a significant impact in the cosplay world and fans recognize her name if announced for any upcoming events.
Her interpretation of Black Widow is very similar to the sexier comic book versions of the costumed character which focus on skin tight spandex and a little too much cleavage. Nothing says efficient superhero costume like the possibility of a popping out during an intense fight with a villain. Then again, when was that ever a problem in the comics? No problem here!
2 HINITSUBURAGI
Spanish cosplayer HiniTsuburagi's portfolio is filled with a variety of characters that stem from comic books, movies, video games and manga. She has created over 20 different costumes that do more than justice to the characters she loves. Her ability to convincingly portray completely different characters like Morticia Adams from The Adams Family and Elektra is what makes her such a versatile cosplayer and makes her a force to be reckoned with in the cosplay community.
Her Black Widow costume shows more of Natasha's sensual side. It is not overtly sexual, but rather seductive. This is the Black Widow that seduces her enemy before taking them out like a true spy should. She lures her prey into getting close to her, and then strikes when the moment is right. HiniTsuburagi's Black Widow cosplay hits all the right notes. Great work.
1 LINDSAY ELYSE
Lindsay Elyse is an avid gamer and cosplayer from Phoenix, Arizona. She has almost 500,000 followers on Instagram, 100,000 on Twitter and a whopping 1 million followers on Facebook. She frequently broadcasts on Twitch to discuss the latest in gaming news. She often cosplays as characters from League of Legends and Final Fantasy, but she does venture into the comic book realm from time to time.
Her Black Widow costume (photo by Brecklyn Grimes) represents the character’s femme fatale status perfectly. She's perfected that innocent and doe-eyed look that would get any man to open up to her just before she slits his throat and she adds a little more red to her ledger. Through her black spandex suit and pitch-perfect look, Elyse makes a great Black Widow.
Did we leave out any other noted Black Widow cosplayers from this list? Leave a comment below and let us know!