BLACK WIDOW
Real Name: Anya Derevkova
Identity/Class: Human (Russian, World War II)
Occupation: Spy
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Howling Commandos (Isadore "Izzy" Cohen, Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan, Nick Fury, Gabe Jones, Dino Manelli, Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton, Robert "Reb" Ralston)
Enemies: Baron Strucker (Wolfgang von Strucker), Baron Zemo (Heinrich Zemo), Imperial Japanese Army (General Nakamura, others), Nazis, Panzer Max
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile throughout Europe;
formerly somewhere in the Soviet Union
First Appearance: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos II#1 (July, 2009)
Powers/Abilities: Derevkova was a highly trained espionage agent versatile in hand-to-hand and armed combat. Her weapons of choice were knives and submachine guns.
Height: 5'7" (by approximation)
Weight: 131 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
History:
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Black Widow (Anya Derevkova) was sent to Germany to infiltrate the German high command to ultimately steal the plans for an atomic bomb from a weapon facility near Kurabavic, Yugoslavia. She was ordered to avoid all enemy contact and to keep the plans out of American hands.
Derevkova spent a month infiltrating the German high command.
<Winter 1942> Traveling through Yugoslavia with Nazi officers Derevkova month-long work got ruined when the Howling Commandos attacked her convoy. She joined forces with the Americans and ended up the sole survivor of the Nazi convoy.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos II#1) - Armed with a submachine gun Black Widow walked through the crowd and actor Dino Manelli hit on her by asking if she recognized him from Moon over Telluride. When Fury arrived on the scene and asked them what had happened Black Widow chimed in and when Fury asked her why he should give a crap about what a Nazi secretary had to say she punched him in the face and revealed that she was a Russian spy, who just had her cover blown by the Howling Commandos, after working for a whole month on infiltrating the German high command.
When Stuka tankbusters flew to their location Fury picked up Derevkova and rushed with her to a jeep. She wanted to get out, but the Howlers were shooting down the Stuka planes and Cohen couldn't stop the jeep without endangering themselves. Encountering tanks Nick Fury took out both tank operators before the Stuka blew apart the Howlers' jeep. The Howlers and Black Widow escaped the jeep before it got blown to pieces and Black Widow picked up a submachine gun to shoot down the plane alongside the Howlers. Taking control of one of the tanks the Howlers and Black Widow drove to Kurabavic and quickly took control over the Nazi-occupied town. Fury ordered the Howlers to get some sleep and an impressed Derevkova spent the night with Fury.
Waking up the next morning Derevkova asked Fury to return to bed while he looked through their maps realizing they were both sent after the same target because the railroad tracks on his map led right to the facility on Black Widow's map.
Arriving at the facility Black Widow helped take down the guards silently with a knife. After the Howlers blew up the facility's armored door Black Widow joined them in fighting Baron Zemo and his Nazi soldiers before turning on the Howlers because her orders were to steal the plans for Zemo's atomic bomb. Threatening Fury's life she ordered the Howlers to lower their weapons, then blasted jet fuel to keep the Howlers trapped inside the facility while she escaped with the atomic bomb plans.
Black Widow was going to steal a plane at a nearby airfield, but the Howlers caught up to her and boarded the plane as well. Fury and Derevkova quarreled over their destination for a moment until they realized that neither of them would get were they wanted because the plane was remote controlled by Nazis and brought to a Nazi airbase where the Howlers and Black Widow were taken prisoner. Delivered to a Nazi fortress the Howlers managed to free themselves, but ran right into the warbot Panzer Max, whom Baron Strucker was showing to Japanese Admiral Nakamura. The Howlers and Black Widow became part of the presentation of Panzer Max, but instead of showings the warbot's might it got destroyed by the combined efforts of the Howlers and Black Widow, who helped destroy the warbot's antennas causing it to run amok. The Howlers and Black Widow escaped the fortress and stole the Japanese submarine. Fury allowed Black Widow to return to Russia in a stolen Japanese plane because according to her the Howlers had to let her go because she was so good at killing Nazis.
Comments: Created by Jesse Alexander (writer) & John Paul Leon (artist).
Say hello to World War II's Black Widow, who was pretty much a complete stand-in for Natasha Romanoff. It is interesting to note that she called herself a Black Widow, indicating that she was one of many. Maybe more Black Widows were active during the war or she was the only active one and others were in-waiting until she needed to be replaced.
Natasha Romanoff, who was born in 1928, became active as Black Widow a few years after World War II. She is that old! No sliding timescale tomfoolery there!
Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe. After a brutal civil war during the 1990s the state was split up into Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.
Regarding the town of Kurabavic. It seems to be fictional because Google-search brought up nil.
Profile by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Black Widow (Anya Derevkova) should not be confused with:
images (without ads)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos II#1, p6-7, top right (main image)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos II#1, p9, pan1 (head shot)
Appearances:
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos II#1 (July, 2009) - Jesse Alexander (writer), John Paul Leon (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Last updated: 04/03/16
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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