Now, let's take a closer look at Yelena Belova and how she evolved from the villainous Black Widow into the White Widow as she starts her next chapter in WHITE WIDOW (2023) #1 by Sarah Gailey, Alessandro Miracolo, Matt Milla, and VC's Travis Lanham.
Yelena Belova has been many things, from a trained espionage agent to Black Widow, a lingerie model, entertainment entrepreneur, social activist, and an all-powerful Super-Adaptoid. But she has always been a product of the Red Room's ruthless spy training program.
Yelena was born in Moscow, Soviet Russia; at the age of 15 she was recruited by the GRU. After the death of her trainer, Pyotr Vasilievich Starkovsky, she is activated as the new Black Widow and deployed to investigate.
Since then, Belova has been seen in other Marvel projects including Hawkeye, and will reprise her role in the new Thunderbolts movie. That being said, it is unlikely that Belova would join the Avengers.
After parting her ways with Romanoff, Belova spent two years freeing many of the remaining brainwashed Black Widows before she was killed by Thanos' Snap. Upon her resurrection in the Blip in 2023, Belova attempted to seek out Romanoff, but was informed that she had died.
Just as the movie's post-credits scene clearly indicated would happen, Yelena showed up in Hawkeye to kill Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). Her efforts to avenge Natasha (Scarlett Johannsson) culminated in a showdown with Clint, who succeeded in talking her down.
So there you have it. After we last saw Yelena in “Black Widow,” she spent her time freeing other black widows from mind control, got snapped out of existence, and then began working as a contract killer for Valentina – which is how she got assigned to take out Hawkeye.
Learn how former Russian operative Yelena Belova went from super villain to super hero, just like her inspiration Black Widow. Many of Marvel's greatest heroes started out as villains.
Marvel fans might be aware that the mentioned characters Taskmaster, Red Guardian, Yelena and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine are set to appear in MCU's Thunderbolt, which is expected to hit theatres on July 26, 2024.
Yelena's hostility towards the Avengers likely stems from Natasha choosing them over her as her family, and she blames Nat's chosen family, especially Clint, as the reason Romanoff is dead.
She is first introduced as Kate Bishop and in issue #12 she takes up the Hawkeye mantle as the original Hawkeye was dead at the time after being killed in Avengers #502.
Black Widow: Where Yelena & Red Guardian Are During Infinity War & Endgame. Milena, Red Guardian, and Yelena didn't show up alongside Natasha in Infinity War or Endgame, and Black Widow hints at why that was the case.
By the end of the film, Yelena is so devastated by Natasha's death, that she's willing to listen to Val—a stranger—when she tells her that Clint Barton is responsible for Black Widow's demise (which occurred in Avengers: Endgame).
Natasha chose to be the sacrifice and so, Romanoff was 39 years old when she died, but the time travel in Avengers: Endgame creates a little bit of a complication. Romanoff and Barton used the Quantum Realm to journey back to 2014 so they could beat Thanos (Josh Brolin) to the Soul Stone by 4 years.
Why do Natasha and Yelena have different last names?
Yelena's full name follows an incorrect style of naming in Russian, which is quite an odd error by Marvel. Her lack of a patronymic name helps to prove that she and Natasha aren't biologically related but actually are adoptive sisters, which is shown in the MCU.
Why does Yelena have a Russian accent but Natasha doesn't?
There are two possible explanations - either the Red Room training was so thorough her accent was embedded naturally rather than taught, or Natasha decided to carrying on using her U.S. voice as a way of escaping the emotional trauma of her previous life.
In case anyone was hoping to see Natasha Romanoff come back to the MCU, Scarlett Johansson is here to tell us she's officially hanging up her Black Widow jumpsuit for good.
'Hawkeye' reveals what happened to Yelena since 'Black Widow' and it's heartbreaking. WARNING: Spoilers ahead for "Hawkeye." Yelena (Florence Pugh) was on her mission to save brainwashed Widow spies when she turned into dust. Yelena's death in the Blip means she never gets to see her sister again after "Black Widow."
As the two talk, it's revealed that Yelena works for the Contessa, who elected to give the former Widow her next target personally. The target in question is none other than Clint Barton's Hawkeye, and the Contessa identifies him as "the man responsible" for Romanoff's death.
While Yelena's skills are unmistakable, in a harsher, less emotional battle, if Clint had given his all or if he'd fought like the Ronin did, it seems unlikely that she would have beaten him.
While both Yelena and Natasha are highly skilled fighters, it's well-known that Natasha was the superior combatant. But her combat ability isn't what made Natasha truly special. Her unflappable persona made her shine on more than one occasion. It's not that she's unafraid.
Tracking down and killing Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), who Val falsely tells Yelena is “the man who killed” her sister. It's an unexpected moment — one that sets up a major confrontation between Yelena and Clint to come in a future Marvel film or show (presumably the Hawkeye Disney+ series).
Black Widow's Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is nowhere to be seen in Avengers: Infinity War, but that doesn't mean she was a victim of Thanos' snap. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) doesn't appear in the MCU Phase 3 events set after Black Widow, but that doesn't mean she died in Thanos' Avengers: Infinity War snap.
Minutes later, Thanos snaps somewhere in Wakanda. Yelena blips. When she returns, her first thought is to find Natasha, who the audience knows is already dead. The horrifying reality is that those who blipped didn't actually feel anything.
Hawkeye's season finale accomplishes a milestone for Yelena Belova in teaching her the truth of Natasha's death, but it doesn't make up for her wasted appearance in the Disney+ series. Florence Pugh's Yelena made her grand entrance in the MCU with 2021's Black Widow as the titular character's adopted younger sister.
