Post by Natalia Romanova on Jul 18, 2013 8:24:10 GMT
[PTabbedContent][PTab=GENERAL INFORMATION] CHARACTER INFO: NAME: Natalia Romanova ALIAS: Black Widow AGE: 88 OCCUPATION: Ex-KGB Agent MEMBER GROUP: Avengers POWERS AND ABILITIES: Supersoldier Serum (variant): Natasha was injected with a version of the serum used to create the specimen known today as Captain America. Instead of causing a massive growth spurt in the young spy, the serum only enhanced the areas of her physique the handlers wanted - namely her speed, stamina, and her longevity. It’s unknown how, but the serum also affected Natasha’s immune system; she has not had a cold since she was a young girl. In order to sustain this enhancement, her body’s metabolism also increased, forcing her to need more food than most average humans. Black Widow Training: The Red Room orphans Psychological Defenses: This is not an ability that Natasha knows about, but rather is a side-effect of all the mental manipulation the Red Room put her through. The constant wiping of her mind and hiding real memories beneath layers of false ones left her a mental mess. Finding the truth beneath all of the lies was a physically painful process for the Black Widow when she finally defected and attempted to force her way through to the truth. To this day there are still memories even Natasha doesn’t know about due to the arduous process it takes to find them. Psychics who attempt to weave their way into and through Natasha’s mind are met with the same physical pain. PLAYBY: Scarlett Johannson OOC INFO: PLAYER NAME: Aech AGE: 27 GENDER: Female TIMEZONE: Pacific Standard Time OTHER CHARACTERS: Maureen Evans, Anna Marie, [/PTab][PTab=PERSONNEL ASSESSMENT] PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT: LIKES: Ballet - Having been led to believe for years that she was, in fact, a ballerina herself, Natalia has a subconscious fondness for the dance. Underestimated - Being underestimated by her enemies is one of Natalia's favorite things. Whether it be due to her gender, her small stature, or any other variable, matters not to her. It is an especially useful talent when she is dealing with getting information out of people. It's amazing just how many fascinating tidbits an egotistical crime lord will give up when they think they've got the upper hand. First Amendment - Freedom of speech is not a right in the Motherland, especially when you are a part of a secret government program. Natalia has become accustomed to biting her tongue, but no longer does she need to (unless Director Fury is speaking, of course). Needless to say, this new found freedom is quite enthralling for the snarky Russian vixen. SHIELD - When her own country's government was after her, SHIELD was there to protect her. After she recovered, they continued to keep her safe, while also providing her with a means of employment. Needless to say, she is indebted to the program - and to Director Fury for having faith in an ex-KGB agent like herself. Point Barrow, Alaska - Half a world away from the rest of the world, there is a small headland on the Arctic coast. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States and is one of the most secluded places in the world. When life gets too tumultuous, Natalia has a tendency to head there for a bit of alone time. The arctic winds remind her of home, and sometimes she swears she can even smell the Motherland when an easterly wind blows through. Cheeseburgers - Of all the foreign food she's tried over the years, Natalia's favorite is, hands down, a good ol' fashioned America cheeseburger. She prefers hers with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and ketchup. DISLIKES: Nazis - As a child, Natalia was taken hostage by some members of the Third Reich. Due to this, she has a distinct disdain for anyone associated with the word 'Nazi'. Fire - Fires do nothing to bring a smile to the Russian spy's lips due to the loss of her parents (and almost her own life) in one. Underestimated - On the flip side of the coin, Natalia hates being underestimated by her teammates and partners. Unfortunately, as one of the non-supers, it's a daily nuisance. Misogynists - In her homeland, women have never had any real power or authority over their male counterparts. As a very strong-willed woman, Natalia opposes this prehistoric train of thought. Sexist words or actions are quick to get a rebuttal from the femme fatale - and it's not always in a verbal format. Lying - Natalia's young life consisted mainly of one lie after another. This has filled her with a strong disdain for liars, not to mention a keen nose for when someone is holding back the truth. Obviously, she expects to deal with a severe lack of truth where her enemies are concerned, but when her friends and partners lie to her, they'd better have a damn good reason or be ready to suffer the consequences. STRENGTHS: Espionage - Having begun her spy training when she was just a little girl, Natalia is a master of espionage. After centuries in the business, she is quite the femme fatale, and an expert seductress. Linguistics - Her linguistics skills are rivaled by very few. Under her belt, she has mastered Russian, Latin, German, French, English, Chinese, and many others. Intel - Getting information is a knack for her, whether it be via hacking or interrogation. If you need info, she's the girl you want to call. WEAKNESSES: Mortal - As a mere human, she is not able to keep up with some of the other more powerful members of the Avengers team. This also means she is quite mortal (albeit long-lived) and easily susceptible to lethal wounds. Emotions (or lack thereof) - Having spent so many years between aliases, and behind the barrel of a gun, her heart is not as warm as most. Needless to say, emotions are definitely not her strong suit. Sterile: The last gift given to Natasha by her handlers in the Red Room was one that just keeps giving - or rather, one that will never give. As part of the graduation ceremony to become the Black Widow, Natasha was sterilized. Without the ability to reproduce, they thought it would make her job easier. GOALS: Red Ledger She has done many a foul deed in her long-lived career and some of them haunt her to this day. Eventually, she would like to make amends for all of the wrongs she's done and either get the red out of her ledger or at least redeem herself for it. She knows that the path ahead of her is long, but she's willing to take it day by day. Love - Despite her outwardly cold-hearted demeanor, Natalia would eventually like to find someone to fill the hole that the loss of Alexei left behind. For awhile she thought, perhaps, Clint could be that someone, but although she feels strongly for him, it is purely in a platonic fashion. FEARS: Possibly her biggest fear is losing Clint. She still owes him a debt which she fully intends to pay back. Aside from that emotional attachment, she puts on a good act of fearlessness. Despite her nonchalant facade around the nuclear physicist, Bruce Banner's alter ego is quite frightening to her. Even when he's in control of the Hulk, she tends to shy away from the big green machine. OVERALL PERSONALITY: Upon first impression, Natasha has a tendency to come across as quiet, but not curt. She’s generally a quick and fairly accurate judge of character, knowing from decades of experience what to look for in those with ulterior motives. It takes time for Natasha to open up to others, but once her loyalty is earned, it’s for life. Debts are always paid, even if it takes a few Instilled with a sense of discipline and a strong work ethic, Natasha gives her all to every goal put before her, whether it be a mission, or for her own personal self. She is an exceptional multi-tasker, occasionally to the chagrin of those assigned to work alongside her. While she always strives to follow mission guidelines to a ‘T’, she won’t hesitate to go off-book if she sees a better solution to a problem, even going so far as to put others’ safety above her own. Beneath her naturally cool and collected exterior Natasha is actually quite a charming She has spent her long life perfecting the art of hiding her true emotions, but there are a few souls who have managed to worm their way in. Those who know the true Natasha know she’s a woman plagued by her past. She’s done some bad things in her time, and is looking to make amends. Her past has given her a unique point of view. As such, she tends to see the world not as it should be, but as the black, white, and grey mess that it is. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: BIRTHPLACE: Stalingrad, Russia RESIDENCE: SHIELD Headquarters PARENTS: Mother - Deceased; Father - Deceased. Both died in a fire when Natasha was very young. She was saved and raised by Ivan Petrovitch. SIBLINGS: None IMPORTANT RELATIVES: None IMPORTANT PERSON: Clint Barton - has a close friendship with Hawkeye. OVERALL HISTORY: Winters in Soviet Russia are always freezing, but the night Natalia's family got stuck in a burning building during an early attack on Stalingrad, the only thing she noticed was the heat. A guardian angel by the name of Ivan Petrovitch, a Soviet soldier, found the newly orphaned child and rescued her from the inferno that took the lives of both her parents. Ivan took young Natalia under his wing, raising her as his own...or so she thought. In all actuality, she was brought to Department X, to the "Red Room" facility, where she and other orphaned females were trained to be the country’s newest weapons. During her formative years, Natalia was kidnapped by Nazis and taken to the island principality of Madripoor. Once again, Ivan swept in to rescue her, this time from the hands of the Third Reich. Nazis proved a slightly more difficult enemy than flames, however, and so Ivan was forced to enlist aid from two soldiers: James Howlett and Steve Rogers. Howlett himself would come to be one of her trainers in the Red Room. Despite her failure to eliminate him after he turned on the facility, Natalia was allowed to continue her training. Later on, the Soviet weapon known as the Winter Soldier would take over where Howlett stopped. Despite the Red Room’s best efforts to keep their assets as nothing more than emotionless weapons, they couldn’t foresee the love that blossomed between their top assassin and his pupil. In the end, out of the twenty-eight girls who were entered into the Black Widow program only one graduated. After graduation, Natalia was transferred to the KGB. Her relationship with the Winter Soldier - no longer a secret - was forced to end abruptly when an arranged marriage was set out for her. Alexei Shoshtakov, the Soviet’s greatest test pilot, was a great man and a good husband, but at the end of the day, he was merely an alibi for the KGB’s newest sleeper agent: the Black Widow. Her love for the man was implanted, along with her identity as a ballerina at the Bolshoi. Despite that, when news reached Natalia of her husband’s demise due to an aircraft accident, she felt genuine emotional pain - and still does to this day. Years passed after the loss of Alexei and Natalia's skills improved as her heart hardened. In the late 1980’s Natalia finally met her match when she ran into SHIELD's archer agent, Hawkeye. Her reputation had preceded her, it seemed, and she found herself staring down the wrong end of his arrow. Something stirred within the archer assassin, however, and although he’d been sent to kill her, he made a different call. His mercy stirred feelings within the previously cold-hearted assassin's chest - the idea of free will was a tantalizing one. Deciding to defect from the Soviet to the U.S. was not a simple choice, but in the end, Natalia knew it was the right one. When the KGB got wind of her intentions, they took no time sending guns to take the Black Widow out. If they could not have her, no one could. Natalia - now going by the Americanized Natasha - was injured badly in one such attack by her previous handlers, but managed to pull through in order to take down the Red Room in all its blood-soaked glory. Once back in the States, Natasha was ever eager to prove herself as the newest agent of SHIELD. She was often paired on missions with her sponsor, Hawkeye, not only as a precaution, but because the two seemed to work exceptionally well together. A spark erupted between the pair, but after only one date, it became blatantly clear that there was nothing between them save a platonic friendship, an amazing work partnership, and a desire from her to repay him the debt for sparing her life. It took time, but Natasha worked hard to earn the trust of Nick Fury. She understood that like her, he was not one to trust anyone fully, so she took what was offered and managed to rise through the ranks, making a name for herself here on the side of good. In 2010, at the request of Nick Fury, Natalia infiltrated Stark Industries under the guise of Natalie Rushman. Her job was to assess the possibility of Tony Stark becoming a member of the Avengers Initiative. In her report, she deemed him personally unworthy (see: volatile, self-obsessed, does not play well with others) of the position, but the suit itself seemed a valuable asset. Two years later, when Loki attacked Manhattan, Tony proved himself worthy, defending the planet alongside the ragtag bunch of enhanced soldiers and a pair of master assassins. With that threat vanquished, the world seemed to be getting a grasp of not falling apart, but it quickly became apparent that Earth still needed the Avengers, so she splits her time between SHIELD, Avengers missions, and clearing the red from her ledger [/PTab][PTab=IMAGE][/PTab][/PTabbedContent={width:485px;border:0px;margin-left:-2px;}] |
CANON INFORMATION:
CANON: Mortal Endsverse
INFINITY ENDVERSE CANON:
NAME: Natalia Alianovna Romanova
ALIAS: Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, Natalie Rushman, Laura Mathers, Czarina
AGE: 88
OCCUPATION: Empress of Atlantis, Professor of History, Back-up Defender
MEMBER GROUP: Atlantean, Government, Superhuman, Canon
AFFILIATIONS: Defenders
PLAYBY: Scarlett Johansson
BIRTHPLACE: Stalingrad, Soviet City-State
RESIDENCE: Atlantis (Antarctica)
PARENTS: Presumed deceased
SIBLINGS: None
IMPORTANT RELATIVES: None
IMPORTANT PERSON:
Namor - Husband
Ilarion - Son (infant)
Clint Barton - Best Friend
Steve Rogers - Close Friend
Ivan Petrovitch - Estranged Surrogate Father
HISTORY:
Natalia’s history doesn’t divert from its Mortal Endsverse path too much until recent years, save a few important missions for the KGB…
In the late 1960’s, Natalia was sent by her KGB masters to infiltrate Stark Industries. She did so by utilizing one of the most notorious facts about the corporation’s head - his fondness for pretty women. Under the guise of Laura Mathers, Natalia wrapped Howard Stark around her finger for a solid couple of months, earning the genius’ trust and gleaning as many secrets as possible about his business. When the order came from on high to finish the job, Natalia didn’t so much as blink before attacking the billionaire. His advanced technology proved to be too much for her, unfortunately, and she only got away with a handful of secrets for her masters.
By the time Natalia was sent back to the Starks in the 1980’s, Howard had met Maria who’d conceived their son, effectively removing the role of a potential love-interest. Her history with the man was also a problem, of course. Instead of sliding up from alongside him, Natalia used her skills in infiltration. The Starks, again, were ready for something of the sort and this time she barely managed to steal some intel and escape with her life intact.
In the late 1990’s, Natalia met the man who would finally turn her life around: Clint Barton. Sent to kill her, the archer made a different call, opting to spare her life instead. The fact that he’d held her life in his hands and hadn’t pulled the metaphorical trigger was not lost on the Russian femme fatale, and instead of running back to her masters in the KGB, she followed Barton back to the Shadow Province.
She joined SHIELD, slowly but surely rising through the ranks, even after Clint moved on to a considerably less hazardous line of work. When Steve Rogers broke away from the shadowy organization, Natalia was one of the people he invited to join the ranks of a new team of heroes he was attempting to form. She went as a friend to hear him out, unsure at the time whether she would accept his offer or not.
Just as she was arriving to the scheduled meeting place, another of Steve’s potential recruits was leaving. With a few minutes to spare before her allotted time, Natalia had no qualms with stopping to speak with the man. If she joined the group, he would become one of her colleagues after all. Twenty minutes later, Natalia’s phone rang and she realized she’d passed her small timeframe by a large margin while talking to the Atlantean.
In the end, she decided to accept Steve’s offer, though perhaps not entirely because of the ideals he was preaching. Natalia and Namor began their courtship not long after the founding of the team, but kept their activities a secret. It wasn’t until they sent out invitations to their surface wedding ceremony that anyone even knew about the pair’s long-term relationship.
Natalia retired from SHIELD just before the wedding and moved to Antarctica to be closer to her husband. She began a tenure at a University in one of the human settlements, teaching History. She and Namor spent the next ten years blissfully wed, save one missing piece: a child.
As King of Atlantis, Namor was in need of an heir to his throne, but the “graduation ceremony” in the Red Room had taken that option away from Natalia. Scientists and Magicians alike worked for nearly a decade to find and perfect a cure for the royal couple. Finally, in 2013, there was a breakthrough. Even after taking the final product, it took some time for Natalia to conceive a child. Once pregnant, she took a leave of absence from the team, opting to keep herself - and the baby growing inside of her - as far from danger as possible.
Ilarion Alexander Romanov was born on July 5, 2015. He was introduced to his godfather, Steve Rogers (whose birthday celebrations he caused the couple to miss) a few days later. Natalia has remained loyal to the Defenders, but remains mainly focused on teaching and being a mother and Empress unless her skills are absolutely necessary.
CANON: Mortal Endsverse
INFINITY ENDVERSE CANON:
NAME: Natalia Alianovna Romanova
ALIAS: Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, Natalie Rushman, Laura Mathers, Czarina
AGE: 88
OCCUPATION: Empress of Atlantis, Professor of History, Back-up Defender
MEMBER GROUP: Atlantean, Government, Superhuman, Canon
AFFILIATIONS: Defenders
PLAYBY: Scarlett Johansson
BIRTHPLACE: Stalingrad, Soviet City-State
RESIDENCE: Atlantis (Antarctica)
PARENTS: Presumed deceased
SIBLINGS: None
IMPORTANT RELATIVES: None
IMPORTANT PERSON:
Namor - Husband
Ilarion - Son (infant)
Clint Barton - Best Friend
Steve Rogers - Close Friend
Ivan Petrovitch - Estranged Surrogate Father
HISTORY:
Natalia’s history doesn’t divert from its Mortal Endsverse path too much until recent years, save a few important missions for the KGB…
In the late 1960’s, Natalia was sent by her KGB masters to infiltrate Stark Industries. She did so by utilizing one of the most notorious facts about the corporation’s head - his fondness for pretty women. Under the guise of Laura Mathers, Natalia wrapped Howard Stark around her finger for a solid couple of months, earning the genius’ trust and gleaning as many secrets as possible about his business. When the order came from on high to finish the job, Natalia didn’t so much as blink before attacking the billionaire. His advanced technology proved to be too much for her, unfortunately, and she only got away with a handful of secrets for her masters.
By the time Natalia was sent back to the Starks in the 1980’s, Howard had met Maria who’d conceived their son, effectively removing the role of a potential love-interest. Her history with the man was also a problem, of course. Instead of sliding up from alongside him, Natalia used her skills in infiltration. The Starks, again, were ready for something of the sort and this time she barely managed to steal some intel and escape with her life intact.
In the late 1990’s, Natalia met the man who would finally turn her life around: Clint Barton. Sent to kill her, the archer made a different call, opting to spare her life instead. The fact that he’d held her life in his hands and hadn’t pulled the metaphorical trigger was not lost on the Russian femme fatale, and instead of running back to her masters in the KGB, she followed Barton back to the Shadow Province.
She joined SHIELD, slowly but surely rising through the ranks, even after Clint moved on to a considerably less hazardous line of work. When Steve Rogers broke away from the shadowy organization, Natalia was one of the people he invited to join the ranks of a new team of heroes he was attempting to form. She went as a friend to hear him out, unsure at the time whether she would accept his offer or not.
Just as she was arriving to the scheduled meeting place, another of Steve’s potential recruits was leaving. With a few minutes to spare before her allotted time, Natalia had no qualms with stopping to speak with the man. If she joined the group, he would become one of her colleagues after all. Twenty minutes later, Natalia’s phone rang and she realized she’d passed her small timeframe by a large margin while talking to the Atlantean.
In the end, she decided to accept Steve’s offer, though perhaps not entirely because of the ideals he was preaching. Natalia and Namor began their courtship not long after the founding of the team, but kept their activities a secret. It wasn’t until they sent out invitations to their surface wedding ceremony that anyone even knew about the pair’s long-term relationship.
Natalia retired from SHIELD just before the wedding and moved to Antarctica to be closer to her husband. She began a tenure at a University in one of the human settlements, teaching History. She and Namor spent the next ten years blissfully wed, save one missing piece: a child.
As King of Atlantis, Namor was in need of an heir to his throne, but the “graduation ceremony” in the Red Room had taken that option away from Natalia. Scientists and Magicians alike worked for nearly a decade to find and perfect a cure for the royal couple. Finally, in 2013, there was a breakthrough. Even after taking the final product, it took some time for Natalia to conceive a child. Once pregnant, she took a leave of absence from the team, opting to keep herself - and the baby growing inside of her - as far from danger as possible.
Ilarion Alexander Romanov was born on July 5, 2015. He was introduced to his godfather, Steve Rogers (whose birthday celebrations he caused the couple to miss) a few days later. Natalia has remained loyal to the Defenders, but remains mainly focused on teaching and being a mother and Empress unless her skills are absolutely necessary.