Black Widow first appeared in Marvel comics’ Tales of Suspense in 1964 as a Russian spy. By the time she featured in a 1966 issue of The Avengers, the character has defected to the USA and allied herself with the Avengers superhero team.
She gained her powers via a USSR version of the United States’ Super-Soldier Serum (used to create Captain America). This optimized her physically, enabling her to operate at the peak of human ability. She is also a martial arts expert, has had intense military training and is an expert marksmen.
Black Widow entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the 2010 movie, Iron Man 2. Two years later the character returned in The Avengers, then 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, Captain America: Civil War in 2016, Avengers: Infinity War in 2018 and Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
As a result of her being associated with several superhero teams in the Marvel Universe, Black Widow features in a wide range of kids’ toys and gifts, including a number of LEGO® action figure playsets.