Top Ten Black Widow Villains

As an international superspy, the Black Widow faces some of the most deadly killers in the world. Here are some of the most threatening menaces she has ever faced.

Yelena Belova
Trained through the same program that created Natalia Romanova, the original Black Widow, Yelena has been conditioned to replace her forerunner, and feels her skills outmatch her rival.

Damon Dran
Damon Dran is a wealthy man with a deep seated fear of nuclear destruction. Undergoing a scientific experiment, he became the Indestrucible Man, and terrorized San Francisco only to be defeated at the hands of Daredevil and the Black Widow. Years later, Dran plotted his revenge against the two heroes by first going after the Black Widow. He captured her and replaced her with an assassin double who infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. with the intent of killing Nick Fury. The real Black Widow escaped his prison and warned Fury of the imposter. Dispatching the double, Fury then ordered the destruction of Dran's island of operations. Dran escaped, only to resurface years later.

N'Kama
N'Kama is the self-declared "greatest of the zulu warriors". He has skills of the highest rate - tracking, hunting and fighting. He is a noble spirit, though he chooses to use his skills for profit. N'Kama is an international assassin, and he was part of the team hired by Damon Dran to track down and capture the Black Widow. The Black Widow was able to escape their clutches.

Deadshot Darrance
Darrance is a big game hunter turned assassin. He is skilled in firearms, but lacks the skill of hand-to-hand combat. He has not resurfaced since Black Widow's Web of Intrigue storyline and is presumed incarcerated.

Iron Maiden
Melina Vostokoff is an assassin and a KGB agent. She harbors a deep-seated grudge against the Black Widow for overshadowing her accomplishments in the eyes of the Russian government. Iron Maiden wears a special suit of armor that gives her super strength as well as near invulnerability. She has battled the Black Widow fiercely, succeeding to match her where her fellow assassins had not. But the Widow has always bested her.

Laralie (Wrangler)
Laralie is an ex-rodeo queen who is using her skills as an assassin. While skilled with her trademark lasso, Laralie lacks the fighting prowess of an international spy such as the Black Widow. Laralie later changed her name to Wrangler, joined a group known as the Femizons, and was defeated by Captain America.

Black Lotus
The Black Lotus is a Kung Fu expert. In the Web of Intrigue storyline, Black Lotus delivered some of the harshest blows to Black Widow in combat. Defeated by Black Widow in this adventure, she went on to join the Femizons alongside her fellow assassin Laralie (Wrangler).

Kono
Kono is sumo wrestler who has chosen to use his skills as an assassin. He is also the brother of Snapdragon. It is feasible that he could withstand the punishment Black Widow could unleash on him directly, but Kono is susceptible to gunblasts to the head. He suffered a misfire from Deadshot Darrance. However, Kono did survive this. A subsequent adventure showed Kono trying to exact revenge on the hero Diamondback for the murder of his sister. Kono was unsuccessful, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

Snapdragon
She is a skilled martial artist. She is also accomplished with many weapons. Snapdragon is the sister of Kono, but her hand-to-hand combat training is more extensive. She has bested Black Widow in one-on-one fighting, but only by way of gaining the advantage by ambushing her in the darkness. Black Widow faced her later on more even footing, and defeated Snapdragon. Snapdragon was later killed by another villain turned hero, Diamondback.