Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, has held quite a few roles in the Marvel Universe. From her time as an assassin, a spy, a villain and an Avenger, Romanoff has shown that she's not only one of Marvel's most skilled fighters, but she also has a big heart.
Outside of her moral compass, wit and fighting ability, Natasha might seem like an average human being. However, her enhanced abilities prove she is far more than that.
Natasha Romanoff Is in Peak Human Condition
Whether it's in comics, film, video games or animation, Black Widow has always been depicted as one of Marvel's best hand-to-hand fighters. Trained in the Red Room since she was a child, Natasha Romanoff is an incredible acrobat, marksman, ballerina, assassin and martial artist. Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting's Captain America #27 confirms that she trained beside the Winter Soldier, another one of Marvel's deadliest characters, so it's no wonder she fights so well in the field.
Alongside her rigorous training, Natasha Romanoff also has super-soldier serum pumping through her veins. This version of the serum does not grant her the same strength as Captain America, but it does allow Natasha to perform at peak human condition in regards to her stamina and strength. In Kelly Thompson and Annapaola Martello's Captain Marvel #7, Natasha proves how strong she is by single-handedly taking out an alligator.
Black Widow's Healing Factor
Along with granting her incredible strength, speed, and flexibility, the serum also makes Natasha physically more durable and gives her a stronger immune system. Injuries that would most likely kill someone or put them out of commission are not critical for Natasha.
Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Black Widow run illustrated that Natasha is able to quickly get back into action after being stabbed, only requiring a small amount of rest and minor medical treatment before heading back into the fray. While Natasha can be injured, her resilence makes it extremely difficult to inflict an injury capable of taking her out of the fight for long. Thanks to her healing factor, she recovers from most non-critical wounds in record time.
Natasha Romanoff Has a High Pain Tolerance
Natasha Romanoff is no stranger to jumping through glass windows and suffering physical blows from villains twice her size. She has continued fighting after being caught in explosions and sustaining knife and bullet wounds. While this would be fairly debilitating for most people, they're everyday occurrences for Natasha.
Thanks to the super-soldier serum, Natasha's pain tolerance is well beyond that of a normal human. Additionally, due to decades of intense training, she's built up superhuman endurance that allows her to power through her pain. One of the best examples of this is in Marjorie Liu and Daniel Acuña's Black Widow run, in which she drags herself out of the hospital after having surgery while fully conscious.
The Black Widow's Serum Slows Aging
Black Widow was first introduced in 1964's Tales of Suspense #52 (by Stan Lee, Don Rico and Don Heck), and Uncanny X-Men #268 (by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee) confirmed that Natasha was a little girl in World War II prior to entering the Red Room. Although she should at least be in her 80s, Natasha still appears to be in the physical prime of her life.
While Marvel has plenty of ways to explain away the age discrepancies of characters who've been adults for decades, Black Widow's aging was slowed by the same serum that granted her other abilities. This has allowed Natasha to age slower and maintain her youthful appearance for decades.
Black Widow Has Been Cloned
Prior to the events of Matthew Rosenberg and Travel Foreman's Tales of Suspense: Hawkeye & the Winter Soldier, Black Widow was believed to be dead. However, the titular Avengers discover that Natasha has been revived through cloning while investigating a string of murders that appear to be tied to her. Her body is a perfect replica of the original Black Widow, but this one is newer.
Her memories and her personality are also the same, but they were implanted by the Red Room, who conveniently withheld the information that makes Natasha an independent hero. However, she quickly realized what was going on and reprogrammed her brain so that she could be her true, heroic self again, free of the Red Room's influence.