Several alternate versions of Romanoff from within the MCU multiverse appear in the animated series What If.? (2021), voiced by Lake Bell. Johansson's portrayal of Romanoff was met with positive reception. Romanoff was introduced in Iron Man 2 (2010), and became a central MCU character, appearing in nine films until making her final live-action appearance in Black Widow (2021). After Thanos erases half of all life, Romanoff leads the Avengers for five years until she sacrifices herself, successfully helping the Avengers restore trillions of lives across the universe. When Nick Fury activates the Avengers Initiative, she becomes a founding member. This brings her under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, and Clint Barton is sent to kill her but instead spares her life and recruits her into the organization.
Romanoff is depicted as an expert spy and hand-to-hand combatant, trained in the Red Room from childhood to be a KGB assassin. Natalia Alianovna Romanova ( Russian: Наталья Альяновна Романов), more commonly known as Natasha Romanoff (Russian: Наташа Романофф), is a fictional character primarily portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise-based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name-sometimes known by her alias, Black Widow.