Scarlett Johansson, left, and Florence Pugh in a scene from "Black Widow." (AP Photo)

Scarlett Johansson has been playing Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow, since “Iron Man 2,” the third entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

On Friday, she’s finally headlining her own movie, in theaters and on Disney+.

The character has been around the Marvel comic book universe for quite a while as well, debuting in 1964’s “Tales of Suspense” #52 as a Russian spy battling Iron Man. She soon teamed with novice villain Hawkeye — yep, that Hawkeye — against both Iron Man and Spider-Man.

Both Hawkeye and Natasha saw the light, with the archer becoming an Avenger. Brainwashed by sinister Soviet forces, Black Widow reverted to the villainous path for a while, before breaking free and defecting. A chance to join the Avengers and her romance with Hawkeye were both cut off when Nick Fury recruited her for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Many stories have delved into Black Widow’s life before that, including 1990’s “Uncanny X-Men” #268, which revealed that a young Natasha had been kidnapped during World War II by Nazis and the ninja clan known as the Hand and was rescued by Captain America and Wolverine.

At that time, the orphaned Natasha was being raised by Ivan Petrovich, a Russian soldier who eventually took her to the Red Room, where she received advanced training and a Soviet attempt to recreate Cap’s super-soldier serum to make her the ultimate superspy (and make that World War II timeline more plausible). A marriage was arranged with a Soviet pilot whose death was later faked so he could become the Red Guardian, the Soviet answer to Captain America.

Though she had some solo stories here and there, the Widow most often appeared as part of a team. She and Daredevil partnered as protectors of San Francisco (and romantically) for a while, and she founded a West Coast super-team known as the Champions with Ghost Rider, Hercules and ex-X-Men Angel and Iceman.

Eventually she became a key member of the Avengers, even leading the team for a while. After they returned from their seeming deaths in battle against the entity Onslaught, she started working with S.H.I.E.L.D. again.

The Red Room came back to haunt Natasha frequently, with her past serving as the catalyst for various solo ongoing and limited series more often than not. The younger Yelena Belova made an unsuccessful attempt to take over the mantle of the Black Widow and remained both a thorn in Natasha’s side and occasional ally. Natasha even impersonated her rival to go undercover with a Thunderbolts team assembled by Norman Osborn (the once and future Green Goblin).

She would later return to the Avengers roster and be a mainstay on the team until a corrupted Captain America took over the United States in the “Secret Empire” storyline. She went after the rogue Cap, with the assistance of a group of young heroes who had adopted the Champions name. But Natasha died in battle with her former ally (who was a dark version spawned by a cosmic cube).

Unable to accept her death, Hawkeye began looking into clues Black Widow had returned, reluctantly teaming up with another of her former paramours, the Winter Soldier. It turns out the Red Room had cloned Natasha and implanted her memories in the new body. I’ll let you debate whether she’s really back from the dead.

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Recommended Reading

* “Black Widow Epic Collection: Beware the Black Widow” — Collects Natasha’s early adventures with the Avengers and other allies, plus some solo tales.

* “Black Widow: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” — Natasha is challenged for the title of Black Widow by a younger rival, Yelena Belova. Written by Devin Grayson with extraordinary painted art by J.G. Jones.

* “Black Widow: S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Most Wanted” — The Widow goes on the run from her allies in S.H.I.E.L.D. while a mysterious figure called the Weeping Lion uses her past to manipulate her. Written by Mark Waid, with art by Chris Samnee, a follow-up to their terrific “Daredevil” run.