Black Widow: 10 Things Only Comic Book Fans Know About Melina Vostokoff

At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige announced that a Black Widow solo movie would premiere in 2020. Among the cast members, Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz instantly popped out. The inclusion of a seasoned, award-winning actress – like Cate Blanchett and Anette Benning before her – usually means she’ll play the villain. Fans seemingly received confirmation with the reveal that Weisz would play Melina Vostokoff, AKA the Iron Maiden.

In the comics, Vostokoff is a rogue spy who harbors a deep hatred for the Widow after spending years under her shadow. In the MCU, Vostokoff will apparently be a mother figure to Natasha and Yelena. Considering her tricky history in the comics, however, fans should perhaps be wary of her.

10 Comic Book Debut

Melina Vladimirovna Vostokova made her comic book debut in Marvel Fanfare #11 in July of 1983. An anthology series designed to showcase numerous characters from the Marvel universe, Marvel Fanfare #11 focused on Natasha Romanoff, AKA the Black Widow.

Alongside Natasha, Nick Fury also appeared on the number. The plot centered on Damon Dran’s efforts to kill Natasha. He recruits a group of assassins, including Black Lotus, Snapdragon, N’Kama, and Melina, to do the deed, but they, of course, fail.

9 Appearances Throughout Marvel Comics

Melina would return eighteen times to the Marvel continuity. Most of her roles were in Captain America stories, with a couple of notable exceptions.

She appears in Hulk: Winter Guard Vol. 11 and in Invincible Iron Man Vol. 1. In both cases, she plays a substantial antagonistic role in the story. She is even the main villain in the latter, where she fights against Riri Williams.

8 Disillusionment & Betrayal

The comics don’t reveal much about Vostokoff’s backstory. She is a Russian Spy who resents the legendary Black Widow and lives in her shadow. This intense hatred leads to her losing her commitment to Russia and abandoning her original purpose.

She becomes a freelance agent, assassin, and mercenary, determined to make a name for herself away from Russia and the Widow’s influence. Thanks to her training and skill in combat, Vostokoff quickly makes a name for herself in the criminal world.

7 Battling The Widow & Jimmy Woo

Jimmy Woo crossed paths with Melina during one of her first solo missions. After Damon Dran recruited her to kill the Widow, Vostokoff took her task extremely seriously. She managed to outlast Dran’s other assassins and came very close to overpowering Natasha.

She fled when Jimmy Woo arrived with a SHIELD squadron. Both Woo and Natasha followed Vostokoff into the sewers, where he used a blaster to collapse the floor in which she stood. A whirlpool of water then sucked her deeper into the sewers, effectively ending the battle.

6 Superia & The Femizons

Sometime after her defeat, Vostokoff joined Superia’s Femizons. The group planned to sterilize the entire world population of women and gain power for the nation, Femizonia, populated by several still-fertile women. During this time, Melina actually manages to beat and capture Captain America as he tries to board Superia’s ship heading to Femizonia.

Cap, being Cap, eventually manages to foil the plan, and most Femizons abandon the island. Melina is one of the few members of Superia’s inner circle that remain by her side. The two go to AIM’s Boca Caliente Weapon’s Expo, where Superia attempts to kill a top AIM executive. Her plan fails again, and she seemingly dies, leaving Melina alone again.

5 Thunderbolts

After Superia’s death, Vostokoff goes back to being on her own. Wanting to avoid the Superhuman Registration Act, Vostokoff tries to get fake identification and flee to Canada. It is then that the Thunderbolts begin pursuing her, eventually succeeding in catching and apprehending her.

Melina doesn’t go down without a fight, though. She fights but loses against Joystick, an enhanced individual with mysterious superhuman abilities provided by the Grandmaster.

4 Alpha Strike Team

In Marvel comics, the Soviets are sinister but infallible. They always have a plan B and often surprise everyone with the aces up their sleeves. After Melina’s apprehension at the hands of the Thunderbolts, another Iron Maiden appears as part of the Soviet’s Alpha Strike Team.

In reality, this second Iron Maiden was but a robot mimicking the real Melina. This fake Melina, along with the other members of the Alpha Strike Team, got mysteriously activated by the Infernal Man’s energies. Her appearance would be short, as she got quickly defeated by The Order’s California team.

3 Remont 6

The Remont 6 are a group of Soviet mercenaries led by Iron Maiden. The group includes mostly B and C-level villains, with Melina as the most recognizable character. Their goal is to bring back the Soviet Union and the “glory days” of Stalin.

The team began as the Remont 4, under the leadership of the Crimson Dynamo. The Remont 6 usually takes on the role of antagonists to the Winter Guard, a group of government-sponsored extraordinary Russian individuals. It includes Red Guardian, Darkstar, Red Widow, Ursa Major, and even the Dimitri Bukharin version of the Crimson Dynamo.

2 Powers & Abilities

Iron Maider has no superhuman abilities or powers. She is a gifted and highly trained spy that excels in hand-to-hand combat. She speaks many languages and is proficient in the handling of numerous weapons and fighting styles. She also has considerable resistance and durability and is skilled in various assassination techniques.

Despite her many gifts, however, Melina is still outranked by the numerous superpowered entities that inhabit the Marvel universe.

1 Iron Maiden Armor

Iron Maiden gets a slight upper hand thanks to her suit of armor. The flexible metal costume provides her with enhanced resistance and durability. It also severely increases her strength, allowing her to lift up to 1000 lbs. and turning her into a formidable opponent.

Melina’s suit isn’t as complex or powerful as Iron Man’s armor, but it does give her an edge in the world she plays in, the super-spy community.

About The Author

David Caballero
(801 Articles Published)

David is a twenty-eight-year-old Mexican writer and reader. Having studied Marketing in school, he spent three years working a nine-to-five desk job before deciding to pursue a writing career. He now works as a Senior Writer in ScreenRant and does some more freelancing job, talking about the entertainment business he so loves. Currently, he’s also writing his second novel while actively working to get his first one published.

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