Yelena Belova is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since the film Black Widow (2021), where Florence Pugh portrays her. She appeared in the first season of Hawkeye and she will soon return in a Thunderbolts movie, announced for 2025.
What about the comic book version? Created by Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones, Yelena Belova made her first appearance in the Marvel pages at the end of the ’90s in Inhumans v2 #5. Trained as a spy and assassin in the Red Room, she is first a foe of Natasha Romanova and has also used The Black Widow name.
She has been, during all these years, a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., Vanguard, HYDRA, and the High Council of A.I.M. Thanks to her part in the MCU, Yelena found herself under the spotlight in the comics, and recently opt to assume the identity of White Widow.
Despite not having a lot of appearances, her story is quite convoluted, as she’s been presumed dead on multiple occasions and clones of her exist.
So where to start with Yelena? Let’s dive into her complicated history with this reading order!
Where to start with Yelena Belova?
To accompany the release of the Thunderbolts movie, Marvel will release a trade retracing Yelena Belova’s journey from adversary to ally of the Black Widow.
As Marvel described it, Yelena is the first student in Red Room history to exceed Natasha’s skills — and now she’s determined to eliminate her predecessor and claim the title for her own! It’s a war of the Widows that will rage from the Middle East’s deserts to New York’s Upper West Side! But Yelena’s path will soon place her square in the crosshairs of her home country, alongside Alexei Shostakov, the Red Guardian! Together, they face a race across Russia…pursued by the Winter Guard! And Yelena finds her destiny as the White Widow, helping Natasha protect San Francisco from a terrible threat!”
- Thunderbolts: The Saga of Yelena Belova (Coming in 2025!)
COLLECTING: Black Widow (1999) #1-3, Black Widow (2001) #1-3, Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Belova (2020) #1, Winter Guard (2021) #1-4, Black Widow (2020) #7-10
Yelena Belova Complete Comics Reading Order:
- To know more about the most famous Black Widow, see our Natasha Romanoff Reading Order.
- Explore the story of Claire Voyant, the first Black Widow.
Yelena Belova as Black Widow
- Inhumans v2 #5
Yelena’s first appearance was collected in Inhumans by Paul Jenkins & Jae Lee. - Marvel Knights Black Widow by Grayson & Rucka: The Complete Collection
Collects Black Widow (1999) #1-3, Black Widow (2001) #1-3, Black Widow: Pale Little Spider #1-3. Black Widow (1999) #1-3, Black Widow (2001) #1-3 are also collected in Black Widow: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider. - Black Widow Vol. 2: The Things They Say About Her
Collects Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her #1-6. - New Avengers #5-6 (2005)
Collected in New Avengers Vol. 1: Breakout or New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 - New Avengers Annual #1 (2006)
Collected in New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis: The Complete Collection Vol. 2 - Weapon Omega (optional)
Collects material from Marvel Comics Presents V.2 (2007) #1-12 and Civil War: The Initiative One-Shot. - Thunderbolts #136
Collected in Thunderbolts: Widowmaker - Secret Avengers Vol. 1: Reverie
Collects Secret Avengers #1-5, Marvel Now! Point One (Fury story). - Secret Avengers Vol. 2: Iliad
Collects Secret Avengers (2013) #6-11. - Secret Avengers Vol. 3: How To Maim A Mockingbird
Collects Secret Avengers (2013) #12-16 - Tales of Suspense: Hawkeye & The Winter Soldier
Collects Tales Of Suspense (2017) #100-104. - Web of Black Widow #3 & #5 (2020)
Collected in The Web Of Black Widow
Yelena Belova as White Widow
During Kelly Thompson’s run on Black Widow, Yelena Belova infiltrates Natasha’s life to help the spy and become her ally. She takes on the codename White Widow, starting to forge a new path for herself. She headlined her own series, written by Sarah Gailey, striking out as a hero in her own right
- Black Widow by Kelly Thompson Vol. 1: The Ties That Bind
Collects Black Widow (2020) #1-5 - Black Widow by Kelly Thompson Vol. 2: I Am The Black Widow
Collects Black Widow (2020) #6-10. First appearance as White Widow in issue #6. - Winter Guard: Operation Snowblind
Collects Collecting Widowmakers: Red Guardian And Yelena Belova And Winter Guard #1-4. - Black Widow By Kelly Thompson Vol. 3: Die by the Blade
Collects Black Widow (2020) #11-15. The series ends here. - White Widow: Welcome to Idylhaven
Collects White Widow #1-4. - Thunderbolts: Worldstrike
Collects Thunderbolts (2023) #1-4 And Devil’s Reign: Winter Soldier. White Widow joins Bucky’s team in issue #2 where she is part of the action. She’s also present in the last issue, though more as a background character.
Yelena Bolova is right now a player in Marvel’s Blood Hunt event – specifically in the Blood Hunters tie-in miniseries.