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 2024.
What about the comics 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!
Yelena Belova 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.
- 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 is right now a supporting character on the new Black Widow series, starring Natasha of course, written by Kelly Thompson (known for Hawkeye and Captain Marvel) and pencilled by Elena Casagrande.
- 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.
Last Updated on June 7, 2023.