Natasha Romanoff has lived more lives than almost any character in the Marvel Universe — spy, assassin, Avenger — and across decades of comics and films she’s been linked to some of its biggest names. Some of these romances are deep and canonical; others were brief sparks. Here are seven characters who have been romantically involved with the Black Widow, ranked by how significant the relationship actually was.
1. Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
The defining relationship of Natasha’s early comics history. She first appeared as a Soviet operative sent to take down Iron Man, and recruited a smitten Hawkeye to her cause — before defecting to the Avengers herself. Their partnership became one of Marvel’s great will-they-won’t-they pairings, equal parts romance and battlefield trust. The MCU recast it as a fierce platonic loyalty, but the comics roots are unmistakably romantic.
2. The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)
Revealed in Ed Brubaker’s acclaimed run, Natasha and the Winter Soldier shared a romance during her training in the Red Room — a forbidden relationship between two weaponised people, later wiped from her memory by her handlers. It’s one of the most tragic and beloved entries in her history, and gives both characters’ arcs extra weight.
3. Daredevil (Matt Murdock)
For a stretch in the 1970s, Natasha and Matt Murdock were a serious, public couple — they relocated to San Francisco together and the comic was briefly retitled Daredevil and the Black Widow. It remains one of her longest sustained romantic relationships in the comics.
4. The Hulk (Bruce Banner)
The MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron built a tender, doomed romance between Natasha and Bruce Banner — two people convinced they’re monsters, drawn to each other precisely because of it. Banner’s disappearance and Natasha’s “lullaby” to calm the Hulk made this one of the film franchise’s most-discussed pairings.
5. Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Their history runs all the way back to Natasha’s first appearance — as the spy assigned to bring Tony Stark down. Across various comics runs the antagonism softened into flirtation and, at times, romance, making Stark one of the earliest names on her list.
6. Red Guardian (Alexei Shostakov)
In Soviet-era comics lore, Alexei Shostakov — the Red Guardian — was Natasha’s husband, taken from her when the state faked his death to turn him into Russia’s answer to Captain America. The MCU reframed Alexei as her surrogate father figure in Black Widow, but the comics relationship was romantic and formative.
7. Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
The lightest entry on the list. Across a few comics storylines Natasha and Peter Parker shared flirtations and brief romantic tension — never a defining relationship, but enough to earn Spidey a spot among the characters who’ve caught the Black Widow’s eye.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Black Widow’s main love interest?
In the comics, Hawkeye (Clint Barton) and the Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) are her most significant romances; in the MCU, her relationship with Bruce Banner/the Hulk is the most prominent on-screen one.
Were Black Widow and Hawkeye a couple in the MCU?
The films portray them as deeply loyal friends rather than lovers, but their comics history is explicitly romantic.
Did Black Widow date Daredevil?
Yes — in the 1970s comics, Natasha and Matt Murdock were a couple and even shared billing on the Daredevil title.
