Black Widow may be one of the most popular Marvel characters today, but in her debut issue, she played second fiddle to the real threat: a Communist named Boris from the Soviet Union. In Tales of Suspense #52, Iron Man takes on two USSR operatives who desire to assassinate an ex-comrade...but one is featured far more than the other. It's clear that Natasha was never meant to last long as a villain...but fans had other ideas.
The Tales of Suspense series of comics quickly became a Tony Stark-centric book ever since the resounding success of Tales of Suspense #39 in 1959 - Iron Man's debut issue. Written by Stan Lee, the book featured Iron Man building his armor to escape from a jungle in North Vietnam and Wong-Chu, the "Red guerrilla tyrant!" With the Cold War raging and the threat of Communism ever-present in America (the prevailing thoughts of the time, at least), it wasn't long before Iron Man started fighting Soviet spies. Two such ne'er-do-wells showed their faces in Tales of Suspense #52 in 1964: strongman Boris and his assistant Natasha.
Ivan Vanko, the Crimson Dynamo, has defected to the United States and works for Tony Stark in his lab - but his actions have drawn the ire of his superiors in Moscow, who want him eliminated. "Comrade Leader" orders Boris Turganov and Natasha Romanoff to do the job, and the two-pass as science teachers from Ukraine to visit their dear friend Ivan. Natasha will distract Tony and find out everything she can about his technology...while Boris, who has immense super-strength, will do the deadly deed himself. Boris incapacitates guards, tears through metal walls with his bare hands, and even steals Ivan's Dynamo suit - but Tony, smitten with Natasha, doesn't suspect a thing.
Eventually, the Russian ruse is revealed and Tony suits up to fight an armored Boris - but still doesn't realize Natasha is a spy. By the time Tony figures out he's dealing with two enemies instead of one, it's too late: Boris is captured but Black Widow has made a clean getaway befitting a spy. Unfortunately, she can't return home just yet - the price for failure is high, and Natasha knows she can't show her face in the Soviet Union again until Tony Stark has been defeated. Boris features heavily in the issue, fighting in every single fight sequence, while Natasha merely keeps Tony busy until he realizes something is amiss at his laboratory.
Though Black Widow featured on the cover, Stan Lee clearly intended for Boris to become the breakout star. But fans responded positively to a villain that "beat" Tony without throwing a single punch, and Black Widow would return in Iron Man books often, eventually becoming a defector herself and joining the Avengers. Meanwhile, the mighty Boris has made all of two appearances in comics and hasn't been seen since the 1960s. Black Widow, who started as a character for simple pro-American propaganda, became an iconic hero - and she did it all without ripping through walls.
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