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I'm aware that there are many Spider-People of various flavors (see Into the Spider-Verse) and all kinds of storylines where others have been temporily imbued with Spider-Powers.

Lo and behold, Black Widow is named after a spider...

Have there ever been any storylines where the Black Widow has Spider-Man-type powers?

In this case, Spider-Powers must rise above the level of super strength, resilience and reactions (unless they are specifically imbued by interaction with a spider or a Spider-Person). Examples of acceptable powers regardless of how received would be skills like web-slinging, wall-crawling, and Spidey-sense.

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  • 1
    Canon or otherwise?
    – Valorum
    Jan 15, 2020 at 16:38
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    @Valorum: I was assuming comic-book canon. What else would there be? Your father's brother's mechanic's former roommate wrote a story?
    – ThePopMachine
    Jan 15, 2020 at 16:46
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    Well, there are also books, TV shows, games and movies not to mention plastic toys, lunchboxes and of course, fidget spinners
    – Valorum
    Jan 15, 2020 at 17:07
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    “Black Widow is named after a spider” [citation needed]
    – Paul D. Waite
    Jan 15, 2020 at 17:09
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    @PaulD.Waite she has at times used a symbol that looks like the markings on a black widow spider
    – Sandra
    Jan 17, 2020 at 18:38

4 Answers 4

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50

Black Widow, along with half of Manhattan, receives viral spider powers in the animated series Marvel's Spider Man - Spider Island Part 2.

We don't see her use spidey-sense, but she slings web, crawls on walls, leaps high into the air and punches like a champion,

enter image description here

enter image description here

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  • Well, the "along with half of Manhattan" makes this not as satisfying as it could be.
    – ThePopMachine
    Nov 30, 2021 at 16:09
  • @ThePopMachine - Beggars, alas, cannot be choosers
    – Valorum
    Nov 30, 2021 at 16:57
28

Kind of.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe/line of comics, the original (Natasha Romanova) Black Widow dies, and a couple of other characters take up the name while working for SHIELD.

One of the other characters who takes the name Black Widow is the Ultimate version of Spider-Woman, a female clone of Peter Parker who most definitely has spider powers.

While this is not the Black Widow of the main 616 universe, or a direct parallel copy, she is a Black Widow. She fills a similar role as a covert operative for SHIELD as the previous two did in the Ultimates Universe. I would see this as similar to how we've had stuff like Sam Wilson as Captain America for a while instead of Steve Rogers, or Miles Morales as another Spider-Man.

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  • I'm not really sure this applies. She's not Black Widow, she just uses the name.
    – Valorum
    Jan 15, 2020 at 23:35
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    @Valorum, I'd still say she is a Black Widow, but it depends how you choose to define the character. Much like there are many Spider Men, and not all are Peter Parker. Also hence the "kind of".
    – Jack
    Jan 15, 2020 at 23:40
  • Well argued. +1 from me for the edit.
    – Valorum
    Jan 16, 2020 at 7:53
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    @BoogaRoo: Getting Spider-Powers and then taking on the name Spider-Man is not the same thing as having Spider-Powers, being Spider-Woman and then taking on the name Black Widow. The name Black Widow isn't associated with those powers, so taking on that mantle is different than taking on a Spider-Name because of newly acquired Spider-Powers.
    – ThePopMachine
    Jan 16, 2020 at 21:23
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    @ThePopMachine Yes, but your question was, and I quote "Have there ever been any storylines where the Black Widow has Spider-Man-type powers?" It did not specify that she had to gain them after acquiring the name Black Widow.
    – trlkly
    Jan 18, 2020 at 8:08
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As far as I'm aware Black Widow has never had physical Spider-Man-like powers. However, in Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 Issue 86 Black Widow upgrades her costume and equipment. As part of that process she upgrades her Widow's Line: an imitation of Spider-Man's web shooters.

Black Widow's Widow Lines in action
Click image to enlarge.

Her suits have also been shown to be able to cling to walls and climb them due to suction cups in it as we see in the same issue with her previous suit.

Black Widow's wall climbing abilities
Click image to enlarge.

It's worth noting that in this issue she wanted to interrogate Spider-Man to work out how his powers worked. She realises though that they are natural to him and not created through some other means and so soon drops that pursuit.

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0

No, she never has had spider powers in canon, (to my knowledge) but in the mighty avengers run she wore a version of the iron spider suit.

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