Black Widow (Monica Chang–Fury) is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. An

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

version was first seen in 2009 as an

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

and the ex-wife of that universe's

Nick Fury Colonel (United States), Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and ...

, while an

Earth-616 In the fictional Multiverse (Marvel Comics), Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity (fiction), continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. Origins of the term The designation "Earth-616" has its origins in ...

version later debuted in 2013 as a devout

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. The character has been adapted to television twice as a

composite character In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the story. It is an example of dramatic license. Examples Film *'' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939): Glinda, Goo ...

: with Black Widow 2099 as Layla in '' Avengers Assemble'', voiced by

Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', ''Mass Effect'', '' Metal Gear Solid'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Metroid Prime'', '' Halo'', '' Overwatch'', and '' ...

, and as the

Skrull The Skrulls () are a race of List of fictional extraterrestrials, extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' #2 and were crea ...

Varra in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

(MCU)

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book fictional crossover, crossover storyline written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, that ran through a self-titled eight-issue Limited series (comics), limited series and several ti ...

'', portrayed by

Charlayne Woodard Charlaine "Charlayne" Woodard (born December 29, 1953) is an American playwright and actress. She is a two-time Obie Award winner as well as a Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee. She was a series regular on the hit FX TV series '' Pose''. She pl ...

Fictional character biography

Monica Chang-Fury was created by

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...

and

Carlos Pacheco Carlos Pacheco Perujo (14 November 1961 – 9 November 2022) was a Spanish comics penciller. After breaking into the European market doing cover work for Planeta De Agostini, he gained recognition doing work for Marvel UK, the England-based bra ...

, and debuted in '' Ultimate Comics: Avengers'' #3 (December 2009) as the second Black Widow in the

continuity. She is the former wife of

. They divorced after she found out that Fury cheated with all her female family members and friends. An active member of the Avengers' missions and while being contemptuous with Fury and Hawkeye, she assisted in fighting alongside

War Machine War Machine (Col. James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, John Byrne, and Bob Layton as a supporting character for Iron Man, he first appeared i ...

and the Red Wasp against the

Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...

, being the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

's wrangler, and repelling a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

infestation. Monica later transferred to the New Ultimates alongside

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

and

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

, and fights against her former teammates who were supposedly selling government secrets to which both teams fight against the conspiracy's manipulator

Gregory Stark Arno Stark is the name of two similar fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, appearing as a counterpart of the superhero Iron Man from the multiverse. The first of these characters is best known as Iron ...

. Monica rejoined the

Ultimates The Ultimates is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from ''The Ultimates (comic book), The Ultimates'' ...

with Fury as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. again and moved herself and Julius Chang (her and Fury's child) to the Triskelion, alongside Fury, Hawkeye and the

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

battling the Maker's Children of Tomorrow while a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

occurred in the midst of the chaos. Since a nuclear attack on

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

almost killed the whole presidential cabinet, a new "Civil War" erupted. Monica personally helped against Marvin Flumm, resulting in Monica as the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. director (one of only four women to serve in the position in any continuity of Marvel), helping alongside

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

gimmicks A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

to eliminate several terrorist cells of Hydra, and stopping a corrupt politician's conspiracy. Because of

Galactus Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, he is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of the p ...

's destructive abilities, Monica gets cited in court. However, Monica acts as

Jessica Drew Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin (comics), Archie Goodwin and Marie Severin, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Spotlight'' #32 (February 1977 ...

's contact involving Crossbones's capture as Monica's last chance to bring down

Roxxon The Roxxon Energy Corporation (also known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation, or simply Roxxon) is a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in American comic books ...

, wishing the third Black Widow well.''All-New Ultimates'' #12. Marvel Comics. While working with the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, Monica is apparently killed by the

Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...

Other versions

Monica Chang makes her first appearance in Marvel's mainstream

continuity in the ''

Avengers A.I. Avengers A.I. is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics that was released in July 2013, as part of the company's Marvel NOW! initiative. The series takes place after the events of Age of Ultron, where the world has been colonized by A.I ...

'' series. This version is the chief of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s A.I. Division, and is an

devout

In other media

* An amalgamated version of Monica Chang and Black Widow 2099 named Layla appears in the '' Avengers Assemble'' episode "Into the Future", voiced by

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is a resistance fighter from a possible future ruled by

Kang the Conqueror Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #19 (October 1963) as Rama-Tut, an ...

. * Elements of Monica Chang are incorporated into Varra (portrayed by

), a character who appears in ''

''. She is a Skrull and

's wife who impersonated doctor Priscilla Davis with her consent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Monica Comics characters introduced in 2009 Black Widow (Marvel Comics) Muslim characters in comics Fictional American spies Fictional female spies S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Ultimate Marvel characters Characters created by Mark Millar Muslim superheroes Marvel Comics female superheroes Asian superheroes

Fictional character biography

Other versions

In other media

See also

References