The superheroine moniker Black Widow is synonymous with Natasha Romanoff. But nearly 25 years before that superspy wreaked havoc and saved the day, a different woman was known by the name.

Claire Voyant’s Introduction & History in Comics

Claire Voyant, created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sahle, was the first superhero to be called Black Widow. She debuted in Mystic Comics #4 (August 1940), published by Timely, Marvel’s predecessor.

Claire made appearances during the Golden Age in titles like Mystic Comics, USA Comics, and All Select Comics. In 1994, Claire appeared during a flashback in the Marvels miniseries, then 11 years later she was in another flashback in Marvel Knights Spider-Man #9. She finally got another full-length appearance in 2008, appearing in all 12 issues of The Twelve.

She was introduced as a spirit medium who can communicate with the dead. Things took a terrible turn while Claire was working for a family and Satan possessed her to curse them. One of the family members survived a car crash caused by the spell, then went to Claire’s home and killed her.

Black Widow’s Powers & Hunt for Vengeance

Claire’s soul was sent to Hell where Satan turned her into Black Widow. He gave her the power to kill by touching someone’s head, leaving a black widow mark in its place. She gained superstrength, flight, mental suggestion, invisibility, teleportation, and the ability to change her appearance.

He sent her back to Earth to avenge her death where she killed her murderer, then returned to Hell. No longer wanting to wait for evil souls to die naturally, Satan ordered her to return to Earth and brought evil souls to him. She killed corrupt arms manufacturers, a crime boss, members of the Murder Unlimited syndicate, and the villain Ogor.

For her later appearances in The Twelve, Claire’s story was retconned to becoming the Black Widow after her sister was murdered. While standing over her sister’s grave, Claire wished for the power to avenge her sister’s death and Satan answered the request. Claire was revived in the present after being in suspended animation since the ‘40s and returned to being an instrument of vengeance.