Marvel Comics has begun to reveal the backstory of its Black Widow character in a new miniseries titled Deadly Origin.

The Soviet assassin first appeared as an Iron Man villain in 1964, and is due to feature alongside the character on the big screen in next year’s Iron Man 2, played by Scarlett Johansson.

Captain Britain scribe Paul Cornell has written the series for Marvel and Tom Raney has provided artwork.

“A hidden enemy is killing everyone our heroine Natalia has ever been close to: romantic partners, friends, people she was kind to in passing,” Cornell wrote on his blog. “The first issue has guest appearances by Wolverine, the Winter Soldier and Joe Stalin, flashbacks courtesy of John Paul Leon.”

Marvel is also reissuing the character’s most significant appearances as two hardcover collections – Iron Man: Deadly Solutions and Black Widow: Web Of Intrigue – to acquaint fans with the identity prior to Iron Man 2’s release.

Black Widow: Deadly Origin #1 is available now.