natasha romanoff @ futurology

[kinetic]

APPLICANT INFO.
NAME: Tifa
CONTACT: protects
CURRENT CHARACTERS: None

CHARACTER INFO.
NAME: Natasha Romanoff
CANON: Marvel Cinematic Universe
AGE: 31
APPEARANCE: link
CANON POINT: End of Captain America: Civil War

BACKGROUND: Marvel Wiki

PERSONALITY:

Although she was rewired (so to speak) from assassin to SHIELD agent, she's spent the better part of her life considering herself a weapon, which made it a process to learn not to pull for the headshot immediately, or waste anyone who was useless, and this becomes apparent in scenes like her meeting with Banner in Calcutta. Once that switch is flipped and she's in her zone, it takes time for her to break back out of what's instinctual and lower her weapon because to Natasha, she is the weapon. This becomes a level that she relates to Bruce on, and what brings them closer to bond.

In all situations, she achieves a certain degree of level-headed control that allows her to keep calm in her decision-making and reserve her emotions. This placid projection can cause her to come across as unapproachable at times, though she isn't naturally unfriendly or intentionally intimidating. A lot of Natasha's self-confidence is premised on being so entirely in control of herself. She's by no means infallibly stone-faced in dangerous situations: she loses her cool when the Hulk comes out and very nearly beats her to death, but she gets a moment to herself, swallows the fear, and rises to the occasion in order to go rescue Barton.

In the right situations, surrounded by allies, Natasha's attitude borders on the sarcastic and teasing. She ribs Steve and Clint most notably, though there's a certain degree of sarcastic banter between her, Tony, and Bruce as well. She prioritizes her mission when there is one, but that doesn't prevent her from quipping and planning dates while executing what comes naturally to her. Because of her propensity for multitasking, she's also able to be the one to reiterate the importance of the mission and yank them back on track despite her sense of humor. Years of full-cover missions have allowed focus on mission completion to become an effortless endeavor for her. Being as focused as she is allows Natasha to channel that attention into being alert and reading others, which puts her on a hair trigger for reacting reflexively in moments of danger, and she can juggle it easily with whatever surface level persona she settles on.

In her interrogation of Loki, Natasha demonstrates an important element of how she operates with regards to interrogations and espionage. There's a level of genuine engagement there when she interrogates Loki; she expresses facts and opens up about her own feelings in an attempt to prompt her target, using even her selective decisions to divulge information about herself personally as a tool in her arsenal. She creates a buffer between her genuine reaction to the conversation and the frank and matter-of-fact way she presents herself, however, and where Loki is concerned she puts on a show to play into what she observes he'll respond to. Additionally, she uses the presumptions of her foe against them, willingly playing up stereotypes and expectations in order to make herself look weak (she uses the same tactic in the beginning of Avengers before she's called off the job). She confesses to this when talking with Cap in Winter Soldier when she identifies her belief that the truth is a matter of circumstance, something subjective, which reveals that she always attempts to engage in her deception on some level of truth.

When she genuinely opens up, on the other hand, like with Barton and Rogers, it's more clipped, reserved and indirect. She acknowledges what he knows about her, makes concessions, and moves forward to the task at hand. While she develops a relationship with each of the Avengers in varying levels of cooperation, she is closest to Clint Barton, who she has worked in tandem with since she came to join SHIELD after he spared her life, and with Steve Rogers, who suffered the fall of SHIELD alongside her. Natasha perceives herself as less of a hero than the rest of the Avengers, in this because of a debt that she owes as much as a desire to be a hero; she has crimes that need to be made up for, and her freedom to prove Barton was right to give her. She comes at heroics from a perspective of someone who is trying to redeem herself with doing the right thing, a servant of the people rather than a savior.

While Natasha makes jokes about the fragile state of her loyalty, her attitude towards Barton, Fury, and Rogers refute that. She has considerable loyalty to those that she owes a debt, or to those whom she feels deserve respect. Her loyalty is fragile only in its application to blind service to an organization or power structure/institution. SHIELD, particularly Fury and Barton, allowed her to have her own choices, to turn away from the blind faith in the Russian government and step outside of that. They broke her of her indoctrination; now, she follows what she believes is the right thing to do. In this way, Natasha demonstrates considerable conviction and loyalty to those beliefs, despite the nebulous manner in which she handles most matters of identity and truth. Similarly, her "turncoat" behavior in Civil War is all born out of a desire to follow her conviction that the best thing is for the Avengers to stay together in any form, which means helping both sides.

Natasha appears to have conflicting feelings about her past. While she doesn't appear thrilled to discuss it in extensive detail due to the guilt and shame associated with it, she has also reached a point where she's come to terms with it. The past is the past, and she's interested in bettering herself in the future rather than dwelling. During the events of The Winter Soldier, she comes to terms with this past, and confronts it for the greater good—opening herself up to scrutiny, judgment, and penalty for her crimes so that HYDRA can face similar accountability.

ABILITIES:

See: Batman.

Natasha doesn't have any superhuman abilities in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but she has been training for most of her life to be a super-spy and a master assassin. She's top of her class in both areas. Skills acquired over the course of her training include:

• firearms training - natasha is seen using anything from handguns to sniper and assault rifles, to alien tech. she appears to be a natural with firearms and is a quick learner on anything unfamiliar courtesy of her breadth of knowledge.
  
  
• martial arts mastery - throughout the marvel universe, she demonstrates capabilities in a range of martial arts: judo, aikido, boxing, and more. the conclusion can be drawn that she has achieved mastery in all standard martial arts forms. these skills make her a formidable unarmed combatant, which she demonstrates when going a few rounds with happy, tony, and an army of chitauri soldiers.
  
  
• computer systems - in addition to the standard ability to disarm security systems that any good spy must know, natasha is able to, on separate occasions, hack into stark industries' files and help rhodey regain control of the war machine suit.
  
  
• interrogation - using the interrogation skills learned through her spy training, natasha actually outmaneuvers loki and coaxes him into a confession. she's educated in a variety of interrogation techniques.
  
  
• espionage - natasha spends the better part of iron man 2 as 'natalie rushman,' tricking tony into allowing her a position in his company so that she can remain close to him and pepper and gather information for SHIELD. she uses a variety of techniques to gain information, from stealthy hacking and wire-tapping to inserting herself as an asset to sweet-talk and gain trust. she employs a similar technique when trying to sit bruce down to get him talking in avengers.
  
  
• gadgetry - her widow's bite bracelets contain a crippling shocking pulse, a laser, and a grappling hook; electromagnetic pulse discs; smoke grenades; garrote; handguns; etc.

INVENTORY:

[ 2 ] electric batons
[ 1 ] widow's bite bracelet (contains shocking pulse, laser, grappling hook)
[ 4 ] smoke grenades
[ 4 ] flash grenades
[ 1 ] garrote
[ 2 ] handguns (glock 26)
[ 1 ] tactical suit and undergarments
[ 2 ] taser disks
[ 1 ] pepper spray
[ 1 ] earpiece for team-wide avengers contact

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