The Black Widow Prelude comic may finally explain a key line of dialogue in The Avengers. Natasha Romanoff has always been one of the most secretive members of the Avengers. Although she was trained as an assassin and a spy by the Red Room, she switched sides and joined SHIELD, becoming one of their most important assets - and ultimately a member of the Avengers. And ever since, fans have dissected at every hint as to the precise details of Black Widow’s past.

In The Avengers, Loki offered a window into her past when he demonstrated his knowledge of Natasha’s past sins, and her desire to wipe out the red in her ledger. “Can you wipe out so much red?” Loki taunted. “Dreykov’s daughter? São Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything.” Until now, it had been assumed that all these terms were meant as reference to specific missions Natasha Romanoff performed on behalf of the Red Room; but the first preview of Marvel’s Black Widow Prelude comic hints that isn’t the case.

The comic looks to be set in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War. At that point in the story, Natasha Romanoff is on the run, with General “Thunderbolt” Ross making it his mission to paint the ’traitorous’ Avengers as major threats. Since Black Widow revealed her loyalty to Steve Rogers in Civil War, it appears Ross made it his mission to track her as well as Captain America’s Secret Avengers team. To make his point, Ross outlines Black Widow’s history to another government official. Significantly, he reveals that Natasha Romanoff was inducted into the Red Room training program as a child… when she caught the eye of one General Dreykov, who ran the program.

It’s only a throwaway comment, but it raises a lot of fascinating questions about Black Widow’s past. General Dreykov was the man in charge of the Red Room, and yet for some reason, Natasha Romanoff did something particularly horrible to his daughter - something Loki believed proved Black Widow was beyond redemption. It’s reasonable to assume this was when Black Widow parted ways with the Red Room; in The Avengers, Natasha implied that she left the Red Room to become an independent operative, and it was only then that she wound up on SHIELD’s radar “in the worst possible way.” Presumably, the Red Room didn’t want to let her go.

It will be fascinating to see how much of Natasha Romanoff’s past is finally cleared up by Black Widow, which at the very least promises to finally explain the tantalizing “Budapest” references that have been dropped by both Black Widow and Hawkeye over the years. Will Black Widow provide further clarity to Dreykov and the fate of his daughter, or will this one reference be as far as this particular development goes?

Black Widow Prelude #1 will be available from your local comic shop on January 15th, 2020.

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