Katrinka (Russian, KGB; Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff foe)

KATRINKA

Real Name: Katrinka (surname unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human;
Russian;

Occupation: Unrevealed;
former Romanian agent;
former Russian agent

Group Membership: Formerly the Romanian secret police;
formerly (possibly?) the KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti/Committee for State Security)

Affiliations: Andre, Fyodor, Dr. Yuri Kiev, Red Guardian (Alexi Shostakov) android, Zamatev

Enemies: Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Ivan Petrovich, Russian authorities

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Romania;
formerly Moscovia (Moscow), Russia

First Appearance: Black Widow: The Coldest War (1990)

Powers/Abilities: Katrinka has unspecified experience in espionage and military tactics. She is capable of wielding a gun, although she was not shown to fire it.

She smokes (or, at least, smoked) at times, which would hinder her endurance, etc.

Height: Unrevealed (she seemed to be a little shorter than the Black Widow in high heels, so perhaps 5'4" or 5'5")
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 126 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde

History:
(Black Widow: The Coldest War (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to enhance the activity of the Red Guardian (Alexi Shostakov) android's activity, Dr. Kiev's allies Katrinka and Zamatev plotted to manipulate the Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff, Alexi's former wife and apparent widow at the time) into stealing SHIELD (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division)'s newest Life Model Decoy master matrix chip.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War - BTS) <February 3> - With Zamatev, from their limousine, Katrinka observed as the Black Widow broke up the sale of a computer disc containing secrets developed for the US Department of Defense. When the Widow was confronted by multiple armed terrorists, Katrinka expressed disappointment that "the great counter-spy Natasha Romanoff" had let herself be trapped so easily. Zamatev assured Katrinka Natasha was no fool and advised her to watch and see that Natasha's was one of the motherland's greatest agents. Natasha escaped with the disc.

Katrinka and Zamatev followed the Black Widow downtown to Senator Clair's reception. Both Ivan Petrovich and the Widow discovered their pursuers, and Ivan began trying to lose them in traffic. Katrinka wondered if Ivan wasn't trying to get them killed, and Zamatev assured her that would not bother Ivan in the least. Zamatev noted Ivan saw himself as Natasha's guardian angel, and Katrinka wondered if they were lovers, but Zamatev explained it was more familial; Zamatev further advised that they should let the pair go and intercept them later, but Katrinka insisted that they had wasted enough time observing and that they should take them now.
Ivan soon zipped through traffic, leaving Katrinka and Zamatev's Lincoln to be struck by a taxicab when they tried to follow.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War) - Katrinka and Zamatev awaited Natasha as she exited the reception shortly before midnight. Tiring of the cat-and-mouse games, Katrinka ordered their KGB allies Andre and Fyodor to take Natasha. After the Widow made short work of her attackers, Katrinka pulled her gun and threatened Natasha, but Ivan put his gun to Katrinka's head and disarmed her. Zamatev achieved Natasha's attention when he pulled out a recent picture of Alexi Shostakov with the Russian premiere allegedly taken a week before in Moscow.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War - BTS) - To give them a chance to explain, Natasha led Katrinka and Zamatev back to her east side Manhattan apartment.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War) <February 4> - Katrinka narrated footage showing of Alexi's seeming demise, after which Zamatev showed Alexi's apparent survival and partial recovery, which showed him to be largely amnesiac, with the mental development of a five year old; only his memory of Natasha seemed intact, and he constantly asked for her.

Zamatev further told Natasha that funding was becoming progressively limited, and that he feared for the project's (and, as a result, Alexis) termination unless she performed a small service for the Russian government: Stealing a memo about a pending US trade agreement. Natasha told Katrinka and Zamatev to get out.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War - BTS) - After some reflection and receiving a seeming phone message from Alexi, Natasha agreed and stole the desired file from the UN.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War) - Katrinka and Zamatev recorded the theft and blackmailed her into stealing a computer control chip (a large cartridge) of the master matrix for SHIELD's latest LMDs; Natasha recorded this meeting.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War - BTS) <February 8> - Natasha saw the agreement through.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War) -<February 9> - Katrinka flew with Natasha to Moscow. Katrinka suggested that Natasha not spoil her lover's reunion with the trade and instead just give her the LMD chip, but Natasha insisted the chip stay with her, in a briefcase that would explode if they tried to remove it, destroying the case and everything else within 100 yards.

As they arrived at Moscova University, Katrinka noted that she believed Natasha had studied there during her apprenticeship at the ballet; Natasha confirmed this, but clarified she had never been to the Derenski Clinic, as science and medicine had been considered dispensible subjects for a dancer's education.

"Alexi" greeted Natasha before destroying the detonator on her failsafe device holding the chip and stunning Natasha with a blow from his hand. Taking and opening the briefcase, Katrinka complimented Dr. Kiev on his work. She then gave the chip/cartridge to Dr. Kiev, correcting Natasha's identifying the android as a Life Model Decoy (LMD), as Dr. Kiev preferred the term "man-machine."

After Kiev placed the disc/cartridge, activating the android, Katrinka tired of the farce and instructed the android to kill Natasha and Ivan. She smiled as "Alexi" got the better of Natasha, but when the Widow incapacitated the android with severed power cables and Kiev noted that it could not tolerate such an electrical overload, she called Kiev a simpleton and ordered him to call the electrical substation and tell them to shut off the power.

Natasha and Ivan fled, but the Red Guardian android caught up to them in Red Square. Natasha sent Ivan to try to reach the British embassy while she tried to hold "Alexi" off. As the android withstood her assaults and repeatedly battered the Widow, Katrinka used her credentials to prevent authorities from interfering with the fight. Ultimately, the Widow managed to eject the LMD master matrix chip/cartridge, causing the android to overload and apparently partially melt.

Katrinka ordered the police to arrest the Widow, who slapped her down. Katrinka offered to spare the Widow's life if she turned over the chip, but the Widow spitefully destroyed the chip. Katrinka denounced the Widow as a traitor to her husband's memory and to the motherland, which reminded the Widow to finish off the damaged android with her Widow's bite.

Nick Fury then showed up with Russian authorities; Fury noted that Katrinka and Zamatev "were busted" for their unauthorized activities based on the Widow's recordings of their meeting with Katrinka in her penthouse. As she was taken away, Katrinka screamed in Russian, "Traitors! Everywhere traitors!"

(Black Widow: The Coldest War (fb) - BTS) - Katrinka and Zamatev were dismissed from the KGB.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War (fb) - BTS) - Katrinka went to work for the Romanian secret police.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War (fb) - BTS) - Katrinka vanished during a Romanian revolution.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War (fb) - BTS) <April 5, perhaps 3 years later (see comments)> - Zamatev, via telephone conversation, informed the Black Widow of Katrinka's fate.

(Black Widow: The Coldest War - BTS) <April 6> - The Widow informed Fury of this communication.

Comments: Created by Gerry Conway and George Freeman.

    At the time this was written, the main part of the story took place in 1987, while there was an epilogue that took place in 1990, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, the sliding timescale renders all of that topical, as even if we given the modern era of comics (starting with Fantastic Four I#1) 15 years, that would mean it started with 2002 as of 2017...
    Anyway, if the main story took place 8 years ago in the Marvel Universe, the first segment probably took place only 9 months before the epilogue (in line with comics coming out in 1987, as opposed to actually 3 years before the epilogue).
    At any rate, events involving the Red Guardian android would all be associated with Russia, not the USSR.
    However, it is still relevent that Fury was involved with SHIELD (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division) in the main story, but that the epilogue was taking place after that incarnation's dissolution.

Andre or Fyodor specifically noted that Zamatev was not KGB (when declaring they were not limited by his orders not to kill the Widow). In the epilogue, the Widow tells Fury both Katrinka and Zamatev had been dismissed from the KGB after their arrest for the Red Guardian android fiasco.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Katrinka should be distinguished from:

KATINKA - vampire hunter, mother killed in childbirth. albino, some medical and medicinal training--Tomb of Dracula III#2
KATINYA of Earth-93060 - Ultraverse; familiar of Archimage--Mantra I#1
Other "Kat" or "Inka" characters

Fyodor & Andre

    A pair of KGB agents, they accompanied Katrinka and Zamatev on a mission to capture the Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff).

    I'm not sure which one is which, but judging by the possibility of them being named in order fitting their position from left to right, and my gut instinct of which one looks more like a Fyodor, I'm calling the large blond guy "Fyodor" and the smaller brown-haired guy "Andre."

(Black Widow: The Coldest War) <February 3, shortly before midnight> - Fyodor and Andre waited alongside Katrinka and Zamatev, as Natasha exited the downtown Manhattan reception of Senator Clair.

    Tiring of the cat-and-mouse games, Katrinka ordered Andre and Fyodor to take Natasha. Commenting that Katrinka and Zamatev did not know with whom they were dealing if they thought "these two over-sized Siberian weasels" could take her anywhere, Natasha sidestepped Andre and then stunned Fyodor with a powerful kick. Andre leapt at her again, but Natasha got underneath him and hurled him to smash his head into the masonry, knocking him out (if not worse, as the masonry shattered under the force of hit).

    Recovering, Fyodor pulled a knife and warned Natasha that Zamatev was not KGB and so they did not follow his orders not to kill her; however, she dodged his knife strike and then caught and broke his arm at the elbow, incapacitating him as well.

--Black Widow: The Coldest War

images: (without ads)
Black Widow: The Coldest War, story pg. 10, panel 1 (Fyodor? (the blond one);
        panel 8-9 (Andre? the dark-haired one);
    pg. 11, panel 7 (Katrinka with gun)
    pg. 13, panel 1 (face close-up);
    pg. 52, panel 6 (mostly full body)

Appearances:
Black Widow: The Coldest War (1990) - Gerry Conway (writer), George Freeman (penciler), Ernie Colon, Mark Farmer, George Freeman, Mike Harris, Val Mayerik, Joe Rubinstein (inkers), Kelly P. Corverse (assistant editor), Terry Kavanaugh (editor)

First Posted: 06/12/2017
Last updated: 06/12/2017

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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