Origin

Ivan Petrovitch survived the brutal siege of Stalingrad during WW2. Ivan searched the through the rubble of the city for survivors. Ivan then hears a woman's cries from a burning balcony. The woman sees Ivan running toward her building. She drops her child into Ivan's arms before she was engulfed in flames. Ivan caught the child and ran from the burning debris. Ivan took a closer look at the baby girl and noticed she was a locket bearing the Romanoff family crest. Ivan thought to himself that woman who died must have been Anastasia Romanoff who had escaped the slaughter of her family. Ivan raised Natasha in the Red Room which was the KGB's premier training camp. Afterwards, Ivan would serve Natasha as her chauffeur while she was on missions. At one time, Ivan chose to live in San Francisco when Natasha was romantically involved with Daredevil.

In Other Media

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ivan Petrovitch is portrayed by Julian Bleach. Ivan Petrovitch is a member of the Red Room who adopted Natasha Romanoff. Ivan introduces Natasha to Madame B who is the headmistress in the Red Room. Madame B is looking for a worthy successor to become the next Black Widow. Ivan trains Natasha and other worthy candidates in ballet as a means to heighten their agility and prowess while Madame B breaks them of any moral constraints. Ivan was a difficult taskmaster who expected nothing but the best from Natasha. Not much else is known about Ivan's current whereabouts. Its possible that when Natasha met Hawkeye in Budapest and was convinced to join SHIELD, Ivan would undoubtedly retaliate. Ivan and Madame B put so much effort into grooming Natasha to become the Black Widow. Neither of them would accept this betrayal. Natasha is haunted by the ghosts of her targets and those she cared about most. Ivan may very will be one who fell to the Widow's sting.