Another monosyllabic base form for PSP

[Jim Parish]

On 5/7/2012 2:50 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
> So, Romanova would have to have direct Russian origin and affiliation.
> Romanov would imply no Russian affiliation
> (aside from ethnic origin). A switch would only make sense from Romanova
> to Romanov, as a means of "westernizing" the name--a plot-induced switch
> in the opposite direction makes no sense. I can't say that I am familiar
> with the strip or the cartoons in great detail or that the film is on my
> "to do" list. So I have no idea what the name is supposed to indicate in
> any of them. It's possible that the 80s switch was a result of an
> editorial decision to make the name sound more exotic or potentially
> villainous/secretive by making it sound more Russian. That's the best
> excuse I can come up with.
The Black Widow originated, in the comics, as a Russian spy/assassin;
she switched sides at some point. Thus, she
had the direct Russian origin (if no longer the affiliation) at the time
of the name-change. (I believe it was prompted by fan complaints about
the "masculine" last name, and "Romanova" was retconned as having been
her name all along.)

Jim Parish

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