Natalie Gurdin (New Earth)

Natalie Gurdin Reed was a Russian-American aviatrix and engineer who joined forces with the Blackhawk Squadron as Lady Blackhawk.

History

Natalie was the daughter of Benjamin and Lucille Gurdin, who were members of the American Communist Party, and followed her parents' political leanings. She began a short-lived modeling career after having entered and won the "Miss Young Communist League" beauty contest in 1937, and had a role in the low-budget 1938 film Gun Molls in Trouble. Around this time, Natalie changed her last name to Reed, in honor of the American Communist journalist John Reed. In 1940, Natalie emigrated to Russia, where she study in aeronautical engineering and became chief designer at the Valentine-Prendergast Airplane Factory. Soon, she was working for Soviet intelligence and helped the Blackhawk Squadron in defeating British Nazi Death Mayhew and preventing his attempts of destroying Manhattan. Natalie remained with the Blackhawks and was dubbed "Lady Blackhawk by the American news press.

Around 1945, Natalie had a relationship with fellow Blackhawk, Ritter Hendricksen, and giving birth to their son Jimmy. After the Second World War, Natalie was briefly employed by Blackhawk Airways in Singapore. In 1948, she returned to New York and became a writer of licensed comic book adventures featuring the Blackhawks. Due to her political background, Natalie was briefly accused of working Communist doctrines into her scripts. Fortunately for her, she was cleared of this charge.

By 1963, Natalie had reinvented herself, dyed her hair, and adopted the identity of Constance Darabont. Oddly, by this point she appeared to have two eyes again, though it's possible that her left eye was simply a prosthetic.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Mechanical Aptitude: Natalie Reed is an expert in the field of aeronautical engineering and helped to design the Gruman XFSF1 Skyrocket jets used by the Blackhawk Squadron.
• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)
• Driving
• Aviation
• Multilingualism: Speaks fluent English and Russian.

Other Characteristics

• Missing Eye: Lack of peripheral vision due to physical handicap.

Notes

• Natalie's son Jimmy was adopted by Chuck Sirianni and his wife Mairzey.

Related

• 18 Appearances of Natalie Gurdin (New Earth)
• 1 Images featuring Natalie Gurdin (New Earth)
• 2 Quotations by or about Natalie Gurdin (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Natalie Gurdin (New Earth)

Footnotes