Viuda Negra, Red de Intrigas

Amazing Adventures (1970) #1-8

by Stan Lee, Gary Fiedrich, Don Rico

Contiene Tales of Suspense 52, Amazing Spider-Man 86, Amazing Adventures 1-8 y Marvel Fanfare 10-13 USA

Un recorrido detallado por la historia de Natasha Romanov, la mayor super-espía del Universo Marvel. Este volumen contiene la primera aparición de la Viuda Negra, cuando era una villana que ponía en jaque a Iron Man; su más dramático cambio estilístico, de la mano del inigualable John Romita, en una aventura compartida con Spiderman; y sus primeras andanzas en solitario, en dos seriales irrepetibles, conducidos por dos legendarios dibujantes: John Buscema y George Pérez. ¡El mejor libro de la Viuda Negra que llegarás a leer!

Guión: Stan Lee, Gary Friedrich y Ralph Macchio
Dibujo: Don Heck, John Romita y Illustrator

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Spider Man, Fiction

200 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2009

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Nicolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection contains a variety of the Black Widow's earliest appearances; from his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #52, the first appearance of her sleek black catsuit, her stories from the short-lived anthology Amazing Adventures and her first appearance in a Daredevil book. That is the theme that unifies an otherwise hodgepodge collection.

The stories here aren't bad, it's just that I prefer the Widow's modern stories that brought her back to espionage roots. She gives costume adventuring here a go which brought her tepid results; it's probably why Amazing Adventures was cancelled. Still, it was great to see some classic Gene Colan art in this book. The guy can sure draw dames!

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a hotchpotch collection this one. It pulls together the eight Black Widow backup strips from Amazing Adventures (the lead strip was the Inhumans, if you can believe there was ever a time when the Widow would play second fiddle to that motley bunch) as well as a few issues where she guest-starred in other people's books (Spidey, DD, etc.)

While this book isn't terrible, it does suffer from being very much a mixed bag. Even the eight issue run from 'Amazing...' switches artists and writers every ten pages or so, leaving this collection with absolutely no sense of consistency. Individually, most of the stories collected here are OK, and some of the artwork is really nice, but taken as a whole it's just a bit of a mess.

It doesn't help that at this time in the character's history she was completely hung-up on being a victim of her own metaphor; bemoaning the 'fact' that everyone she loves must die... despite the fact this is demonstrably untrue. Other than her ex-husband (and even he would later be retconned back to life) all the Widow's beaux were very much still in the land of the living.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Aber wenn ich jedes Mal, wenn jemand gesagt hat "She's only a woman" oder "she's a female!" einen Shot getrunken hätte, wäre ich während des Lesens schwer betrunken geworden.

[Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a better collection for educational purposes of who the Black Widow is rather an an exciting book on its own. It's full of some strange guest appearances in other books (her original appearance, her getting a new costume, her joining Daredevil) and the short stories ripped from Amazing Adventures. There's some great artists at work here, and some good issues, but overall it's a bit of a mess. The best parts of this collection are things like the Daredevil issue and the Amazing Spider-Man issue where you wish you were just reading more of those, better, ongoing titles.

So many of these appearances are also really horny. Nearly every issue features a half-naked (or fully naked) Black Widow changing her costume, accompanied by a joke about how the men around her shouldn't look at her while she's changing. It's constantly trying to frame her as sexy and powerful, without those parts not actually being important to her generic butt-kicking martial arts storylines. Sure, she's a spy who can use her 'feminine charms' to woo people while being a secret agent but apart from her first appearance in Tales of Suspense she isn't a secret agent! She's just a superhero! There's no reason to completely objectify her like this. And having her main weakness be a cloth soaked in chloroform is also not fun, her short 8 (half-sized 10 page) issue stint in Amazing Adventures had her 'defeated' by being drugged twice! Once, sure yeah that tracks with secret agent stuff, but twice? Twice in 80 pages? Yeah, no, why can't she face actual challenges instead of just being drugged all the time. What a let-down.

[Joseph R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This retrospective of early Black Widow comics covers some highlights of her comic book career:

Tales of Suspense #52--First, Black Widow arrives on the scene as part of a duo of Soviet agents. They are trying to get Ivan Vanko, the Crimson Dynamo, back on the Russian side after he was defeated by Iron Man. Vanko defected thanks to the kind and compassionate treatment he got from the West. The duo pose as foreign dignitaries who want to tour Tony Stark's labs. After a bit of touring, Tony ask Madame Natasha (Black Widow) out to dinner while her comrade continues the tour. The bad guy finds and captures Vanko working in the lab, taking him to their submarine just off New York's shoreline. He goes back to Stark's labs and tears up the place. Iron Man is called in, though he is captured in the fight. He's also taken to the sub, where he rescues Vanko. They go back to the labs in time to stop Black Widow and her nefarious partner, who is killed by Vanko. Natasha escapes to the streets. She can't go back to the Motherland since she knows the price of failure exacted by the KGB.

A synopsis page details Black Widow eventually falling in love with Hawkeye. They date for a while but break up. She works briefly with the Avengers and SHIELD. She tries going back to being just the socialite Madame Natasha, but the shallow life is not for her. This leads her to...

The Amazing Spider-Man #86--Natasha decides to reimagine herself as a hero. She ditches her old costume (fishnet leggings and a purple cape with a mask just like Hawkeye's) and designs the now-familiar black suit with chain belt and wrist shooters. Her powers are similar to Spider-Man's (she uses suction cups to climb walls and shoots ropes to swing from building to building). She fights Spidey in hopes of learning what gives him his powers and how he uses them. Her timing isn't so great--Peter is feeling woozy from fighting Kingpin and he's easily defeated by Black Widow. She decides to go her own way with her own style of fighting. And her own comic book...

Amazing Adventures #1 to 8--Black Widow starts some solo adventures (though the book was split between her and the Inhumans). Her housecleaner's son is in trouble, so she helps out by beating up the shakedown artists who have been harassing him. Then she gets involved with the Young Warriors, a group of young men who want to set up a soup kitchen in Spanish Harlem. Their main problem is they set up shop in a corrupt congressman's building. The congressman works to kick them out with less than legal means. His thugs have a run-in with Black Widow. They manage to waylay her back at her apartment since she's now recognizable without a mask. She beats the bad guys and heads back to Harlem just in time to settle the stand off between the police and the Young Warriors.

Her second solo adventure has her facing off against The Astrologer, who plots his crimes based on what he sees in the stars. He and his gang of teenagers have mostly done petty crimes but now they are going after New York's blood supply! One of the teenagers flees and runs into Black Widow, who is ready to stop the gang. She has a rooftop fight with some gang members who try to get the teen back. The battle ends with the teen knocking a gang member off the roof. Both plummet to their deaths. The Widow feels guilty but keeps working the case. A few more adventures and another death leave the Black Widow in a funk over how people die around her.

Her last adventure in Amazing Adventures finds her and her henchman Ivan being captured by the Watchlord. He was exposed to radiation as a child in Germany--Soviet radiation! He naturally has an aversion to Russians, so he wants to eliminate Black Widow and her henchman. She manages to escape him. In the final conflict, Watchlord dies and she feels guilty again.

Daredevil #81--Black Widow was dropped from Amazing Adventures (which only lasted two more issues with the Inhumans). She moves over to Daredevil (hey, they're both in New York City so it's not surprising). Daredevil is tossed in the river by The Owl, a fairly nondescript villain who thinks he's a genius. Black Widow happens to be nearby and saves Daredevil from drowning. They separate before he knows who saved him. The Owl is the minion of a bigger villain (who is also smarter, but don't tell Owl!) who wanted DD captured, not killed. The Owl goes off on his own, which turns out to be a bad decision when both Daredevil and Black Widow show up to defeat him. Thus a partnership was formed between Daredevil and Black Widow. Their subsequent adventures are not in this book.

I found the stories interesting but they are definitely products of their time. Initially, the Soviets are Red Commie menaces who can do no good unless they defect to the welcoming West. As the stories progress, the writers are a little softer on her Russian background. She is occasionally drawn like a pin-up rather than a superhero, which hasn't changed much over the years. The Young Warriors seem like any hardcore youth group from that era, fighting "the man" in City Hall. Some of the dialog, like the quips during the fights, are occasionally wince-inducing but mostly fine. If you can handle that stuff, you will enjoy this book.

Slightly recommended as some historical filler and background on Black Widow.

[Jimbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Black Widow. Her first appearance in Tales of Suspense #52, then to her run in Amazing Adventures 1-8 (which she shared with the Inhumans). Ending with her appearance and the first meeting of Daredevil in Issue #81.

It is hard sometimes to read older comics that are a bit sexist and male driven in terms of sixties and seventies sexuality, but the story of Widow is worth reading the early ones to take her jouney to where she is in the MCU, and in the movies.

Some of her equipment is more in keeping with making her like Spider-Man without the powers, she is just an acrobat and her past Russian training is not part of her background except as a sexpot to get sensitive information for the Russians in the Tales of Suspense storyline. (and her later illegal activity with Clint Barton). The stories don't quite mesh with the later versions, but it is interesting that she is shown as a progressive feminist within the stories from Amazing Adventures, even though Ivan saves her bacon more than a man would in the modern stories.

As sometimes cringe-worthy the lines and sentiments within the stories are for modern sensibilities, these are good stories. Gene Colon's art is some of the better within the pages. Other artists do good work, but the fact that she is a femme fatale at first, then later a copy of Emma Peele from the Avengers television show, the Black Widow is always one of the first real female heroes at Marvel who could actual kick bad guys butts.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reprinting Natasha's first appearance (teamed with a spy called Boris — yes, that was Stan Lee's intentional joke) this jumps forward to 1970 when Marvel span her off into her own series in Amazing Adventures (boosted by a crossover in Spider-Man first). The stories gave her a formfitting jumpsuit, martial arts skills (not something she'd demonstrated before) and a day job as a female Bruce Wayne, a glamorous independently wealthy jet-setter. Marvel artist John Romita said he designed her based on the older hero Miss Fury, but she also resembles Emma Peel and the non-super martial artist version of Wonder Woman active in1 970.
Natasha's series plunges her into a plotline involving corrupt politicians and a group of radical reformers, followed by a more conventional story arc when the writing changed. We wrap up with her meeting Daredevil, launching a romance that would run for three years.
The art is excellent, the stories readable but not stunning.

[David Popovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an odd little book. You would think a character as known now as Black Widow would have gotten some chance at a solo book, but she spent all of the 60's as a side chick. That is till the 70's when she got to be a back up in the Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) with the Inhumans which would give her her iconic black suit. And like a lot of experiments in the 70's, it's a mix bag. With short 10 page stories that make everything feel is moving at the slow pace (The first four issues in particular so not a good tone setter). An ever changing writing artist teams. And some very risky art of the sultry widow as she contemplates if she can be a hero when everyone around her seems to die. Which never gets resolved as the stories end after issue 8 and she goes back to being a side chick for Daredevil. She wouldn't get another solo title till 1999 (Original graphic novels none withstanding) Just a odd book.

[Vendea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly nothing like the more recent runs of Black Widow comics. I'll agree with other reviewers that the conceit of Natasha killing everyone she gets close to was overdone... but this is so old that particular criticism doesn't matter. The summary after the first issue of events happening between then and the next issues struck me as odd - if there were actually more issues featuring Black Widow in the interim I would rather have just read them. Eventually all the included ones started to feel the same. Overall, it's not a bad compilation of the initial Black Widow comics and I appreciate it for what it is without wanting to read it ever again...

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of some of Black Widow's earliest appearances, popping up in Iron Man, Spider-Man, Inhumans, and Daredevil titles. While there's some great art here, notably from Gene Colan, it's clear that Marvel hadn't really figured out what to do with this character. For a Soviet assassin turned international spy, she spends a lot of time just hanging out in New York, patronizing teenage radicals, and worrying about the various men in her life. The writers have a clear awareness about this character being associated with "women's lib," yet she defines herself entirely in relation to men, without any apparent idea of what her own deal is.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated, lovable latter era Silver Age/ proto-Bronze Age goodness. I adore the whole militant vs. establishment era of youth culture, as it is hilarious here in 2010. The art restoration was lacking in a few of the issues, with the fine linework being obliterated. Was this the results of stats? Low resolution scans? Fiche? Who knows. I wish that this material would have gotten the Masterworks TLC that it deserves, though. Of course, it would have cost Masterworks cabbage, too. All in all, a nice package, hardcover with around 150 pages with nice paper and sewn binding at half the price of a Marvel Masterwork.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting effort to give Black Widow her own book but it could've been so much better.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Widow's adventures take a grounded real-world focus at this point in her career. These issues are good and reflective of the times at which they were published (the early 70's).

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black widow goes looking for an item s.h.i.e.l.d needs to protect.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see the origins of Black Widow.

[mads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Tim Pieraccini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rates four stars for the early Buscema & Colan art, but takes a bit of a dip once Don Heck appears.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

[Robert Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1970, Marvel’s Black Widow received a make-over. She went from a brunette to a redhead and changed her costume to a black bodysuit. The new outfit invited comparisons to Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, a character on the 1960s British tv series THE AVENGERS. As I understand it, artist John Romita, who designed the look, claimed that his true inspiration was Tarpe Mills’ comic strip character Miss Fury. Miss Fury’s bodysuit, unlike Emma Peel’s included cat ears. Miss Fury was (and is) also a relatively obscure character, whereas Emma Peel would have been very familiar to early 1970s fans. Regardless of Romita’s true inspiration, then, comparisons to Emma Peel were likely inevitable and continue today. Perhaps the only important point is that Romita’s makeover stuck, and many modern fans are likely unaware that the character was ever a brunette.

This book begins with the very first Black Widow story – an Iron Man tale from 1964. Readers can deem that a bonus however, as the real focus is on the early days of the “new” Black Widow. We begin with the “new” Widow’s introduction in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #86, and continue with the short-lived Black Widow series that debuted one month later in AMAZING ADVENTURES #1. All eight installments of this series are included, and the volume concludes with a reprint of DAREDEVIL #81. Marvel historians know that the Widow would go on to co-star in Daredevil’s series for a while. The Daredevil/Black Widow stories have been collected elsewhere, however, so I’ll stick to the tales in this book.

Generally, they’re enjoyable, straightforward crime/adventure stories. Black Widow is a crime fighter here, like Miss Fury, rather than a spy like Emma Peel – a fact that perhaps gives some credence to Romita’s claim. She’s given a chauffeur named “Ivan,” who begins as a bit player and is then developed into an assistant and given more of a personality (Here, I couldn’t help thinking of the British comic strip character Modesty Blaise and her partner Willie Garvin – two more contemporaries of this “new look” Black Widow.). My name checking of Miss Fury, Emma Peel and Modesty Blaise should give you a pretty good idea of what you're in for, and indeed, if you like those three characters, then you will probably like the Black Widow as well. There are no real surprises in this book, but the stories are fun, nonetheless.

If I had to pick the book's biggest flaw, I'd say that it's the revolving door of creative talent. No artist or writer seemed to stay with poor Natasha (as BW fans might familiarly know her) for more than two or three issues. That results in some inconsistencies. I've already mentioned Ivan, for example, whom one writer introduces as a nondescript chauffeur and another turns into an ace fighter with an obsession for old movies (Writer Roy Thomas, famous as a pop culture maven, presumably couldn't resist the opportunity to reference his favorite films.). The art, too, varies wildly, as the main artists have styles quite different from each other - and a rotating team of inkers adds even more variation. That said, Silver Age Marvel fans will likely be happy just to see names like Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Gene Colan and Stan Lee himself.

Let's be honest, though - most people who buy books like these do so to complete a collection. That's why I bought this volume. Of the stories found within, I already have the Iron Man, Spider-Man and Daredevil stories from other reprint collections...but to my knowledge, those solo Black Widow tales from AMAZING ADVENTURES #s 1-8 have not been reprinted elsewhere - and here they are in a fancy hardcover volume that looks nice on my shelf. It works for me!

My rating: 7/10

[Whatcha Reading Heather? · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a treat to see Natasha's first-ever comics appearance and to see how she's developed as a character overall in the early years. She very much gets a lot of the 'oh she can't do these things because she's a woman' but handles it with grace and general badassery. I live for women proving men wrong, especially in comics where men seem to think female characters are reserved for eye candy.

[Oscar Salas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hay buenas ideas en este libro, tanto el la etapa de Gary Friedrich, la más setentera, como en la ochentera de Macchio y Pérez. Hay una preocupación por darle un trasfondo real al personaje, una dimensión que lo haga creíble y no accesorio. Ya sea en la tradición del "handicap Marvel" o en el juego de lealtades cruzadas, la Viuda demuestra que, bien llevada, es un personaje que se adapta muy bien a los tiempos y que posee un tremendo potencial.
Sin embargo, las presiones editoriales, la poca fe en el producto y su rentabilidad, complotan contra un mejor desarrollo de estas ideas y con la obtención de finales más satisfactorios. Todos los cierres resultan apresurados y suspenden la verosimilitud que se planteaba de buena manera en cada presentación. Una lectura que sería más insatisfactoria si no fuese por el innegable talento de John Buscema, Gene Colan y George Pérez en el arte de este volumen, que supera incluso el baile de entintadores que conspira contra el resultado final.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Widow: Sting of the Widow is a mixed bag of stories. The hardcover includes Natasha Romanoff's introduction in Tales of Suspense 52 as a glamorous agent out to investigate Tony Stark and Iron Man. For their best agent, she doesn't do all that much, except charm and distract Stark. Then the book shifts more to her costumed adventures when she gets her black jumpsuit and armbands. Her solo adventures feel very street level, rather than worldly spy. The Daredevil story feels really out of place, both in mood and style. I might have preferred the stories in between her intro and her new costume instead, how she joined the Avengers. Maybe they'll collect it in other places.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was, I believe, Marvel’s first attempt at a collection of early Black Widow stories. It does lack her presence from the pages of the Avengers, but does provide a good overview of her early appearances. A bit more comprehensive of a collection can be found in Black Widow Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Beware the Black Widow.

[Lou(ise) Odenkirk]

I'm enjoying dabbling in Black Widow's past, but I wish there was more thought put into the collected issues. Maybe a focus on one series or another. I wish there was more of a development later in the book with her and Daredevil vs. on issue.

Oh well. I still love all the issues and I'm re-reading a few while reading others for the first time.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volumen que repasa las primeras apariciones del personajes, desde sus días como espía soviética hasta sus tempranos intentos como vigilante. Sin ser espectacular, consigue momentos de gran interés gracias a guiones que enfatizan una mirada más urbana y realista (al menos en sus episodios finales) y el buen hacer de varios dibujantes, entintadores y coloristas. Recomendable.

[Mark Stratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The varying quality of the stories was seriously overcome by some terrific artwork. Especially that of Gene Colan.

[Roy Cid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bastante entretenido y emocionante. El dibujo no es el mejor del mundo, pero se nota que es porque es un clásico.