Black Widow: Homecoming

Black Widow (2004) #1-6

by Richard K. Morgan (Writer), Bill Sienkiewicz (Illustrator)

The deadliest agent in the Marvel Universe has finally gotten out of the spy game, and she's not asking for much, just a life of her own.

When a sudden assassination attempt provides a harsh reality check, the former Soviet agent tracks a string of international killings that will lead her back to a Russia she can barely recognize.

Collecting: Black Widow 1-6

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Richard K. Morgan (sometimes credited as Richard Morgan) is a science fiction and fantasy writer.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very Shallow black & white Buddy Read.



I accidentally read the second volume, The Things They Say About Her, first. Because...thank you, Marvel, for your crappy labeling.
Anyway, I was confused by her amoral attitude toward kidnapping and/or killing people. Also, she was a weeeeee bit of a rage monster.
Why?
Well, the answer is in this one.
Natasha has retired from the spy games, and has begun to have a somewhat normal life.
She's relaxed and enjoying civilian life. At least, until the first assassin comes for her. Then she's all, Hi-Ya! Ker-Chop! Snap! Crackle! Pop!, and kills him with her ninja spy awesomeness.



It turns out, someone is sending assassins after all the women who were part of the Black Widow program. And if Natasha wants to stay alive, she needs to figure out who and why. Which means getting some help from a disgraced ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, and going on a road trip.
Along the way, she runs into some men trying to assault a teenage girl and ends up taking her along for the ride.
And this is the Sally Anne from the other volume that I was so confused about!



Sorry, but I get all excited when things finally start making sense!

Also included in this one is a bit more of Natasha's childhood origin in the Black Widow program. And a lot of it was quite a surprise for her.



There's a bunch of other things that happen, but it all explains Natasha's transition into a more mercenary character in the second volume. And even with the art being somewhat iffy in spots (my opinion), I enjoyed this quite a bit.
Recommended if you're interested in reading more about the Black Widow.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Natasha has retired to New Mexico where someone comes to take her out. Turns out someone is wiping out all former Russian female agents but no one knows why. So Black Widow gets back in the game to track down the people responsible. It's a solid spy story but a little on the stodgy side.

[Ricky Ganci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morgan can write, hands down. And even though his unmistakable prose was exchanged, in this case, for pictures, the dialogue, themes, and storytelling style bore his totally unique and absolutely stellar fingerprints. In this story, Morgan takes on lots of big issues that hit a little closer to home—it reads thematically very much like Market Forces. There’s the corporation, the lack of respect for the consumer that pays for that corporation’s livelihood, and the mystery behind…something. It’s like post-socialist spy aftermath noir, and not cyberpunk noir, but it’s still noir in the flavor that only Morgan can manufacture. Natasha is a really cool and strong female lead, and I liked the fact that Phil sort of filled in as a stereotypical male sidekick. I can totally understand why this novel didn’t sell well in stores: it makes a farily pointed attack on the comics industry and in the general portrayal of women overall. It lacks the fantasy element and offers in its stead sharp observations about the motives behind corporate gladiatorship, a econo-humanist ideal that tragically caused a people to whore themselves to those who came to claim their way of life (corrupt though it may have beem), and does both behind a pretty interesting backstory of sabatoge, conditioning (and there’s your Takeshi) and science fiction elements. I really enjoyed reading something different that Morgan wrote, outside the form of prose, and even though it’s a graphic novel, I really felt I learned some cool stuff about post-1989 Russia and the way the people must have felt after the Berlin Wall came down. Only Morgan could pull that off in a comic book that’s supposed to be about a super-sexy Russian spy. Only Morgan, God bless him.

Second Reading:
Richard K. Morgan writes about three things: expatriates on the run from the organizations that used to employ and/or embrace them, corporate and government interests being evil at heart, and violence. What impresses me most about these six issues of BLACK WIDOW is how even with the predictable "Richard K" elements, this story is unique for comics. It doesn't contain anything too epic--no huge clash of juggernauts, and no giant, impossibly huge overarching story. Rather, it is comprised of a series of conversations between a half a dozen key characters and a handful of peripherals. And while one of those characters is the fabled Nick Fury of Avengers fame, he, like the Widow herself, is simply a voice for discussion. He does not get involved in the violence, of which there is very little. He simply plays the part that Morgan has written for him: the estranged handler, out to do the good thing, but whose hands are tied by the Powers That Be.

Natalya is voiced with the perfect blend of power, decisiveness, and depth to keep her from being the woman-object spy. To offset that archetype (or stereotype, perhaps), he introduces Sally Anne, whose abduction wends to way into THE THINGS THEY SAY ABOUT HER. Phil latches onto her and not the Widow, leaving Romanov free to explore the KGB-turned-corporate plot which drives the characters forward, and which provides the context for Morgan's dialogue, which, as always, is nearly flawless. The climax contains the right blend of theme and violence, as well as the teaser for part two, bookending with the asssassination of the three other discharged Black Widow agents from the beginning of the book to contain one of the best-written stories that comics has seen in recent years, and certainly the perfect new direction for the Black Widow characters and storylines.

[David Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Comixology Unlimited I have been catching up on several Black Widow collections. When I saw that this one was written by Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon) I figured it had to be good. And it was! Already downloaded his next collection: The Things They Say About Her. Black Widow being the Black Widow. Retired? No way! I am finding out so many things about her past. And I was around when she first appeared in 1964 (only 10).

[Noura Khalid (theperksofbeingnoura) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved that this had a bit of Nat's backstory

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful looking book. I still isn't understand why Marvel gave this series Greg Land covers on it's initial release. Not only is his style horrid, it couldn't look any farther apart from the interior artwork.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 🌟

Nice to see Natasha again. Sad that the other Black Widows died. Enjoyed seeing Natasha in action. Glad Nat was able to stop Vassily. Hope Phil and the girl will be okay.

Can't wait to read more Black Widow comics!!!!

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Widow: Homecoming pierces the surface of mediocrity, but never ascends beyond it.

The story opens with a surprise hit placed on Natasha Romanoff, propelling her to investigate the matter with some help from her friends. This investigation eventually leads her to confront her Homeland and her ambiguous past.

Despite the name of the series, the homecoming, itself, takes too long to occur and leaves significantly less emotional impact than it should. The story spans six issues, but its central vilain remains nothing more than an outline, never being fleshed out.

The story offers a promising premise, some interesting digs in the characters backstory, but with a brisk storytelling and occasional hurdles along the way.

[Tris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a fan of the art style. Story-wise, boring for the most part.

[Arizona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a recurring nightmare where men try to explain feminism to me.

This is the fourth or fifth time I've read this trade. You notice little things after that many read-throughs. There's a scene early on where the narration is intended to read "there are friends and there are friends," but because comics love to overuse italics, both friends are italicized. Another scene has Natasha breaking into a house. She should be wearing gloves, but at first, she isn't. Then, out of nowhere, gloves appear on her hands.

The villains' plan is even more ridiculous on re-read. He wants to kill her in order to protect his stock prices because her DNA is a threat to his patent. Except that she doesn't know her DNA is a threat to his patent and the act of trying to remember causes her enormous pain. It doesn't seem like anyone else who knows would tell. How would killing her and the other Widows solve this problem if they aren't even aware of this and the people who are are left alive? None of this makes any sense.

Another thing I noticed is that Morgan loves to start scenes in media res, often in the middle of a conversation or even a sentence, and then have clunky expository dialogue explain what's going on. He relies on this device too much, and that may be why the book is hard to follow on first read. Well, that and the overabundance of characters. There are too many new players for a six issue series. He would have been better off cutting several people. As it is, we're left wondering, 'Who is this white guy? Why are they talking to him?' far too often. Some diversity might have helped differentiate them. Everyone in this series is white, except for one black character who delivers exposition and dies.

I kept coming back to this story because my feelings never coalesced. It was getting some kind of reaction, but not one I could explain. I've finally sorted out my thoughts. The star rating is a mark of ambivalence more than a true assessment of quality. This is a mixed bag, and the good and bad are intertwined.

Homecoming tells the story of Natalya Romanova, a spy turned rock climbing enthusiast. After an unknown man tries to kill her, she leaves her Arizona home to track down who sent the would-be assassin. She is joined by another former spy Phil Dexter and a teenage runaway named, for some reason, Sally Anne. She follows a trail of clues to unravel a mystery about her past. Along the way, there are many conversations about the USA vs the USSR and why men are awful.

This all seems fine for a Black Widow story. The main problem is I don't think this is a Black Widow story. The Natalya Romanova here is an original character wearing Black Widow's skin.

Maybe she's a Skrull. That would explain a lot.

The Natasha in Homecoming is an unrepentant killer with only the mildest concern for human life. You, as a filthy casual, may think that's normal. She's Black Widow, after all. But the Natasha of the best Black Widow stories has an underlying humanity that Morgan exorcised. It's clear that Morgan's belief is that too many feelings, too much niceness, would make Widow a lesser character. She needs to be cold and ruthless to the core.

There's a contempt for femininity -- and for any woman who doesn't fit Morgan's narrow version of empowerment -- running through this book. It's there in the idea that Natasha needs to be stripped of her softer side, in the evil cosmetics company subplot stolen from the movie Catwoman, and in the characters' conversations about feminism. It's most obvious, though, in the condescending, condemnatory mentions of sex workers and other women Morgan views as interchangeable with sex workers. This was written in the mid 2000s, the era of "Stupid Girls." Its attitude towards women hasn't aged well. Morgan brings up the Madonna/Whore Complex in one scene (it's "pole dancers and hard-faced harridans" now, he says), only to fall face first into it. There are good women and bad women, he posits. Bad women are sluts who love makeup. Good women are free of all femininity.

Free to do what?

Free to be men, I guess.

Which is funny since his view of gender is one where women are under constant assault from men and, uh, that's about it. Morgan only sees women in relation to men, the landscape of our lives an empty field full of wild dogs ready to tear us apart but not much else.

The core of this book, what makes it work and not work, is that Morgan writes Black Widow like she is his own character. He views Natasha as written by others as unworthy, marred by girly things like ballet, bullet bracelets, and feelings. So he set out to fix her. He ignored her place in the greater Marvel Universe, opting for a story where is retired. However, the dialogue tells us this takes place in the early-mid 2000's when it was released. How time works in the Marvel Universe makes my head hurt, so I'll ignore that. I'm still confused about how this fits into her personal timeline.

It must fit into her personal timeline in the main universe because its back half is all about changing that history. Suddenly, Black Widow's ballet experience was a dream. Ballet is girl shit, and Morgan won't stand for it. Instead, he'll use Widow's longstanding backstory as a way to be condescending about things associated with women. Ballet? You thought she did BALLET? You rube, you utter fool, this is Richard K. Morgan's waifu, and she will not be weighed down by feminine pursuits.

(This is total waifu-ery, by the way. A classic case of a man writing an "empowered woman" who is, conveniently, exactly the kind of woman he wants to have sex with.)

Then there is the nonsense about Nick Fury "engineering" Natasha's defection by using magic cologne. Her decision to leave her country and her life behind to follow her conscience has been erased. Everything was because a man made her do it. Her bravery wasn't her own. It was a trick by a man who wanted to use her. Her happy memories were invented. She is the product of men controlling every aspect of her life. A puppet who can't remember her own childhood.

Remind me again why this book is supposed to be feminist.

If Morgan had created a new character with this backstory, it would have been one thing. Instead, he took a pre-existing character with decades of history and erased her agency and history. He treated her struggles and past as disposable because he didn't think she was fuckable feminist enough.

The fact that she's a new character who happens to have Natasha's name and backstory (until she doesn't) is also the strength of this series. There is a feeling you get when a writer is making a character their own. They may be going off script, but by leaning into their specialities and interests, they're imbuing the work with a confidence it wouldn't have if they were trying to recreate someone else's Spider-man or someone else's Captain America. This is a common occurrence when a novelist writes Big Two characters. It has advantages and disadvantages.

Books like this where a writer is doing whatever they want have an appeal for new or casual readers. They don't know or don't care what is "in character." They don't have a clear idea of what a character should be, but they pick up on the passion and energy.

I don't think reinvention is an inherently bad thing. I love Fraction and Aja's Hawkeye, even though, like all Matt Fraction series, its hero is Matt Fraction. Or Matt Fraction's idea of himself, anyway. When you're reinventing a character in a sexist way, it's different. Morgan can't see what is good about the actual Black Widow. He holds her in contempt, and he created a different character with her name to remedy the things he saw as wrong.

When men can't see the value in long-standing female characters, I'm suspicious. More often than not, their confusion is rooted in not seeing women's stories as important. When something has endured for decades, it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. There is a reason people are drawn to it. There is always a reason, good or bad. If you can't see it because it has a female face, that's your problem.

Unless you become a comic book writer, and then it's my problem too. Why not make a new character if you like the idea of Black Widow but hate everything about her? File the serial numbers off and make something new. Even if people noticed, they probably wouldn't care.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Widow: Welcome to the Game – This one’s a bit of an oddball, but in a good way. I really appreciated the gritty, noir-style vibe—it feels more grounded and realistic. The premise is solid: someone’s hunting Black Widows, and Natasha is determined to find out who. The pacing flows well, though the writing can get overly wordy at times. Natasha herself is portrayed as effortlessly cool, which I loved. That said, some of the attempts at feminist dialogue come off a little forced—like a man trying to write “strong female lines” without really listening to real conversations. It doesn’t ruin the story, but it does feel a bit dated (it was written about 20 years ago). Still, overall, it’s a fun, moody little noir story.

Black Widow: The Things They Say About Me – This one doesn’t quite hit the same mark as Welcome to the Game. It leans more into traditional superhero territory—Daredevil shows up, there’s more action and bad guy-punching—but it loses the gritty, detective-style edge that made the first one stand out. It’s not bad, just a bit more generic. If you liked the noir tone of the first, this might feel like a step back.

[Gloria Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can really tell that Morgan is trying to explore some of the gendered tropes around Black Widow but it doesn't escape the lingering sense of the male gaze even in its interesting art style. Like, it's a story that makes a big point about women being murdered for getting abortions and how the women of the story are viewed by the men they interact with and the loss of their agency for the sake of becoming killing machines, but it also repeatedly asks us to view them in various states of undress and scenes of seduction. I'm just not sure Black Widow is a character who appeals to me, at least from the stories I've read.

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genaueres Review später, aber vorab: Gute Story, coole Artwork, sexistischer Zeichenstil. Das hätten 5* sein können.

[Saimi Korhonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What gave you the right to do all this to me? To all of us?”

Black Widow: Homecoming follows the recently retired Natasha Romanoff, who is trying to leave her past as a KGB spy and later, a SHIELD agent, behind her and just have a quiet life rock-climbing and reading books. But her past comes back to haunt her in the form of an assassin, and quickly she is all wrapped up in solving a mystery involving a string of strange deaths that all seem to lead back to one thing and one thing only: Nat's past in Russia. This is an action-packed spy tale with twists and turns, but more than anything else this is an exploration of Natasha's character, her past, what was done to her in the Red Room and how everything she has lived through has shaped her.

This is the first Black Widow-centric comic I've read and I loved it. It's intense and dark as well as fiercely emotional and heartbreaking. Natasha is such an interesting character and I loved how Morgan wrote her. He made her every bit the badass spy she is without forgetting she is also very damaged and deeply caring. I loved seeing how much she, despite all her snakiness and coldness, cares about individuals and helping people who are in vulnerable positions - like the girl she sees be harassed by two men. Morgan nailed Natasha in my opinion and I can't wait to read his second volume following Natasha's adventures. I also liked the main sidekick, Phil, and found the contrast between him and Natasha very interesting: in some ways he was often the more careful and subtle one, but he was often times also the more cold one - I mean he was ready to just ignore that the two men were about to rape Sally Anne and even told Natasha to ignore it. . Their dynamic and their reluctant friendship was interesting to read.

The mystery itself was interesting and seeing how it all tied back Russia and the Red Room was interesting. I was at times a bit confused with all the organisations that were present and all that, but while it is one of the reasons I won't give this story full 5/5 stars, it didn't hinder my enjoyment too much. I also think the ending was a bit too abrupt - I would've liked to see a bit moree.

One constant theme in the book that I think was explored and shown very well was the ever-present abuse of women by men in power. The comic showed so many ways - major and subtle - women are made smaller and misused by the men around them: Nat is catcalled and always underestimated, there are more than a few cases of older man taking advantage of young women (even girls who are barely legal), Nat goes on a spiel about how women are pressured to remain beautiful and young always while men are allowed to age and also mentions how things that would harm a woman's reputation and standing in, let's say in the workplace, will not harm a man's, and in the end it's even revealed that Fury uses the Red Room-made perfume-type thing that keeps Black Widows obedient and non-lethal around him. He literally uses a drug to control Natasha's actions. . It was at times tough to read, but it felt honest, cause, let's face it, this is how the world is.

One more thing I loved about this story before I wrap this review up: the art style. It's artistically messy and the colour-palette is very dark, and both of these things just helped highlight the gritty, intense nature of the story. Brilliant.

I would highly recommend this comic. It's wonderfully written and does great justice to Natasha, and it's also not super long (only 6 issues). Reading this doesn't require any major knowledge of the Marvel comic universe: if you know who Natasha is, you are good to go!

[Adrien]

big brain thoughts: loving any natasha i can get, need to read a run written by a woman. i believe there is a more recent run by kelley thompson… i shall have to investigate.

little brain thoughts that are quite frankly reductive and i should not be saying this on the internet: please God don’t tell me i’m attracted to phil?? what a stinker.

btw, it’s not lost on me that comic books are such a beautiful art form through which we examine the problems of our world, and i think the marvel universe especially does this. it is very strange to be in late stage capitalism, reading a book grappling with the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and capitalism being a big, bad villain, and the book is now owned by one of the largest corporations in the world. luckily comics are so low on the priority list for these companies that marvel and dc, i would like to think, still are able to examine the world around us and mostly fly under the radar of their corporate overlords, but i would like the record to reflect that i am not stupid and i acknowledge our reality. i also just have such a love for natasha. she’s the kind of character i would have been obsessed with as a child and feels like such an awesome combination of my love of totally spies and my love of history. she is just so fucking interesting and cool. she is officially on my list of characters i would love to cosplay!

omg also i just remembered lol the last page said there would be a volume 2 but as far as i can tell there never was so there’s that also.

[Jaye Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was alright. I know that after reading such a great Black Widow run (Edmondson & Noto) anything after wouldn't be as good but this was just... okay.

I hated the art so much. It matched the tone but it was ugly and I didn't like looking at it. Also why was Natasha in her underwear so much lol chill. We get it, she's a sExY spy. But I have seen men do worse with her and at least there was kinda reason instead on no her zipper... it's broken.

I was pretty annoyed they just wrote out her gauntlets and in such a lame way. They were heavy? Lame.

The story though was actually pretty good. Natasha is just chilling but then someone tries to kill her. As she follows clues, it turns out someone is trying to take out former Black Widows. Natasha is such a badass and super ruthless in this. She has a goal, she's mad, and she's gonna kill but she also finds time to save a girl. The energy went so hard but it was very intriguing.

There were parts where I was super confused what was going on like some of the characters I was just??? Whomst?? But that's classic.

I loved the storyline of her past and it was so funny to me that the pheromone control thing from the Black Widow movie was in this, including the nose break solution. Iconic. But are we just gonna ignore that Fury literally used it on her like uhhh. Like why did we get this information just to be like okay??

I know 2 stars seems bad but the story was a solid 3 and the art was ugly as fuck 1.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retired Black Widow returns to Russia when an assassin starts killing all the female Widows.

Having just seen the Black Widow movie (it's good!), it was fun to see several threads from this graphic novel that showed up. I haven't read Black Widow comics prior to this so my only knowledge of her was from Avengers comics and movies. She's much harsher in this story than what I've seen. I have always actively disliked the art of Bill Sienkiewicz so I wasn't a fan here either. I don't feel the need to find more of these books but semi-enjoyed this one.

[REMI ☀️🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely loved it! the red room details were way more detailed than what was in the MCU which i’m very happy about although i wish she wasn’t sexualised SO much (“but it’s a part of her character!!”) no. it’s her PAST but it’s not who she is as a whole person!

[чарна · Rating 4 out of 5]

ate. left no crumbs.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 1 out of 5]

La viuda negra es perseguida por su pasado, y bla,bla,bla...

LO BUENO: Bill Sienkiewicz es Bill Sienkiewic, y se marca unas paginas fluidas, que duelen, cuando hay golpes los sientes, sus oscuros y negros son muy buenos, además, en la pagina que hay un hombre bajo una droga que lo hace delirar, el tipo se sale ,y en unos paneles te asusta y te sorprende.

LO MALO: El guion es predecible, tonto, cliche por aqui, cliche por alla, y no hay de donde agarrar la historia, y si bien el arte de Sienkiewicz es bueno, hay paginas muy abocetadas, y cuando dice robar fondos, se lo toma muy en serio, y esas portadas inundas de Greg Land, no ayudan.

[Isaac Quek · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're into the Jason Bourne film series, you would love this.

Never judge a book by its cover - clearly true in this case. The stories present inside have absolutely nothing to do with the cover art. The art inside is gritty, messy, the artist of the book majors on depicting reality as it is - alley ways, derelict buildings within soviet Russia, street scenes as it is, which is a far cry from the airbrushed reality of the cover art. Altogether disconcerting - the oppositeness of the art on the cover and the art inside.

The series is intelligent, layered, and the narrative takes its time to slow burn to its conclusions. Ie. not a writing style you see which sells comics today.

You have none of the comic book cliches which fill the standard series and sells books which ironically is present on the cover art.

It surprises with the themes which it chooses to explore. The story interweaves well several diverse and distinct themes: it is a realistic lens exploring the themes of present-day prevailing capitalism, Soviet History, the role of soldiers and the military/government security agencies including the KGB and CIA, the commodification / treatment and portrayal of women. It is united by the strong voice of the central character.

The writer takes his time to throw out its secrets and twists at its own pace, it rewards the patience of the reader. The rewards are definitely worth the read.

This would be the definitive origin story of the Black Widow exploring the Red Room soviet program which created her, I see that the modern Avengers films - the most recent Ultron one borrowed content from this series.

I liked the way the series slowly peeled away at the motivations of the character and her inner psychological workings, while making it a pretty competent spy-thriller, comparable to the Bourne film series.

One of those books which keeps you pondering over the content well after the read. Excellent read.

[G. Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good Black Widow story by Richard Morgan, with great art as always by Sienkiewicz. The characters are great, the plot is tight and well-told. The feminism themes are a little heavy handed, but it works overall. I thought the ending was quite abrupt, but since then I have found that there's a sequel to this one, The Things They Say About Her . Overall, recommended!

[Carlos Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen còmic que sin duda ha sido la fuente de inspiración de la película “Viuda negra”. En el podemos conocer el pasado de Natasha, que hasta ahora se le había ocultado incluso a ella misma. La historia es interesante y atrapa, aunque al principio es algo más lento que el resto de la trama. Técnicamente impecable en el dibujo, el color y las escenas de acción.


Añadir que (es un cómic del 2005) los autores intentan hacer una reinterpretación más feminista del personaje, y aunque funciona bien, esta se queda un poco en la superficialidad.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nie spodziewałem się niczego dobrego po Czarnej Wdowie. Jak mi miło, że tak się pomyliłem. Powrót do domu jest klimatyczną historią z fanomenalną kreską i kolorami. Każda strona dawała mi tyle radochy, że aż żal mi było kończyć całość.

A zaczyna się od kilku morderstw. Giną same kobiety. Pozornie ze sobą nie połączone, ale diabeł tkwi w szczegółach. Okazuje się, że wszystkie należały do pewnego programu, należącego do tzw. Czerwonej Komnaty. To tam narodziła się ona. Członkini Avengers... Natasza Romanowa stara się dalej żyć, umilając sobie życie pięknymi widokami Arizony i utrzymując kondycję poprzez wspinaczkę górską. Niestety, byłej Czarnej Wdowie nie będzie dane odpocząć i już na początku pewien koleś spróbuje ją skasować na pustej drodze, gdzieś na środku pustyni. Przeszłość się upomina z wielką mocą.

Natasza prosi o pomoc Phila Dextera, byłego agenta S.H.I.E.L.D, która ma u niej kilka niespłaconych długów wdzięczności. Za parą byłych szpiegów rusza kilka organizacji, w tym tajemnicze North, a którzy nie szczędzą środków by dopaść Nataszę. W toku śledztwa wyjdą na jaw dawne machloje, sięgające swoimi początkami żelaznej kurtyny. Chcąc nie chcąc wdowa będzie musiała odbyć "prawie" sentymentalną podróż do mateczki Rosji.

Akcja gna na złamanie głowy, twist goni twist, więc nie sposób się tutaj nudzić. Chciałbym więcej takich historii. Tak wyglądających. Rozmowy wypadają tu bardzo naturalnie i już dawno nie miałem wrażenie, że absolutnie każda linijka dialogu ma tu sens i nie przedłuża sztucznie opowieści. Pełna ocena dana jest nieco na wyrost, ale nie sądzę abym tego żałował.

[Darcey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Homecoming. I wouldn’t say it’s an iconic one in terms of Natasha’s comic history, and I can see why. It’s not some epic tale, and besides Fury, most of the characters are new, therefore giving it the feeling of being rather separate, alienated, with no familiar roots - excluding our protagonist.

But I enjoy this storyline so much because of it’s unique, from the story to the way it’s told. There’s not much violence, and mainly follows a string of conversations. The dialogue is sharp and witty, and the characters are well fleshed out, all due to the prose of Richard K.Morgan. I love his portrayal of Natasha as powerful, decisive and deep was practically perfect, particularly the way she felt on her return to Moscow. The reveals from Grigor Ivanovich and Kudrin in terms of the truth about training and brainwashing in the Red Room were clever and presented new angles on why the Black Widow is the way she is.

Another way this series is unique is that for once, Natasha is not on the run. She’s retired and living in some Arizona desert, which is a refreshing change of tune.

It also makes a rather big attack on how the comic industry presents female characters, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The art is quite...harsh? But I had nothing against it.

All that being said, nothing is without faults. This series, to me, does have somewhat of a villain problem. Of course, this storyline carries into TTTSAH, where ends are tied up, but the ‘showdown’ on the boat proved anticlimactic and Vassily was easily beaten. It’s never established exactly why North is hunting Natasha, and the many spinning plates just made for a rather confusing narrative.

All in all, the good far outweighs the bad. Easily the best out of any that came before it, and still holds up as enjoyable today after the variety of series that followed it.

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you recently saw the Black Widow movie and wanted more, this is a good place to start. I have to assume this was a seminal source for the team behind the film because there’s a lot of things you’ll notice from the movie in here.

In this one, Natasha, while ever relentless and capable, isn’t always the seemingly all-knowing ineffable badass she’s often portrayed as. She’s skilled and feared, but she’s learning new things about herself, and is caught off guard more than once. As a spy thriller, it is solid. Morgan does a good job of fleshing out most characters. He also incorporates serious real-life themes (like abuse against women), which I always appreciate. Sienkiewicz‘s art is really good, his “sketchy” style fitting a seedy/shady feeling story, and is deceptively detailed at times.

For anyone looking for a relatively recent place to start with Black Widow, this serves as a solid origin story. She travels around the world with her companions investigating the murder of a former Widow. The pull of that thread unravels an entire web that Natasha didn’t even know existed. There are surprising reveals, you see the Black Widow shaken, and hunt for retribution in this dark, covert tale.

[Giselle ♡.*ﾞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es difícil reseñar un cómic de por sí y cuando es de una de tus personajes favoritas se vuelve una misión casi imposible. Siento que todo lo que haga Black Widow lo voy a aplaudir y si hay algo que no me gusta la voy a acompañar igualmente. Siempre ella mantiene su pasado oculto pero en esta entrega nos dan un pedacito de su vida pasada que es fundamental para comprender ciertos aspectos de la trama. Aún así sigue siendo todo muy intrigante.

Esta edición combina seis partes de la historia y me hubiera muerto de intriga si tenía que esperar entre una y otra. La trama logra engarcharte aunque los dibujos de la portada no son verdaderamente los mismos que los de dentro. Eso me decepcionó un poco pero no frenó mi lectura en ningún momento.

Vemos a una Natasha que luego de trabajar para shield y retirada, la siguen persiguiendo ciertos fantasmas del pasado tanto personas como pensamientos. Esto nos lleva a encontrar una historia con bastante acción y donde hay muchas acciones encubiertas.

Me gustó bastante y trato de ser objetiva pero es muyy difícil. Muy buena historia para empezar a leer los comics de ella, espero conseguir otros pronto.

[Luana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well whaddya know, Black Widow is… a cool character? Who’d a thunk that a woman ex-KGB spy could be interesting if you actually lean into how she perceived the fall of the Soviet Union and the steady decay of Russia for decades? How patriarchy treats her as a gendered asset?

LOL Marvel movies sure don’t!

This book has some serious Punisher MAX vibes which honestly is a kind of no brainer for a character like this, I suppose. But haha the Avengers need a Token Girl + also One Who Doesn’t Have Expensive-to-Realize Powers sooooo this is what the character is in the public’s perception now.

What a shame cuz this book is great and the character has some real solid potential! Can’t wait to read the sequel!

[Anna Catherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book doesn't have the best plot or characters by far, but it's definitely the most engaging Black Widow comic I've read to date. There's plenty not to like here: some of the political overtones are a bit much, there's not a solid, good theme, and there's a few scenes in which I wish certain characters were wearing a bit more clothing. But it's fun, and there's some interesting points made. The art is fine, for the most part. And the summaries at the beginning of the issues are quite good, something that's not-infrequently lacking in comics. Worth the read - once - but I can't say it's something I'd read again or recommend to others.

[Books & Vodka Sodas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so this book was really good!

A lot of the details in it seemed to be what inspired the Black Widow movie. But it also brings in the shittiness of shield. But kinda like the Jedi, I never trusted shield-- even the "good guys". All men in positions of power have alternate motives.

This was Natasha returning to ground zero of the red room. It was a blend of the mind control and also all the other elements they use in the movies. But it's also Natasha coming into her own-- it's her taking her independence.

It was deep espionage, secrets revealed, and I'm finding I'm kinda obsessed with black widow comics.