Black Widow: The Complete Collection

Black Widow (2016) (Collected Editions) #1-2

by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee (Illustrator)

Они поразили вас "Сорвиголовой", а теперь команда, получившая премию Айснера, Марк Уэйд и Крис Сэмни, возводит Чёрную Вдову на новый уровень, заставив её пуститься в бега! У Наташи на всю жизнь хватит секретов, а когда самые страшные из них становятся достоянием общественности, о безопасности можно забыть. З.А.Щ.И.Т.А. выступает против своего некогда самого ценного агента, и Наташа начинает в одиночку искать ответы в этой истории, полной захватывающего, кладущего на лопатки экшна и шпионажа! Вдова окажется там, куда предпочла бы никогда не возвращаться, увидит реинкарнацию жуткой Красной Комнаты: Тёмную Комнату! Всё заходит слишком далеко, и Наташе придётся показать, чего она стоит и на что способна.

Сборник включает выпуски серии "Чёрная вдова" (2016) #1-12, написанные Марком Уэйдом и проиллюстрированные Крисом Сэмни при участии Мэттью Уилсона.

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

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2020

About the author

Mark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Did you know you've become a separate line item all your own in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operating budget? We did some math." (pause) "We could buy Netflix subscriptions for EVERYONE on Earth for the cost of all you've destroyed in these last few weeks." -- S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Maria Hill, dryly crunching the numbers regarding damage caused by the world's greatest super-spy, Natasha 'Black Widow' Romanoff

The GR blurb stating "A knockdown, drag-out tale of action and espionage!" is not wrong - Waid's The Complete Collection was a rough-and-tumble miniseries that perfectly / memorably sets the tone immediately in the opening pages. Black Widow intentionally leaps from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier - sans jetpack or parachute - and is pursued by several agents all the way down to the streets of Manhattan. How she cleverly survives this potential would-be suicide and then ultimately makes her escape is a sequence worthy of 007. She then sets out on a dangerous mission that turns personal in nature (par for the course with this haunted character) when she has to confront and stop an old nemesis from her childhood - that would be 'The Recluse,' in keeping with the deadly spiderific code names - who is carrying on the tradition of the nefarious 'Red Room' to alarmingly train an all-new generation of prepubescent-age executioners. Lots of brutal fight scenes, a few exploding heads (don't ask), a thwarted assassination attempt at the White House, and even a quick side trip to the moon (!) - this was one excellently-paced volume with its equal mix of action and dark drama.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story. Great great art. A better redemption story I think than than the movie. Could have done without the 70s womanizing portrayal of Tony Stark. The cameo by The Winter Soldier also unnecessary.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Black Widow's past comes back to haunt her when the Weeping Lion blackmails her into getting some files for him in exchange for not revealing her darkest secrets. Will the Widow do what he asks? Will she let the Weeping Lion live when she does?

I read the first half of this on Marvel Unlimited years ago. I don't remember why I didn't read the second half but I should have.

Samnee's art is as crisp as ever, equally at home portraying action, landscapes, or two characters talking. His Black Widow drawn to resemble Scarlet Johansen and he does a great job. The limited color palette by Matthew Wilson makes the book pop, much like his work on Daredevil.

Waid takes the Widow through all sorts of locales, like the SHIELD helicarrier, a cemetery, and the Red Room, the place where the Widow was originally trained. I liked how the story explored parts of the Widow's past. I also liked how the Black Widow seemed very deadly and not just the girl on the Avengers.

The blackmail part of the plot was a little weak, particularly when the dirt on the Black Widow was revealed. It's not like she killed Uncle Ben. Things went up several notches after that. Lots of brutal fights and bloodshed. The pace on this thing is incredible in this day and age. There's no time to breath and little time to talk.

Gorgeous fun book. I can't wait to read Waid and Samnee's upcoming Batman & Robin: Year One.

[James]

I’m going to just leave this book with no score. Half way through, I stopped as I had to go do some things. Came back to it later to finish it and found myself not fully getting what was going on. I’m not sure if it was the pause I took during my read, or was it the fact that there were so many spy twists that I got lost in the shuffle. So, instead of giving this a low score, I’ll just leave it blank and come back to this again and re-read it and see where I am after the second go around.

[bri 🧸 · Rating 4 out of 5]

serve after serve in this one

[Daniel Kibblesmith]

Tour de force.

[Matěj Komiksumec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nikdo si rozhodně nebude Black Widow pamatovat díky příběhu, v tom rozhodně není tahle maxisérie výjimečná. Mark Waid je chytrý autor, proto se maximálně podřídil tomu jak chce vizuálně tuhle sérii vyprávět Chris Samnee a Matt Wilson. Tihle dva se narodily pro to aby spolu dělaly komiksy protože to není možné jak úchvatně jejich věci vypadají. Miluju tenhle cartoonish styl a Wilson ho podporuje neskutečně, díky tomu akce je velmi dynamická a každá scéna ať už flaschback nebo ty zimní se sněhem jsou prostě úchvatné.
Tato Black Widow není vrchol komiksu, ale ukazuje jak jednoduchá práce s komiksem tomu dodá stavu když tvůrci vědí co dělají.
Ale i tak mě přes málo dialogů mrzí pár věcí, primárně i přes basic příběh jde místy do hloupých fází, konec je zklamání a určité běhání z místa na místo je trošičku zbytečné.
I tak jde z hlediska Superhrdinů o zábavný a příjmy kus.

[mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through little words and amazing illustrations, the writers were able to tell such an exciting and challenging story for the Black Widow. Amazing read!!

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

It still blows my mind that whatever big fish calls the shots at disney didn’t decide to adapt this book into the Black Widow movie they just released.

It has everything you can imagine in a Black Widow story. Walk down Red Room memory lane? Check. Natasha owning up to her past mistakes? Check. Her preventing a new generation of girls from suffering her fate? Check. It even contains a delicious side dish of romance with the best love interest they ever gave her (you can fight me, I’m prepared to die on this hill).

And all of this is handled in a very true to character way that never even attempts to fall prey to the male gaze, which blows my mind considering this is Natasha Romanoff we’re talking about and this run was made by a bunch of dudes. You can tell everyone involved has a lot of respect for the character and a unique understanding of what makes Natasha’s story alluring. I salute you guys, you have my gratitude.

All in all this is one of my favorite comic runs ever, a wonderful addition to the Black Widow canon and nothing less than the quality story my favorite girl deserves.

[Kaatje · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am usually unsure about reading Black Widow comics because the portrayals of women (especially Natasha) tend to make me feel uncomfortable. This collection by Waid and Samnee didn’t seem as sexualized as others, so it was a first pick of mine. The overall storyline is not too deep, but fun nonetheless. The art panels were absolutely beautiful and really made this comic collection worth it.

[Darcey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone once tried to tell me that this was the best Black Widow arc. They were very wrong, but I will concede a shared second with Edmondson/Noto.

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic redemption story by Waid and Samnee. Solid art of course, exciting action panels and a gripping conclusion. A lot of fun to be had for fans of Widow. Can't beat a guest appearance from Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier, also. Highly recommended!

[Aron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty fun, a couple of the issues in this trade were very good, but all in all a solid 3 star read.

[Shibosan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Положительно отношусь к Уэйду, но сюжет не то чтобы блещет. Все ужжжасные загадки остаются без ответов - мы так и не узнаем, зачем Директриса возродила красную комнату и какой был конечный план Льва, все в итоге сводится к столкновению с собственным прошлым, которого можно было бы избежать, если бы Наташа не была такой хамкой в детстве. Зато арт хороший, а потому 3,5*.

[Al Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so good!!!! the art style was lovely and ofc mark said served with an amazing story line

[François Vigneault · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts off with quite the bang, as Natasha Romanoff, AKA the Black Widow, finds herself hunted by the full force and fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. The entire first chapter is a nearly wordless chase sequence full of visual grace notes and surprising twists and turns. It's probably one of the best first chapters/issues/sequences I've read in a long time, perhaps one of the best of all time: A perfect example of the old "show don't tell" adage, and leaves the reader wanting to know what the hell is going on.



Unfortunately, I don't think that this series as a whole ever delivers on that promise. Don't get me wrong, there is a whole hell of a lot to love here: Chris Samnee (who not only draws the hell out of this series but also shares story credit with Mark Waid here for the first time) has crafted a master class in how to depict action on the page and allow the visual language of comics create a propulsive narrative. Being grounded far more in in the spy/action/thriller genre than super heroic adventures, "Black Widow" is full of beautifully realized settings, and the characters moving through that world feel incredibly physical and real, even when they are doing insane and impossible things.



But on the narrative side of things, I felt like this series was a bit of a let down. The comic seems invested in building out Natasha Romanoff's history and universe, introducing a batch of top-secret files detailing the Black Widow's worst misdeeds, a veteran S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with an axe to grind, a manipulative new villain called the Weeping Lion, and most noticeably a new nemesis for our hero: A mirror-image fellow graduate of the Red Room named Recluse (get it?), who is leading a new set of young assassins. All this is intriguing, but in point of fact little pays off... Without getting into spoiler territory I think it is safe to say that almost as soon as new characters and ideas are introduced they end up being variously sidelined, revealed to be unimportant (remember those top-secret files? Not such a big deal after all), or killed off rather prematurely (suffice it to say this book has a rather high body count). The book seems to want to create a big, epic tale that will cement Black Widow as a central figure in the Marvel Universe, but ultimately nothing really sticks. The back half of the book in particular feels rushed as Waid and Samnee tie up loose ends left and right in anticipation of the final issue. This series ended after just 12 issues, and one wonders what these creators could have done if they had had more time to stretch these beats out and experiment; this series was the follow up to their fantastic "Daredevil" run that feels like a sort of recent high water mark for fun superhero fare, and which really benefitted by slowly and surely ratcheting up the tension in Matt Murdock's life over the course of many issues. Here Waid and Samnee try to do a lot of the same stuff as they did in "Daredevil" (the introduction of Recluse in particular seems very much like a retread of the introduction of Akari in their "Daredevil" run, an attempt to create a "dark mirror" version of an established hero who hasn't historically had one), but the truncated run strips a lot of the pleasure and power out of it.



Two more quick, positive notes worth mentioning: I really appreciate that the reader definitely doesn't have the be familiar with every element of the Marvel universe to dive into this story, other than a couple guest appearances there's very little convoluted lore to get into. Second, I found this book to be very refreshingly feminist: There's no gratuitous T&A to be found, no blatant misogyny-for-misogyny's-sake, Natasha and the other female characters are not only strong but also allowed to have a wide range of very human foibles and emotions, and the book certainly passes the Bechdel Test as well.


I read these comics as they were coming out monthly, and I found myself referencing my dog-earred copies so often to look at Samnee's masterful pacing and action that I decided to pick up this "complete collection." This is seriously one of the best drawn books out there, and even with the occasional bumps in the narrative, this is well worth a read for any cartoonist or comics lover who wants to do a deep dive in visual storytelling... Or even just the casual fan who wants to have fun reading a gorgeously-drawn, one-and-done spy thriller that's equal parts brutal and beautiful.

[Liz.Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un uomo che si fa chiamare Weeping Lion ha scoperto il segreto più oscuro di Black Widow e sta usando ciò per ricattarla. È costretta a rubare file segreti dallo S.H.I.E.L.D. negli Stati Uniti e dalla Red Room in Russia. Entrambi i furti hanno portato a Natasha nuovi nemici.

La cosa che assolutamente amo di questo fumetto è il modo in cui Natasha è stata caratterizzata, una spaccaculi di tutto rispetto, furba e intelligente come nessun’altro, capace di stendere dieci uomini senza problemi.

Della trama in particolare ho apprezzato molto anche i flashback sulla Red Room e del periodo che Natasha ha trascorso lì. Il suo backstory è forse il mio preferito della marvel ed è sempre bello saperne di più.

Altra cosa non da meno sono i disegni, molto belli.

Non ho messo cinque stelle solo perché ho avuto la sensazione che la trama si svolgesse troppo velocemente, molte cose si sono risolte un po’ in fretta, ma tutto sommato non ha rovinato la lettura.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent Black Widow mini series that deserved so many more issues. The first issue is an exhilarating ride which features and almost wordless story wherein the art and the action do the talking. The story evolves hard and fast from there and the 12 issues are easy to devour. Mark Waid proves ever reliable with a tight story and Chris Samnee has never been better with his art. The biggest letdown of this run is that it’s so short, whilst it mostly wraps up it feels cut and I’ll always pine for more from this team.

[Fernanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice run. You can feel that the writers really like the character for her lore and story, not just as a tool for male gaze-y fanservice. She is refreshingly not very sexualized, and her storyline does not revolve around sexual violence and frustrated prospects of motherhood (I am looking at you, MCU and that one scene in Age of Ultron specifically). In her fight scenes, the writers let Nat hit a lot but also get hit a fair amount of times, which helps readers’ suspension of disbelief and makes her character more three-dimensional. I also appreciated how, after such hits, she is drawn with real, ugly bruises and a bloody nose, since a female fighter is often only given a little cut on her face—preferably in a spot that emphasizes her cheekbones—in order to keep her attractive for the predominantly male audience.

The plot was interesting and it allowed for an okay exploration of the character and her internal struggles, even though it could have gone a bit deeper. The opening sequence was a highlight. The villains, while not particularly interesting, serve the plot well enough. However, the pacing was a bit off during the story’s third act, and the ending felt incredibly rushed. Because of this, the emotional journey felt like it lacked closure. Furthermore, there are definitely some events that should bring major consequences but never do. An information that is described as Nat’s “darkest secret” is revealed and no one cared about it by the end of the story, which, besides feeling forced, takes the impact off the main storyline, as it relied on the severity of such secret.

Finally, there is the presence of other characters (I don’t want to call them cameos because they did have impact on the plot, albeit small). On one side of the spectrum, there is Tony Stark, whose inclusion added to the story, allowed for an interesting exploration of Nat’s character and did not overstay its welcome. On the other, there is Nick Fury, who added nothing to the story, took the focus off its plotline and core themes and could have easily been cut with virtually no consequences. Bucky sits (broodingly) somewhere on the middle. While his first appearance allows for a fun subversion of the very gendered damsel-in-distress trope, he does very little both narratively and thematically during the rest of the story, so it would have been better if the writers had either moved the plot around to give him something to do that would justify his presence or did not include him at all.

Overall, a good run for those who want a Black Widow story with an exciting beginning, little sexualization, Red Room lore and good art and who are okay with limited character development, a very misplaced plot point in the middle of a good narrative (no, really, they go to the moon) and a somewhat rushed wrapping up of storylines.

[Matthew D'Souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest Black Widow spy thriller comic!

Writers Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s Marvel comic book Black Widow by Waid & Samnee: The Complete Collection (2020) is a fantastic trade comic that combines all of their Black Widow story issues from 2016 to 2020. This is easily the best Black Widow comic by far!

You get Natasha Romanoff’s superheroine spy Black Widow saving abused girls caught up in a new Red Room called Dark Room. She carries out covert espionage as she must fend herself from fearsome villains like Weeping Lion and Recluse. I have never read about these Black Widow nemesis villains before and they’re really cool with brutal and intelligent operations. Waid writes Weeping Lion and Recluse as formidable and sympathetic in their own regard. Black Widow gets to be a smart spy in the darkness of data gathering, infiltration, subterfuge, and espionage of the most intelligent and sly nature.

This is the comic you want to read about Black Widow. I enjoyed Deadly Origin and No Restraints Play as an introduction to Black Widow’s character. For Natasha Romanoff’s bloody beginnings as Black Widow and her later action heroics, but Black Widow by Waid & Samnee: The Complete Collection is brilliant espionage of the highest order. You get to read how creative, underhanded, prepared, and inventive Natasha can be as a realistic spy character in Marvel’s comic universe.

Writer Mark Waid’s espionage narrative with Black Widow as a rogue agent outside of S.H.I.E.L.D’s jurisdiction has this moody atmosphere of old film noir spy thrillers that I loved. Mark Waid wrote my favorite Superman comic Kingdom Come, so I was pleasantly impressed with his mature and thoughtful character driven and highly detailed world of spies across the globe. Waid understands Natasha’s conflicted feelings for Russia’s cruel Red Room and America’s tenuous organization S.H.I.E.L.D. after all the betrayal and shadowplay she deals with daily. I simply loved this story as Waid layers Weeping Lion and Recluse’s intriguing stories alongside Natasha’s flashbacks to her brutal childhood and present superheroine heroics.

Chris Samnee’s throwback style illustrations are gorgeous. His comic art is sleek with a refreshing simplicity in designs that are classic looking. Matthew Wilson’s bright reds pop out against the grim blacks and shadowy winters in Russia. Black Widow has never looked so clean and stylish.

In all, I highly recommend you find a copy of this phenomenal, intelligent Black Widow comic. Mark Waid’s storytelling is not to be missed.

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good! Chris Samnee’s Art is amazing consistently throughout, and Mathew Wilson’s coloring is a match made in heaven. The pacing of the story, the story itself, and the writing was great...for issues #1-9. The last 3 issues of the series fell off noticeably. They were still good, and wrap the story up cleanly, but it just didn’t have the same kick or smoothness as the first 3 quarters of the story. My main knock on this was that the villains were built up smartly with good backstory and motivations, made interesting, only for the truth/resolution to be kinda disappointing. For both of the main villains introduced I was like “oh, cool!”, only for it to play out with more fizzle then bang.
Specifics Spoilers: Specifically, the backstory of the Weeping Lion was great! But they made the older cousin into a dumb oaf, and the younger, brainy cousin behind the operation way more immature or naive than the story would suggest. And the smart one’s “plan” to kill the person who traumatized him as a child by killing his uncle and slitting his cousin’s throat in front of him, was to......leave her on the moon. The way he and the brawny Lion were killed off felt disrespectful to how they were built up. And the part where Recluse was built to be the counter-Widow alongside the Red Room’s “mother”, but Natasha was basically like “you ain’t shit”, and she was like “damn, you right” and gave up, felt kinda jarring. And her return to form a few (weeks?) later, and here complete lack of control of the mini-Widows was also jarring.

Still, although the ending feels rushed and too “clean”, Waid put together a really good action series here, and used Natasha to full potential for most of it. And the art, as always with this team, is fantastic. In a world of few great Black Widow stories, this one I definitely recommend.

[Somu · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5. I’m really surprised that I really enjoyed this as much as I did. I’ve always found Black widow in the movies to be an interesting character that was sadly underused and underdeveloped. I was never drawn to pick up a black widow comic and I had heard good things about this run so I decided to give it a try. I liked the main plot, it seems like a very Natasha type of plot. I also liked the character moments I got with Natasha and people like Bucky and Tony. I also liked how I got to see Natashas past and see why she turned out like this. I liked how her past wasn’t used as an excuse. Yes she had a troubling past but she also knows it doesn’t excuse the terrible things she’s done and she’s upfront about it. Only reason it’s not a complete 5 stars is because I started to skip a little past the halfway point, those pages didn’t seem interesting or important to the story. Asides from that a very enjoyable read and I’d recommend you pick this up if you’re looking for a black widow comic.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Another great pairing between Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.
This posits another deep and dark secret to come out of Natasha's proverbial historical woodwork in the two-fold shape of The Red Room and 'The Recluse's, a fellow 'less-favoured' trainee and The Weeping Lion and antagonist directly related to Natasha's very first field mission. Her past has so many skeletons in it that it resembles the Paris Catacombs, tightly packed together, and muddled like some disorganised archeologist.
Two things I thought, particularly after reading, that didn't quite work for me is the perennial disquieting sight of (Red Room) students/children carrying out very bloody and murderous tasks and the other is the creation of 'The Weeping Lion', which essentially entirely springs from that first mission, but this is never revealed to Natasha and so seems to be entirely irrelevant to Black Widow's personal story and so a bit of a narrative dead end.
So, good & entertaining, but flawed.

[shrutsiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. This is some insane work by Samnee and Wilson, who I want to especially shout out for some of the gorgeous coloring during the shadowed fight scenes. I've always admired how kinetically Samnee is able to portray Daredevil action sequences, and there's no better character to showcase this for than Natasha, who "makes a 40,000 foot fall look like ballet". As the letters to the editor point out, this is such a good spy book that does a lot of believable storytelling (and showcases some sick gadgetry!!) with minimal fat. The Paris escape was particularly sick. I think the low point is this space issue and the quickness with which the Weeping Lion arc was wrapped up, but, as ever, I love how this duo does villains, and the final few issues made me feel the special type of way comic books can make you feel - when they can distill the essence of a character and their motivations into a few panels. Good stuff.

[Riley Pilgrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this comic. As someone who's only experience with Back Widow is the movies, and cartoon shows I legit didn't know what to really expect from this book. To me she's always been cool spy lady, or cool agent lady. Barely know anything about her origins aside from the Russia spy stuff. However, Mark Waid yet again demonstrates just how could he is at writing comics. This book was a thrilling spy romp that dives into Natasha's past, and demonstrates just how nuanced she is as a character. I didn't really know where this story would go, and that's a rare feeling in a lot of comic book stories.

The art in this comic is also stellar. If you loved Waid's Daredevil run than this is more of that with Chris Samsee. His art is so streamlined, and the style pops out immediately. Overall this was amazing, and has sort of made me a fan of Black Widow. Definitely gonna check out more of her books.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. It was a well plotted story, with great, kinetic art from Samnee.

It's not a long read though, despite being 12 issues.

I read issue 1 in around 3 minutes as it's essentially one long chase sequence with only a smattering of dialogue. If I'd bought issue 1 when it came out I'd have been pissed. It's a beautifully illustrated sequence though, but I would just expect more story from a first issue.

Thankfully the amount of story per issue does improve with the second issue and from here to the conclusion you generally get more value for money. It's a fun tale that with just a small amount of tweaking could have been adapted straight up as a Black Widow movie.

In fact, if I have a complaint it's that it feels like that's what this is; A movie that's been turned into a comic. Rather than the other way around.

[Carly O'Connell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to get more into superhero comics and I thought this would be a good place to start because Black Widow is a kick-butt female superhero and I've heard a lot of good things about her.
But I did not feel connected to her character at all throughout this book and I don't really feel like I gained anything.
This collection tells the story of Natasha Romonoff returning to the Russian assassin school known as the Red Room to try to save a new generation of girls from being subjected to the same manipulative upbringing she was. She faces off against the Weeping Lion and her sister-in-training the Recluse. We see a cameo of Nick Fury on the moon, a team-up and romantic moment with the Winter Soldier, and brief appearances by Iron Man.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realmente es la mejor clase de historia que puede tener el personaje de Viuda Negra para este siglo y con la imagen de su variante cinematográfica totalmente autoimpuesta. Mark Waid sabe mostrar una trama de super espionaje sórdida y que entrelaza el pasado oscuro de Natascha (implicando también a otros personajes como Tony Stark o Bucky Barnes) pero sabiendo llegar a un equilibrio perfecto que deja una buena lectura que no se pasa de frenada como muchas de las primeras colecciones propias del pj. de principios de los 2000. Por supuesto, también la labor gráfica de Samnee es de lo que más hace porque esta etapa pueda permanecer en el recuerdo del lector. Un estilo fantástico que muestra una particular reinvención clasicista.

[Dylan Botelho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dope little comic book to read. Love how it’s a more semi grounded and self contained story but still loops in some characters and goes to the moon. Art style is awesome, love how action packed and constantly moving it is. Just was in the mood to try to start reading more comics and for some reason chose this and man I made the right choice. Seeing these characters removed from Disney is great - black widow is so much better when she’s ruthless and clinical like she is here.

What to read next??

[Glyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not quite as Iconic as the name of the rose, this might technically speaking be the best Black Widow comic I’ve read so far. The art is incredible in conveying action, and the writing for Nat is pitch perfect. Loved this. I was also touched by Tony forgiving her and SHIELD taking her back.. I am a bit tired of the “Widow goes rogue and solo thing” but it’s lampshaded here so I will allow it.