Black Widow, Vol. 2: I Am the Black Widow

Black Widow (2020)

by Kelly Thompson, Adam Hughes (Cover Art), Rafael de Latorre (Artist)

The Black Widow wraps her web around the Golden Gate! Natasha Romanoff has just been through the most emotional adventure of her long life, and the experience has left her looking to do things differently. Now, allies new and old will come to her aid as the Widow returns to San Francisco! With a new suit, a new base of operations and a new perspective, Natasha sets her sights on a mysterious emerging threat in the city by the bay — a villain known only as Apogee. But Natasha might not be as ahead of the game as she thought, and not everyone in her orbit is exactly what they seem! San Francisco desperately needs the Black Widow…it just doesn’t quite know it yet.

COLLECTING: Black Widow (2020) 6-10

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

105 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 26, 2021

About the author

KELLY THOMPSON has a degree in Sequential Art from The Savannah College of Art & Design. Her love of comics and superheroes have compelled her since she first discovered them as a teenager. Currently living in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend and the two brilliant cats that run their lives, you can find Kelly all over the Internet where she is generally well liked, except where she's detested.

Kelly has published two novels - THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING (2012) and STORYKILLER (2014) and the graphic novel HEART IN A BOX from Dark Horse Comics (2015). She's currently writing ROGUE & GAMBIT, HAWKEYE, and PHASMA for Marvel Comics and GHOSTBUSTERS for IDW. Other major credits include: A-Force, Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps, Jem and The Holograms, Misfits, Power Rangers Pink, and the creator-owned mini-series Mega Princess.

Kelly's ambitions are eclipsed only by her desire to exist entirely in pajamas. Fortunately pajamas and writers go hand in hand (most of the time). Please buy all her stuff so that she can buy (and wear) more pajamas.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do not worry. Black Widow has been leaping from buildings her whole life. She always has a plan . . . and looks good doing it." -- Yelena Belova, watching her friend jump out of a skyscraper

No lies detected, Ms. Belova. I Am the Black Widow has the title character assembling an unofficial but fierce crew - including Anya Corazon's Spider-Girl and Kate Bishop's Hawkeye, both sweetly eager to jump in and lend a hand - in her new relocated base of operations (San Francisco) to take on a mysterious and powerful new villain known as 'Apogee,' a cult leader who dabbles in granting superhuman powers / abilities that also unfortunately come with severe life-altering consequences. While the streamlined story is sort of average - although the scenes of Apogee holding court over his robed followers are spookily reminiscent of that frightening masked costume party in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut - there are lots of crunchily dynamic moments of the ladies in action alternating with quippy and fun dialogue. Hell, they even get a nice 'team power walk' scene at the conclusion.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good second volume of the Black Widow series. This volume is not as action based but when the action is done it is done well. If I had one complaint it was a couple of times I felt like there was a panel or page missing.

I like formation of the team Widow. I like all the characters in this book. The other the done well is the glimpses of Natasha's grief and her being an inspirational leader.

I can't wait to see what happens next, and I would not mind a spin off series for any of Team Widow. There are also unresolved issues from volume one that still need to be dealt with.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Widow is still recovering from having to send her family away. Meanwhile, Yelena and Natasha set up shop in San Francisco where they get wind of some guy who is creating super-powers that will eventually burn out and kill you. It's an old plot that's been done many times. This book is really about the characters. The relationship between Yelena and Natasha is fantastic. Love all the quipping. By the end of this, they've built up the Marvel version of Birds of Prey with 5 kick ass women. The art is top notch too.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Widows gonna...web, I guess?


The art and banter is still top tier, I just wish the villain in this volume was up to the same level but I'm certainly interested in seeing where "Nat" and co. go from here.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent volume of Kelly Thompson &co.’s Black Widow. It’s really nice to see Natalia and her new allies getting up to some old school superhero action; I was getting tired of every BW story being about her Red Room origins. I’d be really happy if ‘Team Widow’ stayed together for a good, long time.

All we need now is for Jeff to join up… >HINT HINT<

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

My expectations were high after the wonderful first volume of this series, but while the dialogue still sparkles, the plot is a disappointing, cliched, and haphazard mess. The big bad is a guy who gives an experimental and dangerous drug to vulnerable people to build an army of super-powered henchmen, which is as far from original as our heroine of course befriending one of those henches. Instead of building a supporting cast organically, other superheroes are just dragged in to help out as if Natasha is building her own Avengers or, more aptly, Black Widow and Her Amazing Friends.

The story advances by having things happen because the writer needs them to happen. At one point a man is pushed out a window on a parachute and a few pages later with no explanation he has somehow landed in a locked closet inside a different building across town. And fortunately he randomly has skills that will make the conclusion of the story possible. At another point a character chooses to wear a sleeveless outfit that coincidentally works out so well when it later turns out her arms are going to glow a lot now. Weak.

I still had a good time hanging with the characters, but I hope the next volume will not be so insulting to my intelligence.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good volume!

It starts with Natasha making her own team but when she encounters this girl named Lucy and some villain called Apogee and his group Olio and they are giving other people super powers only with a great cost, it falls to her to stop them and so she has to infiltrate this group and discover things and stop this villain. And also enter Spider-girl and Hawk-kate! Its an epic tale about mysteries, mayhem, cults and powers, friends and redemption and second chances and mystery and big things to come down the line.

I love dthis story and its quite simple and reads like really fast but thats the good thing about it and also liking the way Kelly shows the sister dynamic between Yelena and Nat and I like how she adds other supporting characters for widow as she seems to be almost making her version of red room and thats quite awesome and hints of big things to come are prevalent here. Great stuff for sure! And the art is just next level, like some of the action scenes here are just stellar! <3

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the banter between Natasha and Yelena. Those two are always fun together. However, the story is not that interesting. Black Widow and her friends are investigating a cult that provides members with dangerous superhero upgrades. The cult leader doesn't appear much and his motives are not clear. Even the cult members don't really have any motives for joining the cult. So, it was a case of villains being bad just because they are bad.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An evil power broker is stalking the streets, and it's up to the Widows to do what they do. Natasha is still reeling from the previous arc, understandably, and we can see her attempting to deal with what went on in different ways across these five issues. It's a great character piece, and even the addition of new characters doesn't take away from the fact that this is Natasha's book. The overarching plot moves along nicely, and the banter is as snappy as always. There's a bigger story at play here, but it's nice to see that Kelly Thompson has rooted it all in Natasha's personal growth rather than just another superhero-doing-superhero-things type book.

I was a little disappointed that Elena Casagrande couldn't pencil the entire story, but Rafael De La Torre's contributions are great, if a little obvious when the artists shift between pages. Casagrande's dynamic fight scenes are still insanely good, it's been a long time since a Black Widow book looked this good.

Yep, Black Widow's still awesome, as if there'd be any doubt. A new artist and some new characters do nothing to detract from the momentum or the laser-focused character work for Natasha.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narratively weak, but character strong, this volume thrives off the interactions and banter. Natasha and Yelena are an absolutely stellar duo, bouncing off each other wonderfully in every scene. There are some appearances from other familiar faces, all of whom slot nicely around the core dynamic. Unfortunately, the villain and storyline are rather bland, letting down the overall experience. Unoriginal and predictable when it comes to plot, Nat & Co. manage to shine regardless.

MORE ACCURATE RATING: 3.5 Stars

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Great volume, Thompson and Elene Casagrande are KILLING it.

This takes place right after volume 1 left off. We now have Black widow and White Widow teaming up and starting their own operation. But in doing so they might have to recruit a new girl but not by choice, the people who are after her force the Widows hand. Making for a team built out of desperation but somehow works.

This is both interesting and fun. So many cool elements, great character moments and dialogue, and a hack of a team up. We even have a surprise guest at the end who I really hope makes another appearance down the line. While the plot itself isn't super deep it's the character moments and amazing art that really help boost this title. A 4 out of 5.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slighter effort than The Ties That Bind, I Am the Black Widow is nonetheless a fun, fast-paced read. It certainly overcomes the bland title, at the very least.

Black Widow and Yelena are tangling with the Apogee. Who? Doesn't matter. He's a powerful guy in San Francisco with a cult. The cult members are being given powers, sometimes against their will. Are the powers dangerous? Sure, of course. Honestly, the foe(s) here are pretty silly. Pick up I Am the Black Widow for the smart banter between Widow and Yelena, and the B-plot involving a young woman drafted into the not-a-Red-Room. The art's pretty solid too, though Elena Casagrande flits in only for a single issue.

[♡ Meli ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️3.67
Continuing on black widows' journey through loss and friendship. To see a realistic grief process and how black widow remembered the lost family that she loved so much. The characters and the style of the comic was pretty cool and i liked the details on the pages

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fase de Kelly Thompson na Viúva Negra, Natasha Romanoff, só fica atrás das de Mark Waid e Devin K. Grayson. Com um arco de abertura estonteante, envolvendo identidade falsa, família falsa, vida falsa típico de filmes de espionagem como Identidade Bourne (só que mais bem realizada), era natural que o segundo arco da Viúva não se igualasse ao primeiro. Neste segundo arco, que não entendi por que se chama "Eu Sou a Viúva Negra", Natasha monta uma equipe de mulheres espiãs para desbaratar um cartel de drogras que conferem poderes e outros efeitos colaterais em seus usuários. Junto a ela estão a Viúva Branca (Yelena Belova), a Garota-Aranha (Anya Corazón), a Gaviã-Arqueira (Kate Bishop) e outros dois novos aliados. Um arco morno, mas que desenvolve bem os personagens e suas relações, diferente da maioria dos quadrinhos de super-heróis atuais. Esse é um mérito da escrita de Thompson: valorizar os personagens sobre a trama e isso é um ganho enorme tendo em vista o que temos recebido atualmente.

[Klara]

Couldn’t even finish this. I regret wasting my money

[V.K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

yelena and kate bishop??? say less

[Valentin Derevlean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deși pierde puțin din suspansul primului volum, desenul și culoarea sunt la fel de bune. Povestea curge, suficient de interesantă cât să te țină în priză. Black Widow redevine agentul secret-spioana-supereroul pe care îl știi și alături de Yelena și încă câteva ajutoare reușesc să învingă un inamic dubios care creează supereroi non-stop, deși prețul plătit pentru superputeri e cam mare. Nimic nemaivăzut până acum, dar merge.

Scenele de luptă la fel de bine desenate, dialoguri bune, ici-colo scenariul forțează nota, dar suntem în lumea marvel, deci e firesc. Încep să îmi placă din ce în ce mai mult seriile acestea cu personaje aflate la periferia universului marvel.

[˙⋆✮ Anny ✮⋆˙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, this was a super fast paced and fun volume! I would've wished for some more depht here and there, some explanations and maybe a little more exploration of Natasha's thoughts and feelings, but overall I really enjoyed this volume.

The art was consistent, which is something I value, and even though the art style of this series isn't my favorite, it's kinda growing on me.

The story was very fast paced and full of action, so that was different from the 1st volume. It wasn't the most original thing, but tbh that wasn't even what I was looking for. I loved seeing Nat in action and of course I loved Yelena! The two of them together are everything! The overall girl power in this is great, and we have some new or lesser known characters as well. There's also a surprise cameo in the end which had me cheering!

Overall a very nice 2nd volume of this series that allowed me to have a good time and see my favorite superhero girls in action! Despite some minor issues I had, I still enjoyed it a lot and I'd recommend the series. Now I need volume 3 asap...

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picking up after the personal stress and mental anguish of the last GN, Nat is not in the best of moods. Returning to San Francisco and teaming up with others (primarily Yelena Belova, the White Widow) she strikes out against a new villain known as Apogee. Apogee is pedaling a drug on the streets that gives you powers, not knowing that when they are used too greatly, it burns you out and kills you.
Added to the cast is Lucy, a pickpocket who tries to take Nat's wallet. When she is caught by Nat, she gets caught up in the whole situation with Apogee, first getting training from Yelena, then experiencing the drug firsthand. Lucy gains powers, Nat gains a friend and teammate, and Apogee gets away to fight another day.
This run of Black Widow (admittedly my first time reading the title) has been really good. In a world where Nat is gone from the MCU, having the comic keeps her story alive and fresh in our minds. Kelly Thompson, keep up the great work!
Recommend.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old school action in a basic plot but again it’s the characters who count. The Widows (BFF Nat/Yelena) improvise a makeshift all-female gang (ok, there’s Craig but I’m not sure he really counts as part of the crew) with a surprise guest and to fight whatever menace for whatever reason and... they rock!

Cool characters, cool mono/dialogues-Thompson clearly seems to have a knack for that-cool art, whether Elena Casagrande or Rafael de la Torre, in a basic but tight and cool plot.

Whaddya think? Cool, huh?

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

We go from a story about the abduction and false (but real) family given to Black Widow, to the building of 'Team Widow'. The banter on this book is top tier and paced so well that five issues just race by. Strong, intelligent, and capable female superheroes..go Marvel.

Only one dangling plot thread. How do you push a character out a window with a parachute and then find him at the base you never told him about..locked in a cell? Did you forget a page?

Bonus: It's nice to see another natural team up for Kate Bishop. Every book she's been in, she just fits.

[Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

✭✭½

[Raf]

3.5 étoiles

[Alba Alonso · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girl power in this * chef's kiss *

[It's just Deano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been really pleased with this series so far. It's been an uncomplicated and fun story, but it feels like a fitting one for Black Widow. That said, I don't think she's quite got the villainous opposition she deserves in this particular series yet. The villains in the first volume were a little pathetic and with this second volume, although they're a little more complex, they still seem somewhat generic.

The characterisation and dialogue is where this book really shines! The dialogue that made volume one so exceptional is ramped up here and the interactions between Natasha and Yelena make this book worth picking up for that alone.

That's not to say the rest is bad! The art is beautifully illustrated - this has been one vibrant looking series so far and I'm definitely a fan.

Overall, I'm still enjoying this series. I felt the plot felt less ambitious in this second volume and fell a little flat towards the end. That said, there is one volume to go and I'll definitely be reading it!

[3r1nette · Rating 4 out of 5]

j’ai moins aimé ce tome deux que le premier, dans lequel je me suis sentie moins proche du personnage de Natasha, mais, il en reste que je suis quand même très satisfaite ! de nouveaux personnages (notamment féminin) font leur apparition dans la série, on conserve le côté assez dramatique du passé de BW et les dessins et couleurs sont super beaux (même si j’ai l’impression qu’ils ont légèrement changé depuis le premier tome ?). par contre un peu déçue par rapport au villain qui n’était pas incroyable-

[Lenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun second volume, even though there are a few conveniences and plot holes in the writing. Thompson, Casagrande, and Bellaire are a great creative team. Arguably the best part of the volume was Thompson's banter between Yelena and Nat, just fantastic, as Yelena also tries to help Nat process her complicated grief from the losses last volume. There are too few sisters in comics and it's great to see their relationship front and center in this series. Along with Yelena, the other members of the team that Widow pulls in along the way are likable enough but don't leave as much of an impression. The plot is...fine: Nat faces off against Apogee, who's drugging vulnerable people with an experimental serum that gives them superpowers - until it destroys them. Not the most creative of villains, and the reveal at the end was disappointing, unless I missed who it was? And the guy who helps them save the day had a very convenient set of powers, as others have mentioned. Casagrande and Bellaire's sleek art continues to knock it out of the park; I know this sounds shallow but Nat has a really cool haircut and suit design for this one. My only gripe is the tenth issue cover has a pretty major spoiler.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25
I liked volume one better, but this was very good. I liked how her arc was expanded and various relationships explored. Interesting themes explored. Thompson is a really great writer.

[47Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a bit too much talking and introspection in this one. It makes the least sense to talk so much during fighting. I can understand trauma, but you don't have to waterboard it into me. The girls keep coming at Apogee's hideouts which begs the question: can nobody do anything in secret any more? Why would Apogee expose himself after he knows Natasha and co. are after him? Surely he is smart enough to leave while he has the advantage.

The tone of the story is a lot lighter. Too light, with too many one-liners and not enough spycraft. Everything is going too well for Natasha who is getting several chances to complete her mission, unlike in the first volume, and has almost forgotten about her family. There doesn't seem to be any real dangers out there. Getting stabbed once doesn't count. Did I mention there are too many women in this story? There is one black man to satisfy the requirements for diversity, but he is only a supporting character. I guess the story is more for feminists.

Natasha is hunting for Apogee. While getting closer to him, she rescues a girl named Lucy who a while back tried to steal her wallet. Lucy has great potential as a spy, so Yelena trains her in combat, though Natasha is against it. Lucy gained electrical powers from being fed a serum by Apogee, but she can't control them. Upon investigating his cult, the girls witness one of Apogee's followers be consumed by the powers he gained. They expect the same to happen to Lucy.

Anya joins the group in investigating Apogee, because what the story certainly lacks is female characters, and recovers a sample of his serum. A guy they save from Apogee works on an antidote - where are these people when you are fighting a pandemic? Eventually, they corner Apogee who also consumes some serum to fight them. During the fight Natasha actually tries to appeal to Apogee who apparently has no idea that his serum disolves the users. Sure, diplomacy always works. In the end, Apogee falls in some vat of something.

[Alex Sarll]

A much more straightforward action thriller story than the existential queasiness of the first volume, with the odd couple partnership of Natasha and Yelena at its heart. Also Arana, which doesn't exactly not make sense, but tying the Widows closely to any of Marvel's many, many Spiders feels like opening a can of worms, or indeed spiders, which maybe should have been left on the shelf. Anyway, the visuals remain pleasingly noir even as the antagonists lean more straightforwardly supervillainous, a cult/gang who are giving their minions abilities which, as always seems to happen with these mass upgrades, come at a terrible price. There are aftershocks of the first story threaded through, which remain the most powerful elements; otherwise it has a bit of a tendency towards post-Whedon omniquip. But it remains perfectly serviceable super-spy comics.