Natasha Romanov: Black Widow Appreciation 2018

[Hrist]

I like Rucka's Yelena mini. Everything but the Greg Horn covers…

[Centipede Damascus]

So the new Black Widow novel managed to place on the New York Times best sellers list:

[responsarbre]

Nice! Does anyone know if She-Hulk Diaries or Rogue Touch was able to manage the same?

I'm reading Forever Red right now. Natasha's characterization isn't bad but it's a mite "fanfic"-y. Like the reviews have said, there's a big focus on Ava and this other character Alex.

[Winterboy]

fred benes bw.jpg
BW by Fred Benes.

mike grell bw.jpg
BW by Mike Grell.

[Winterboy]

walsh BW.jpg

BW by Walsh.

[responsarbre]

I <3 Michael Walsh art. Too bad that Black Widow got (literally) sent away on a bus for most of his Secret Avengers, while he and Kot focused on Hawkeye, of all people.

Today's obsessive twitter update: Mark Waid retweeted Kurt Busiek's Black Widow opinions! He wrote: "I have decided that the crazy cyborg Ivan Petrovich that the Black Widow had to kill wasn’t the real Ivan. The real one is still out there somewhere, helping Natasha from the shadows as she pretends he’s dead for security reasons."

While turning Ivan into a creepy incest robot probably wasn't the best thing to do, Ivan did seem kind of overbearing/mildly creepy/overprotective in his first appearances.

Still! Nice to see that Mark Waid has read Deadly Origin, and has opinions about Natasha's supporting cast.

[Hrist]

Yeah, I think it reads weird for a woman these days to need a "chaperone" the way that Ivan was sometimes styled. He definitely could tend towards creepy, in those older stories, which are the primary places Ivan appeared, and I appreciated Deadly Origin for pointing that out. (Not so much for the sexual assault or the slut shaming or cyborg thing.) I thought the scene in Frank Miller's Daredevil, where Natasha sort of symbolically leaves Ivan behind because he really can't fix or deal with her problems, is a good one.

I think part of the issue was just that Ivan had to be dragged along on a lot of Natasha's missions where that didn't necessarily make sense. Why would someone as independent as Natasha deal with an extremely overprotective older man, living with him and taking her on her missions (something she tends to be pretty private about?) It doesn't make much sense, and it sort of weakens the idea of Natasha being independent as a result.

I'd be very okay with getting rid of the weird retroactive sexual assault and the slut shaming in Deadly Origin, but if they bring Ivan back I would want him to have a defined and limited role. Natasha could still use confidants these days but she doesn't need a guardian.

[klynn]

I'd rather they bring Isaiah back as her confidant than Ivan. I found their relationship really interesting.

[Winterboy]

Girl (Super) Power: 10 Female-Fronted Superhero Movies That Need To Be Made.
http://www.newsarama.com/15438-move-...ed-movies.html


#1

BLACK WIDOW

This one is a no-brainer, folks. She's been in most all of Marvel Studios' movies, with a major role in both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, which let Black Widow show her stuff more than ever.
It doesn’t hurt that Scarlett Johansson is hot right now.

Her recent solo film Lucy won the opening weekend, beating out Hercules and The Rock, arguably one of the biggest movie stars in the world.

Hear that, Marvel Studios? That's your opportunity to keep being the groundbreaking superhero leader passing you by. Start this one in production sooner rather than later - and who knows? Maybe one of those three unnamed films added to the Phase 3 roster earlier this month will turn out to be the Black Widow feature we've all been clamoring for.

[Winterboy]

Funny short story by Matt Kindt...



http://thegreatcomicbookheroes.blogs...ack-widow.html

[Winterboy]

best team up.jpg

[responsarbre]

Matt Kindt said in a couple interviews that he'd love to do a longer Black Widow story! I would love to see that - especially if he illustrated it.

[responsarbre]

Matt Wilson posted some Black Widow colors on his Instagram!



Looking good! Kinda reminds me of how Bettie Breitweiser colored Samnee's stuff on Captain America.

[Winterboy]

beautiful bw.jpg

[Winterboy]

Guys, I've selected some of the worst moments of Natasha. Let me know your thoughts.

DD: humiliation, dependency, jealousy...
BW AND DD.jpg

CAP?
CAP.jpg