Black Widow #3 – Review

by Nathan Edmondson (Writer), Phil Noto (Artist)

The Story: In and out of a mission, one does not mess around with Natasha Romanov.

The Review: Formulas are somewhat hard to judge. While many books can be called out for using the same plotlines and the same methods for a long period of times, there is always a certain usefulness to regularity. Adding consistency to a book, a formula can be played with, subverted or twisted around in order to make it more entertaining or daring, yet not all writers can pull it off.

While Black Widow is a decidedly young title, the formula is already set in place, for good or ill. Natasha accepts a mission, run the whole thing and then return to her apartment as her development with the cat advance a tiny bit. While this approach might become somewhat problematic in the long run for this series, the immediacy does serve its purpose in developing the character and the title all the while. However, does the third issue show cracks in the regular proceeding, or does Nathan Edmondson provide plenty of qualities for the book to thrive?

In some ways, while the formula is played just a bit around, there are some improvements in this issue which does show that the writer does have ideas for the character. Opening straight on a mission, this issue skips around the introduction of some of its elements in favour of putting the character right in the middle of the action. Juggling development, explanations and a good touch of mystery to the tale, Edmondson is able to keep the readers on their toe without sacrificing any other aspects of this issue, balancing things out rather beautifully.