Black Widow #2 – Review

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

The Story: A contract goes very wrong in Shanghai as Natasha needs to get out of a mess.

The Review: There is no such things as a bad character. While this is a rather controversial statement, it is something that I believe in, with every single character possessing the potential to draw in readers if a right angle can be found. Titles like X-Men Legacy and Journey Into Mystery proved to me that characters such as David Haller and Sif could be actually interesting and entertaining with their general outlook on their philosophy and their adventures and so did Black Widow.

I have to confess I never had much interest in Natasha Romanoff before, with the Avengers movie only providing me with a little spark of curiosity in face of the old Marvel character. However, by taking a chance, the first issue managed to be rather good, with a certain emphasis on her taking jobs, providing a few surprises and some qualities along the way. However, first issues aren’t everything as the team must prove that their concepts can provide entertainment for the long run. Is the second issue as good as the first one?

In a general manner, this issue is consistent in terms of quality, although there are some areas in which it is a bit stronger and others where it is weaker. The overview of how Natasha operates and the kind of life she has led until her Avengers days are rather interesting, putting a lot of potential for problems and conflicts from her past, which shows up in this issue. The way Edmondson already plays a bit around the motivation behind her actions and the results of her present and past demeanour makes for something that is indeed interesting to follow.