Black Widow (5 Stars)

When I went to the cinema tonight there was a trailer for the new James Bond film. The Black Widow film that followed was more of a high octane spy thriller than James Bond could ever be. The similarity is deliberate. The action jumps from country to country (USA, Cuba, Norway, Hungary), before finally settling in Russia.

Is the story faithful to the comics? Not really. I was grinding my teeth in annoyance when the Red Guardian was shown to be Natasha's father by adoption. In the comics he was her estranged husband. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised that the Red Guardian's costume was so similar to the comics. Here's what he looked like in his first appearance in August 1967.

The Black Widow has gone through many costume changes over the years, but none of them are like the white leather outfit she wears in the film's posters. She first appeared in Tales Of Suspense #52 (April 1964), wearing a sexy long dress, looking like a sultry Russian spy from 1950's films.

How many of you understood the significance of Yelena mistakenly calling her father the Crimson Dynamo? It made me chuckle. When the Black Widow first appeared in Tales Of Suspense #52, she was sent to assist the Russian super-villain Crimson Dynamo.

After their defeat at the hands of Iron Man, the Crimson Dynamo returned to Russia, but Black Widow remained in America. At first she acted alone, but in Tales Of Suspense #57 (September 1964) she teamed up with Hawkeye, who was still a villain at the time. Hawkeye was immediately love-struck, but Natasha was only using him. It wasn't until a few years later that a genuine romance developed.

This is Black Widow's costume in Tales Of Suspense #64 (April 1965). Hawkeye was considering giving up crime, but she tempted him to attack Iron Man yet again. He called her darling, but she felt nothing for him. He should have known better than to trust a woman who calls herself Black Widow. He gave up crime and joined the Avengers a month later in Avengers #16 (May 1965).

In Avengers #30 (July 1966), Natasha claimed that she'd been brainwashed by the Russians and now wanted to defect to America. After that she often aided the Avengers in their battles, but she didn't become an official member until Avengers #111 (May 1973). For months she worked for SHIELD, which separated her from Hawkeye. During this time she met and fell in love with Daredevil. Daredevil and Black Widow were partners from Daredevil #81 (November 1971) to Daredevil #124 (August 1975).

Hawkeye was jealous, understandably. Notice that the title of Daredevil's comic was temporarily changed to "Daredevil and the Black Widow". This was from Daredevil and the Black Widow #92 to Daredevil and the Black Widow #107. It makes things awkward for collectors.

Natasha's inviation to become an Avenger in Avengers #111 was one of the steps in their eventual breakup. Daredevil wanted to turn down Natasha's membership on her behalf. This is typical of the writing of Steve Englehant in the 1970's. Stan Lee had written about super-heroes with weaknesses, such as Daredevil being blind, but Steve Englehart took it a step further. He showed that heroes could have character faults, such as wanting to boss women around. Natasha was a strong, independent woman and didn't stand for it. She accepted the invitation and became an Avenger.

This is the tearful break up of Daredevil and Black Widow in Daredevil #124. Couldn't they have been given a little privacy?

After breaking up with Daredevil, Natasha left the Avengers and formed a new group called the Champions with Hercules, Ghost Rider, Angel and Iceman. I shan't go into it here. Black Widow has a long history in Marvel comics, too much to write about in a short review.

Nevertheless, the film is very good, and I'll write more about it when I own it on Blu-ray.