Web Of Black Widow #1 - Marvel Comics

WEB OF BLACK WIDOW No. 1, November 2019

Enthusiastically described by “Marvel Worldwide” as “the spy tale of the century”, Jody Houser’s script for Issue One of “Web Of Black Widow” is arguably a long way from achieving such a lofty accolade. Yet the comic’s 38,627 readers probably still enjoyed the palpable sense of tension which the “bestselling” writer crafts throughout her twenty-page narrative, courtesy of some nicely paced flashbacks to a time when the ex-KGB assassin was both first setting up her ‘attack’ upon Walter Sobol’s grand speech at the Light nightclub, and ‘merrily’ murdering targets as part of “the notorious Red Room.”

Indeed, considering that the titular character is one of the New York-based publisher’s “longest-running female heroes” it makes perfect sense to have Natasha Romanoff’s murkily rich past, and indeterminable present, intermingle intermittently throughout this tale, especially when this five-part mini-series' entire premise is seemingly about “the clone with implanted memories” actively seeking revenge upon those from her distinctly troubled past; “And like the deadliest of spiders, easily escaping notice. Until it is far too late… This little one has yet to fail us.”

Disappointingly however, every time this publication’s plot does submerge its audience in its enthralling Cold War shenanigans, Tony Stark pops up to jar them awake to the reality that the adventure is set within a universe of super-powered heroes, rather than just a deadly dark world of moles and all-too human secret agents. Admittedly, the industrialist’s presence alone isn’t all that disconcerting, and actually generates a genuine moment of nostalgia as he tenderly recalls his first dance with the Russian killer. But once the moustached playboy dons his famous red and gold armoured suit, the Avenger debatably destroys any semblance of this being a “gritty, noir-drenched take on our favourite conflicted superspy”.

Quite possibly this comic’s biggest let-down though, are Stephen Mooney’s storyboards which seem to travel from one extreme to another in their quality as the periodical progresses. At first somewhat lavish-looking in style, especially when he pencils Natasha at her sultry best dancing across the social event’s well-lit floor or subsequently smacking the seven bells out of some seriously out-gunned security guards, the Dublin artist’s later drawings disconcertingly seem almost amateurish and irregularly-formed, making Iron Man appear particularly peculiar to the eye.

The regular cover art of "WEB OF BLACK WIDOW" No. 1 by Junggeun Yoon