Web Of Black Widow #3 - Marvel Comics

WEB OF BLACK WIDOW No. 3, January 2020

As an intriguing insight into the complicated background behind Natasha Romanoff’s history as a “KGB assassin trained in the notorious Red Room”, Jody Houser’s script for Issue Three of “Web Of Black Widow” must have pleased the vast majority of its readers with her inclusion of the Avenger’s fellow Russian hired guns Yelena Belova and Toma. In fact, this comic’s numerous flashback scenes to a time when the red-haired murderess was busy stealing “a set of keys for the Schmatlocks” is arguably far more enthralling than its central storyline, especially when it becomes clear that the deadly secret agent’s cold-hearted headmistress purposely had her be accompanied on the mission by an insufferably headstrong protégé due to the rookie showing “signs that she was unsuitable for the program.”

However, this preference for the twenty-page periodical’s subplot doesn’t mean that the titular character’s bold break-in at the Dovbrotel in Chernaya isn’t any less action-packed or enthralling than her earlier adventure. Far from it, as no less than two Black Widows team-up to stealthily subvert the high-security building in order to kick some significant butt and steal the owner’s scrambled code on a simple memory stick; “I have no interest in starting another war. Some things should stay encrypted. But knowing that the code has left their hands should be enough to --”

This tensely penned infiltration really does capture the very essence of Romanoff’s much more mature, modern-day personality, where she would rather distract and outthink her adversaries, than engage them in an inefficiently brutal slugfest. As a result though, when Natasha does finally resort to felling her opponents with some seriously bone-cracking blows, the effect of her extreme violence is all the more impactive, and adds some additional energy to the already sense-shattering sequences.

Stephen Mooney’s contribution to the sheer dynamism of this publication should not debatably be overlooked either. The Dublin-born artist’s sketching style might be a little too rough around the edges in some places, but it is hard to miss the raw energy with which the Irishman imbues both the Black Widow and Belova during this comic’s trials and tribulations, particularly when the smartly-dressed duo decide to discard their business attire disguises and begin beating up their astonished foes.

Writer: Jody Houser, Artist: Stephen Mooney, and Color Artist: Triona Farrell