Black Widow #4 - Marvel Comics

BLACK WIDOW No. 4, February 2021

Basically boiling this book’s plot down to one of the titular character desperately trying to save her ‘new’ husband and son single-handedly against Madame Hydra’s personal security team, Kelly Thompson’s script for Issue Four of “Black Widow” surely must have delighted its readers with its mixture of kick-ass action and genuinely touching interplay. In fact, the sense of danger this twenty-page periodical generates for the former Soviet spy as she stealthily slinks through her pitch black home doggedly defending Natalie’s family from the Viper’s best would-be killers, is surprisingly palpable, especially when it appears at least one of the assassins has somehow outflanked her defensive position.

Fortunately, all is not lost due to the timely appearance of Yelena Belova, and some astoundingly impressive acrobatics by the titular character. Understandably incensed by her enemy’s brainwashing, and determined to protect her loved ones from harm, Natasha Romanova appears to be in tip-top form, snapping necks, stabbing minions, and nonchalantly gunning down goons, whilst she tirelessly somersaults her way around her house; “Stay low. When I say your name. That’s when you come out… I need you to trust me. No hesitation. It’s the only way I can get you both out here alive.”

However, for those bibliophiles more interested in just how the Black Widow became so thoroughly immersed in Madame Hydra’s fake world, Thompson is equally as adept at penning a significantly long flashback sequence which goes to some length to explain precisely how the Russian has somehow acquired both a devoted spouse and adoring boy within the space of just fourteen weeks. Extremely-well pencilled by Carlos Gomez and vibrantly coloured by Federico Blee, these five-pages really prove a visual feast for the eyes, yet do beg the question as to why the “authoritarian paramilitary-subversive organization” didn’t simply kill the unconscious Romanova when they had the chance, rather than spend at least four weeks brainwashing her..?

Arguably this publication’s most stand out moment though, has to be Elena Casagrande’s stunning double-splash of Natasha blazing away at some heavily-armed Hydra thugs across a pool table. This stunningly paced scene is just crammed full of dynamic touches, such as the super-hero landing double-footed upon the head of one hapless soldier, and ‘thunking’ a knife into the brain of another green-suited brute as the battle moves into her residential abode’s kitchen area.

The regular cover art of "BLACK WIDOW" #4 by Adam Hughes