By Mark Rodriguez
While I didn't read Captain America's run as a HYDRA agent, I did find out that Black Widow died somewhere during the story arc before Steve got back to normal. While Black Widow's fate seems much more permanent in the movies, in the comics any time a hero dies it's basically an extended vacation. In this case, she has returned in the form of a clone with implanted memories. Natasha Romanoff returns and here's what she's up to.
The story opens in New York as an elegantly dressed woman walks into a fancy dinner party. As she takes a glass of wine, she sees Mr. Stark speaking with a Walter Sobol and asks him for a dance. Mr. Stark takes her up on the offer. As they dance, Stark notices the woman is Natasha and tells her she doesn't need to disguise herself for this charity event. She says old habits die hard. Stark says it's been a while since they last danced and he asks her if she remembers their first dance. Natasha remembers herself dancing in the Red Room. Nat kisses Stark's cheek and whispers in her ear to 'stay out of her way' and leaves. Tony can't stop her and hopes himself that she didn't drug him again.
Earlier that night we see Natasha going upstairs with a drink that she offers to a guy that checks the computers. Now that she's returned, the guy is passed out from the drink and she gets is security card from his pockets. Natasha sneaks into a computer room and inserts a flash drive into the keyboard. As this happens she has another flashback of the Red Room.
Years ago, the Headmistress recommends Black Widow's services to Mr. Sobol, even though she was still a child at the time. Mr. Sobol agrees as long as the job is done and can't be traced back to his family. The Headmistress says Widow has yet to fail them.
On the rooftops, Widow takes aim of her target sitting in his car. With the man in her sights, she pulls the trigger and completes her mission.
Back to the present, Sobol is ready to play a presentation for his charity event. As the film begins to play, scenes with Grandpa Sobol as well as the man that he had Widow kill all those years ago play, confusing the modern day Sobol.
Natasha prepares her gauntlets and tears her dress up to give on of her legs more room as she knows the guards will be arriving soon. Several guards arrive to find the man working the computers still passed outside and they start banging on the door. The door explodes and Black Widow jumps out, defeating everybody with her dance-like martial arts skills. One of the men grab her hair, which is a wig, and he soon gets a kick to the face.
Running upstairs to the roof, Natasha runs into Iron Man and she says she told him to stay out of this. Tony says she could have asked for help instead of doing this on her own. Widow asks if one were to replace every part of an old car, would it really still be the same car you bought?
Tony tries to emphasize with her having been killed and brought back, but he says humans are more than just components and parts. Natasha asks about her memories and her history and says she has a much more unpleasant history than most. She explains that everything Walter Sobol has was created on his grandfather having executed his competition, a lie that she helped tell the world. Tony said that doesn't mean Walter knew about this, and Natasha says had he known he would have sent security the moment the video started instead of waiting for it to end.
As Tony tries to reach out to Natasha, she vanishes but still tells him to stay out of her way. This was just a hologram. Tony radios Steve and tell him he had a run-in with Natasha and is worried about her. He tells him that something is very wrong. All the while a mysterious figure is watching.
My Opinions-
Pretty cut and dry story which is sure to lead to bigger things. So long ago, Sobol's grandfather used to hire Widow to kill any competitors and thus help his business thrive. Feeling guilty for her past, Widow exposes this secret to the world, even though it seems Sobol's own grandson didn't know about it. It seems Widow is out to right her previous wrongs, regardless of any unforeseen consequences that might come along with it.
The art is different than usual but due to the flashbacks here and there, and everyone looking rather young, it took me a while to piece together what was going on. For a moment there I couldn't tell if Nat was dancing with Tony Stark or Howard Stark in some flashback sequence. I did like the fighting sequence with the guards but this panel here is one of my favorites with Widow doing what she did best back in the day.
The bigger issue isn't that Widow has been brought back from the dead... but how. One question she asks herself with the car analogy is, if she's just a clone with Natasha's memories, if she really Natasha at all? And that's one of my biggest problems that I have when I found out exactly how Natasha made her big return, the fact that she is a clone with implanted memories. She's a copy, and real Natasha Romanoff is still dead. We still don't know how all this will play out, but if this version of Widow sticks around and everyone just kinda handwaves it away, that would mean Nat's friends are okay with her being dead and continuing to hang around a copy.
Tony saying 'something is very wrong' still makes her sound like a science project run amok, which wouldn't be completely wrong. It seems Nat has seen all her memories 'for the first time' and is out to set things right, no matter the cost. I'm wondering where all of this is going to go. It also looks like Nat is gonna run into Winter Soldier and Daredevil next issue too.
While I didn't read Captain America's run as a HYDRA agent, I did find out that Black Widow died somewhere during the story arc before Steve got back to normal. While Black Widow's fate seems much more permanent in the movies, in the comics any time a hero dies it's basically an extended vacation. In this case, she has returned in the form of a clone with implanted memories. Natasha Romanoff returns and here's what she's up to.
The story opens in New York as an elegantly dressed woman walks into a fancy dinner party. As she takes a glass of wine, she sees Mr. Stark speaking with a Walter Sobol and asks him for a dance. Mr. Stark takes her up on the offer. As they dance, Stark notices the woman is Natasha and tells her she doesn't need to disguise herself for this charity event. She says old habits die hard. Stark says it's been a while since they last danced and he asks her if she remembers their first dance. Natasha remembers herself dancing in the Red Room. Nat kisses Stark's cheek and whispers in her ear to 'stay out of her way' and leaves. Tony can't stop her and hopes himself that she didn't drug him again.
Earlier that night we see Natasha going upstairs with a drink that she offers to a guy that checks the computers. Now that she's returned, the guy is passed out from the drink and she gets is security card from his pockets. Natasha sneaks into a computer room and inserts a flash drive into the keyboard. As this happens she has another flashback of the Red Room.
Years ago, the Headmistress recommends Black Widow's services to Mr. Sobol, even though she was still a child at the time. Mr. Sobol agrees as long as the job is done and can't be traced back to his family. The Headmistress says Widow has yet to fail them.
On the rooftops, Widow takes aim of her target sitting in his car. With the man in her sights, she pulls the trigger and completes her mission.
Back to the present, Sobol is ready to play a presentation for his charity event. As the film begins to play, scenes with Grandpa Sobol as well as the man that he had Widow kill all those years ago play, confusing the modern day Sobol.
Natasha prepares her gauntlets and tears her dress up to give on of her legs more room as she knows the guards will be arriving soon. Several guards arrive to find the man working the computers still passed outside and they start banging on the door. The door explodes and Black Widow jumps out, defeating everybody with her dance-like martial arts skills. One of the men grab her hair, which is a wig, and he soon gets a kick to the face.
Running upstairs to the roof, Natasha runs into Iron Man and she says she told him to stay out of this. Tony says she could have asked for help instead of doing this on her own. Widow asks if one were to replace every part of an old car, would it really still be the same car you bought?
As Tony tries to reach out to Natasha, she vanishes but still tells him to stay out of her way. This was just a hologram. Tony radios Steve and tell him he had a run-in with Natasha and is worried about her. He tells him that something is very wrong. All the while a mysterious figure is watching.
My Opinions-
Pretty cut and dry story which is sure to lead to bigger things. So long ago, Sobol's grandfather used to hire Widow to kill any competitors and thus help his business thrive. Feeling guilty for her past, Widow exposes this secret to the world, even though it seems Sobol's own grandson didn't know about it. It seems Widow is out to right her previous wrongs, regardless of any unforeseen consequences that might come along with it.
The art is different than usual but due to the flashbacks here and there, and everyone looking rather young, it took me a while to piece together what was going on. For a moment there I couldn't tell if Nat was dancing with Tony Stark or Howard Stark in some flashback sequence. I did like the fighting sequence with the guards but this panel here is one of my favorites with Widow doing what she did best back in the day.
The bigger issue isn't that Widow has been brought back from the dead... but how. One question she asks herself with the car analogy is, if she's just a clone with Natasha's memories, if she really Natasha at all? And that's one of my biggest problems that I have when I found out exactly how Natasha made her big return, the fact that she is a clone with implanted memories. She's a copy, and real Natasha Romanoff is still dead. We still don't know how all this will play out, but if this version of Widow sticks around and everyone just kinda handwaves it away, that would mean Nat's friends are okay with her being dead and continuing to hang around a copy.
Tony saying 'something is very wrong' still makes her sound like a science project run amok, which wouldn't be completely wrong. It seems Nat has seen all her memories 'for the first time' and is out to set things right, no matter the cost. I'm wondering where all of this is going to go. It also looks like Nat is gonna run into Winter Soldier and Daredevil next issue too.
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