Black Widow #8: Too Shy, Shy, Hush, Hush, Eye to Eye…

Second issue of the second arc, and we have a Natalie still deeply traumatized by the violation she endured at the hands of Madame Hydra, Red Guardian, Weeping Lion, and Snapdragon, where they completely wipe her sense of self, and reprogram her, used her dna and that of the other victim, to create a child, and build a dream come true identity for the Widow. I’ve read a lot of fans who have become very irked at the situation that Kelly put Nat in, but I think she’s handling the trauma rather well. It’s a situation that we’re not used to dealing with Nat, and gives her a vulnerability that wasn’t present before in her other solo stories.

Yelena Belova, the White Widow, is also a very large part of this cast, and Kelly’s fleshing out her personality, and giving her a very distinct role in the book. The way Kelly juxtaposes the two women, showing that while their skill sets are the same, the way they handle the situation while dealing with the new villain, Apogee, and his super powered cult, Olio are very different from each other. Kelly’s name for this group is actually quite brilliant. The definition of apogee is the highest point of development, while olio means a random collection of things, and considering that these teens are developing random powers from this drug that Apogee is peddling, it’s rather witty. I’m very excited to see where Yelena will go from here, and if other writers will pick up these threads and run with them in stories in the greater Marvel Universe. 

We also get more development of the newly powered teen, Lucy, and I’m beginning to warm to her, but there’s still a long way to go. Considering character development is one of Kelly’s strong suits, I’m sure I’ll be one of Lucy’s biggest fans. I think part of the reason I’m not a fan of Lucy is because she is super powered, and that’s something I’m not really interested in reading about in Widow’s world. When I want to read about badass female superheroes, I look to Kelly’s other solo Captain Marvel, or Karla Pacheco’s Spider-Woman, or DC’s Wonder Woman. I’m reading Nat’s book because I want to read some espionage, gritty noir. I want to see her dealing with arms dealers, spies from other nations, or old enemies from her time in the Eastern Bloc. I want Nat to jet set, and explore real world locations we’re not used to seeing in most of the other Marvel titles. This doesn’t mean that I hate this story, it’s just not something I’m overly interested in.

There’s another member to the cast, Anya Corazon, aka Spider-Girl, aka Arãna, and it’s a treat. I’ve really read anything with Anya before (minus the big Spider-line crossovers), so I’m interested in learning more about her. She’s super-powered, but other than her cloaking ability, her powers aren’t overly flashy. Plus her development as a future spy, it’ll be interesting to see what Kelly will bring to the table.

The art in this issue sees the return of Elena Casagrande, as well as having Roberto De LaTorre, and there’s a real synergy here. They work in tandem, and it’s amazing here. From the quiet, character building moments, to the high stakes action moments, it’s flawless. I’m absolutely in love with Casagrande’s style. It’s sexy, and beautiful, but not overly sexualized, which is an easy go-to with a book and character like this, but it’s just amazing. What can I say about Roberto De LaTorre that hasn’t been said before? He’s a true craftsman of his trade, and it shows. His evolution from his run on Ms. Marvel in the early 2000’s to know, you wouldn’t even recognize the two. Standing ovation for these two.