The new Black Widow is cast aside to allow the original to return to the limelight, as it were, in a story that's quite compelling. This isn't a super-hero story... not by a longshot, and that's because the title character and protagonist doesn't behave like one. This is a spy story, and it boasts the sort of ruthless behavior that makes for exciting reading... and the ruthlessness is to be found in our heroine. The mature and extreme tone of the plot is matched by the razor-sharp and explosive linework of the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz. It's a real to see him return to comic art for an entire limited series. The last time we saw his work with any regularity, if memory serves, as an inker.
All over the world, women are being murdered. Their deaths arise from as diverse an array of methods as the nature of their lives, but the motive apparently remains constant. In Arizona, Natasha Romanov, the original Black Widow, finds herself targeted for death as well, but her attacker underestimates her. Realizing the attack was not random, Natasha hits the road to seek out some help from an old ally and to get to the bottom of this most recent intrusion into her attempt to live a peaceful life.
Sienkiewicz captures the grace and beauty of the title character's form without resorting to more gratuitous visuals, but more importantly, he brings her intensity and anger to life in her face. There's both a real and surreal quality at play in the art that's quite appealing. Violence jumps off the page, and the explosive climax of the issue is a thoroughly effective visual moment. The colors are vibrant as well and bring texture to the linework. The colors aren't gaudy, though; warm, bright tones are used, but the flash and energy of the super-hero genre doesn't come into play.
The cold efficiency with which the main character deals with her adversaries sets this apart from Marvel's usual super-hero fare. Her willingness to cross the same line her enemies have crossed makes her much more interesting; she could easily be seen as a villain by some of her spandex-clad colleagues, if they saw her in her element as opposed to theirs. This story isn't about idealism or solving a mystery, but about the Widow's own quest for a regular life. This is kind of the Bourne Supremacy for the Marvel Universe.
The one aspect of the story that doesn't quite sit well with me has to do with the greater context of Marvel continuity, and more specifically, the title character's other recent appearance. In the most recent Daredevil story arc, the Widow found herself on the run from an old man looking to get even for her actions in the old days. There are similiarities between that storyline and this new one, and they threaten to dilute the drama of this book.
