Black Widow #12 Review

Natasha’s past comes back to haunt her in a very public way in Black Widow #12. As Anderson Cooper exposes Natasha’s recent activity, both as a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative and contracted agent, the rest of the superhero and espionage communities at large must scramble to deal with the backlash. While “celebrity guest appearances” such as the one made here tend to be campy, the use of the news anchor serves to ground the story in a semblance of realism and considerably raises the stakes of Natasha.

In Somalia, Natasha is far removed from the troubles brewing back home during a routine mission with the Howling Commandos. After the recent dilemma with Chaos she welcomes the change of pace, even as the Avengers confer with Maria Hill to try to minimize the damage of the report. Every mission since the title began is put under the microscope, her actions and motivations analyzed and debated as eye witnesses give accounts of her very public encounters with assorted antagonists.

In the age of whistleblowers and the demand for government transparency, Black Widow #12 strikes a timely chord. Such an investigation into the scope of Natasha’s missions as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and member of the Avengers calls both of their authorities into question; considering what these entities have recently been up to in Avengers and New Avengers respectively, the public is surely watching people like Natasha quite closely. Edmondson also brings up an interesting point of contrast, whether implicitly or not, between how the public (and the reader) views operatives like Black Widow or Hawkeye and “heroes” like Iron Man or Captain America.

While Natasha’s reputation as an assassin is well-known, all of them have done questionable, sometimes even treacherous things in the name of larger causes. The only thing that really separates them is the fact that people like Natasha primarily use violence as their means, whereas people like Tony Stark are largely Machiavellian, scheming and manipulating people and scenarios to achieve their desired outcomes. Of course the Avengers have been scrutinized by both the public and the government in various storylines, but it still raises the interesting question of who bears the guilt when secrets such as these come to light.

With strong scripting and artwork from start to finish, Black Widow #12 is another solid read from this creative team.

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