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A review by captwinghead
Black Widow: The Name of the Rose by Nate Piekos, Marjorie Liu, Daniel Acuña
5.0
5 stars!!! Yesss! Now this is a story about Natasha Romanova!
Okay, so, there are a lot of iterations of Black Widow. And by iterations, I don't mean comic runs, I mean versions. Poor woman suffers from a disease that plagues many female characters that have been around for a long, long time. Their personalities have been changed to suit whichever male characters they are featured beside. I don't appreciate the slut shaming Imus throws at her (he is a bad guy, but still) but I think it goes without saying they've paired Natasha with random male characters. There's a summary in the end of the first issue that delves into Natasha's relationships with Tony (he denied her, interestingly enough), Hawkeye, Daredevil, Hercules (okay...), Bucky (yesssss!!!) and part of this was because her bosses wanted her to steal info or tech from them. There are so many different ways Natasha has been written.
After the shallowness of Itsy Bitsy Spider, I needed this!
I adore Edmonson's run because you can tell that she has heart and there's a depth to her that I'm afraid we'll never get on film. She cares deeply for the few people she has kept around in her life (Clint, Bucky, her cat, and the other Avengers to an extent) but she notes that she will always be a little bit distant from everyone else. That series is very "here and now" and references her past but I never felt the weight of it.
This book really makes you feel the weight of Natasha's past. She has lived a life! She has been around since 1928 and where Itsy Bitsy Spider tried to hint at that subtly, this book succeeds in doing that with so much more grace. We get to meet people like Black Rose and an old woman that lived to see Natasha never age. We hear about Nikolai and more about Alexei. We run into Red Room ballerinas and Imus the Champion. You really get a feel for the kinds of people she grew up around.
I had no idea Logan helped train her for a while. He's so protective of her in this book and that was wonderful to see! It really gives me some perspective on why he was so protective and accepting towards Laura in X-23.
I adored seeing Tony and Clint be so protective of her and unwilling to believe she would be trying to hurt them. Tony outwardly says the whole thing is bullshit and sticks up for her. I've spoken about this before but I adore their relationship. I have since I read the 1998 Iron Man series and she basically saved his life on a mission. They have a relationship that began with lies and turned into one of the most supportive and trusting friendships. I love them together!
There's a bit of BuckyNat in this book. Not a lot but they go on a a date, have cute phone conversations and Bucky's the only one out of an international manhunt that can find her because he knows how she thinks.
Natasha. Natasha!!! She kicks ass in this book but more importantly, she has a heart in this book. Some comics, I feel like you only ever get cold, expressionless Nat. This book managed to get her right! She has a softness to her when she speaks about Nikolai, the baby she lost, and when she speaks to Logan and Bucky. She has loyalty to her friends and you see that when she attacks Lady Bullseye for trying to hurt Tony through Pepper. She also makes it clear that she has no problem being vicious and causing pain to her enemies. She is a very strong person and she's slightly unapologetic about the things she's had to do to survive. She's a very important female character and it's refreshing to read a book where she can have that softness to her and the writers don't turn her into mush. She feels 100% the calculated, brilliant spy we all know and love even with these insights into her past.
Totally recommending this! Why aren't you reading it yet?
Okay, so, there are a lot of iterations of Black Widow. And by iterations, I don't mean comic runs, I mean versions. Poor woman suffers from a disease that plagues many female characters that have been around for a long, long time. Their personalities have been changed to suit whichever male characters they are featured beside. I don't appreciate the slut shaming Imus throws at her (he is a bad guy, but still) but I think it goes without saying they've paired Natasha with random male characters. There's a summary in the end of the first issue that delves into Natasha's relationships with Tony (he denied her, interestingly enough), Hawkeye, Daredevil, Hercules (okay...), Bucky (yesssss!!!) and part of this was because her bosses wanted her to steal info or tech from them. There are so many different ways Natasha has been written.
After the shallowness of Itsy Bitsy Spider, I needed this!
I adore Edmonson's run because you can tell that she has heart and there's a depth to her that I'm afraid we'll never get on film. She cares deeply for the few people she has kept around in her life (Clint, Bucky, her cat, and the other Avengers to an extent) but she notes that she will always be a little bit distant from everyone else. That series is very "here and now" and references her past but I never felt the weight of it.
This book really makes you feel the weight of Natasha's past. She has lived a life! She has been around since 1928 and where Itsy Bitsy Spider tried to hint at that subtly, this book succeeds in doing that with so much more grace. We get to meet people like Black Rose and an old woman that lived to see Natasha never age. We hear about Nikolai and more about Alexei. We run into Red Room ballerinas and Imus the Champion. You really get a feel for the kinds of people she grew up around.
I had no idea Logan helped train her for a while. He's so protective of her in this book and that was wonderful to see! It really gives me some perspective on why he was so protective and accepting towards Laura in X-23.
I adored seeing Tony and Clint be so protective of her and unwilling to believe she would be trying to hurt them. Tony outwardly says the whole thing is bullshit and sticks up for her. I've spoken about this before but I adore their relationship. I have since I read the 1998 Iron Man series and she basically saved his life on a mission. They have a relationship that began with lies and turned into one of the most supportive and trusting friendships. I love them together!
There's a bit of BuckyNat in this book. Not a lot but they go on a a date, have cute phone conversations and Bucky's the only one out of an international manhunt that can find her because he knows how she thinks.
Natasha. Natasha!!! She kicks ass in this book but more importantly, she has a heart in this book. Some comics, I feel like you only ever get cold, expressionless Nat. This book managed to get her right! She has a softness to her when she speaks about Nikolai, the baby she lost, and when she speaks to Logan and Bucky. She has loyalty to her friends and you see that when she attacks Lady Bullseye for trying to hurt Tony through Pepper. She also makes it clear that she has no problem being vicious and causing pain to her enemies. She is a very strong person and she's slightly unapologetic about the things she's had to do to survive. She's a very important female character and it's refreshing to read a book where she can have that softness to her and the writers don't turn her into mush. She feels 100% the calculated, brilliant spy we all know and love even with these insights into her past.
Totally recommending this! Why aren't you reading it yet?