Destroyer Duck was an anthology comic book published by Eclipse Comics in 1982, as well as the title of its primary story, written by Steve Gerber and featuring artwork by Jack Kirby and Alfredo Alcala .
141-632: The book was published as a way to help Gerber raise funds for a lawsuit he was embroiled in at the time, in which he was battling industry giant Marvel Comics over the ownership of the character Howard the Duck , which Gerber created for the company in 1973. The main story of the comic told of Louis "Duke" Duck, a resident of a typical anthropomorphic comic-book world, who had witnessed his best friend, identified only as "The Little Guy" or "TLG", vanish into thin air before his eyes. Some years later, TLG reappeared only to die at Duke's feet—but not before telling
282-653: A Once Upon a Time graphic novel was announced for publication in September. With Disney, Marvel announced in October 2013 that in January 2014 it would release its first title under their joint "Disney Kingdoms" imprint "Seekers of the Weird", a five-issue miniseries. On January 3, 2014, fellow Disney subsidiary Lucasfilm announced that as of 2015, Star Wars comics would once again be published by Marvel. Following
423-414: A Cold War culture that led their creators to revise the superhero conventions of previous eras to better reflect the psychological spirit of their age. Eschewing such comic book tropes as secret identities and even costumes at first, having a monster as one of the heroes, and having its characters bicker and complain in what was later called a "superheroes in the real world" approach, the series represented
564-404: A symbiote in an Alchemax lab. As a superhero, Black Widow seeks to right the wrongs she committed earlier in life. She is more willing to kill adversaries than most superheroes, and she has been described as emotionally cold since her first appearance. Black Widow is naturally independent, and she capably works alone. Black Widow projects an air of confidence in her civilian life, and she
705-617: A Marvelcon '76. At the 1975 event, Stan Lee used a Fantastic Four panel discussion to announce that Jack Kirby , the artist co-creator of most of Marvel's signature characters, was returning to Marvel after having left in 1970 to work for rival DC Comics . In October 1976, Marvel, which already licensed reprints in different countries, including the UK, created a superhero specifically for the British market. Captain Britain debuted exclusively in
846-463: A bracelet on each arm that fires electric shocks and projects wires to traverse skyscrapers. Black Widow stories often explore her struggle to define her own identity as a spy and the trauma she endured from her life of training in the Red Room. Early stories emphasized her Soviet origin, portraying her superiors as evil and contrasting her with more noble American superheroes. Black Widow's status as
987-586: A brief time. During his time as president, he appointed his associate editor, prolific writer Roy Thomas , as editor-in-chief. Thomas added "Stan Lee Presents" to the opening page of each comic book. A series of new editors-in-chief oversaw the company during another slow time for the industry. Once again, Marvel attempted to diversify, and with the updating of the Comics Code published titles themed to horror ( The Tomb of Dracula ), martial arts ( Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu ), sword-and-sorcery ( Conan
1128-538: A cape, and a mask designed to resemble the one used by Hawkeye . With the costume came her first use of tactical equipment, including gloves that let her adhere to walls and the weaponized bracelets that later became her primary weapon. She was the villain in five Iron Man stories, all within a span of twelve issues. Black Widow next appeared as the villain in Avengers #29–30 (1966), where she manipulated Hawkeye, Power Man , and Swordsman into doing her bidding. At
1269-541: A cash and stock deal worth approximately $ 4 billion, which if necessary would be adjusted at closing, giving Marvel shareholders $ 30 and 0.745 Disney shares for each share of Marvel they owned. As of 2008, Marvel and its major competitor DC Comics shared over 80% of the American comic-book market. As of September 2010, Marvel switched its bookstore distribution company from Diamond Book Distributors to Hachette Distribution Services . Marvel moved its office to
1410-502: A change that proved to be a great success. Marvel often presented flawed superheroes, freaks, and misfits—unlike the perfect, handsome, athletic heroes found in previous traditional comic books. Some Marvel heroes looked like villains and monsters such as the Hulk and the Thing . This naturalistic approach even extended into topical politics. Comics historian Mike Benton also noted: In
1551-518: A chord with the older readers, including college-aged adults. In 1965, Spider-Man and the Hulk were both featured in Esquire magazine's list of 28 college campus heroes, alongside John F. Kennedy and Bob Dylan . In 2009, writer Geoff Boucher reflected that, Superman and DC Comics instantly seemed like boring old Pat Boone ; Marvel felt like The Beatles and the British Invasion . It
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#17327907220631692-399: A consistent series of events. The series featured a more violent Black Widow and ran for six issues. Morgan then wrote another six-issue series, Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her , in 2006 with Sienkiewicz and Sean Phillips . This continued from the previous series and followed Black Widow as she went on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. An alternate version of Black Widow was created for
1833-505: A controversial personality, Shooter cured many of the procedural ills at Marvel, including repeatedly missed deadlines. During Shooter's nine-year tenure as editor-in-chief, Chris Claremont and John Byrne 's run on the Uncanny X-Men and Frank Miller 's run on Daredevil became critical and commercial successes. Shooter brought Marvel into the rapidly evolving direct market , institutionalized creator royalties, starting with
1974-518: A crossover that allowed Marvel to relaunch some of its flagship characters such as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four , and outsource them to the studios of two of the former Marvel artists turned Image Comics founders, Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. The relaunched titles, which saw the characters transported to a parallel universe with a history distinct from the mainstream Marvel Universe, were
2115-713: A cyborg and went insane, forcing her to kill him. Black Widow was previously married to the Red Guardian through an arranged marriage. He was believed dead, and he later sacrificed himself to save her. Bucky Barnes was one of Natasha's instructors in the Red Room while he was the Winter Soldier, and they were romantically involved while working together for the Soviet government. After the Secret Invasion , Black Widow worked alongside Barnes, who had taken
2256-524: A deal brokered by Malibu Comics ' owner Scott Mitchell Rosenberg . Three years later, on November 3, 1994, Rosenberg sold Malibu to Marvel. In purchasing Malibu, Marvel now owned computer coloring technology that had been developed by Rosenberg, and also integrated the Ultraverse line of comics and the Genesis Universe into Marvel's multiverse . Earlier that year, the company secured
2397-535: A deal with Harvey Comics , whereas Marvel took on the publishing and distribution of Harvey's titles. In late 1994, Marvel acquired the comic book distributor Heroes World Distribution to use as its own exclusive distributor. As the industry's other major publishers made exclusive distribution deals with other companies, the ripple effect resulted in the survival of only one other major distributor in North America, Diamond Comic Distributors Inc. Then, by
2538-562: A domineering role in their relationship, and the couple were sometimes physically abusive toward one another. Though Black Widow was written out of the series after leaving him in 1975, they got back together in 1978 until he left her for Heather Glenn in 1980. Black Widow and Daredevil remained friends and continued relying on each other as superheroes. Many of Black Widow's enemies, such as Damon Dran and Bullseye , come from her time working alongside Daredevil. She has come into conflict with The Hand several times throughout her life and
2679-478: A good versus evil portrayal of the Cold War . Black Widow's design underwent various changes as she appeared in the following issues of Avengers . The character's backstory was expanded in Avengers #43 (1967), when she discovered that the secret identity of the Red Guardian was her husband Alexei, who had been presumed dead. This story explained that it was because of his supposed death that she trained to be
2820-650: A hero in The Avengers #30 (1966) and her primary design was introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #86 (1970). Black Widow has been the main character in several comic issues since 1970, and she received her own Black Widow series in 1999. She is frequently a supporting character in The Avengers and Daredevil . Black Widow, the moniker of Natalia Alianovna "Natasha Romanoff" Romanova ( Russian : Наталья Альяновна "Наташа" Романова),
2961-453: A leading female character has influenced her portrayal, which was often contradictory as comics grappled with the conflict between traditional gender roles and second-wave feminism . The character is heavily sexualized both by artists and by the characters with whom she interacts. Natasha Romanoff was portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise from 2010 to 2021, and voiced by Lake Bell in
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#17327907220633102-442: A line of digital comics , Marvel AR, a software application that provides an augmented reality experience to readers and Marvel NOW! , a relaunch of most of the company's major titles with different creative teams. Marvel NOW! also saw the debut of new flagship titles including Uncanny Avengers and All-New X-Men . In April 2013, Marvel and other Disney conglomerate components began announcing joint projects. With ABC ,
3243-533: A member of the Avengers with its new roster in Avengers #343 (1992). This led to her becoming the leader of the Avengers for a period of time. Her association with the Avengers increased her prominence among Marvel superheroes, allowing for appearances in Captain America and Force Works . Black Widow returned to Daredevil in issue #362 (1997), which had her become more vengeful as she responded to
3384-591: A month, maybe more, and ... suddenly we went ... to either eight or 12 books a month, which was all Independent News Distributors would accept from us." The company was briefly renamed to Goodman Comics in 1957 under the distribution deal with Independent News . The first modern comic books under the Marvel Comics brand were the science-fiction anthology Journey into Mystery #69 and the teen-humor title Patsy Walker #95 (both cover dated June 1961), which each displayed an "MC" box on its cover. Then, in
3525-598: A monthly or annual subscription fee. At the December 2007 the New York Anime Fest, the company announcement that Del Rey Manga would published two original English language Marvel manga books featuring the X-Men and Wolverine to hit the stands in spring 2009. In 2009 Marvel Comics closed its Open Submissions Policy, in which the company had accepted unsolicited samples from aspiring comic book artists, saying
3666-418: A new Atlas Comics line, but this lasted only a year and a half. In the mid-1970s a decline of the newsstand distribution network affected Marvel. Cult hits such as Howard the Duck fell victim to the distribution problems, with some titles reporting low sales when in fact the first specialty comic book stores resold them at a later date. But by the end of the decade, Marvel's fortunes were reviving, thanks to
3807-412: A new costume for Black Widow based on the 1940s Miss Fury comic strip, but Colan was the artist for the series; his drawings of Black Widow emphasized her acrobatics and long red hair. Conway credited Colan with creating the "first empowered sexy babe" in comics. This run allowed for deeper characterization for Black Widow, and she was given a last name, Romanoff, in issue #82 (1971). Her story line in
3948-884: A new team of sidekicks and partners fighting alongside her, and "Die by the Blade" concluded the 15-issue series with Black Widow and her team fighting a human-trafficking ring. Black Widow's character underwent a major redesign in Venom #26 (2023) when she became the host of a symbiote . She was given a new costume designed by CAFU, based on the appearance of Venom . The symbiote version of Black Widow made appearances in Thunderbolts by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Geraldo Borges, and then in Black Widow & Hawkeye by writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Paolo Villaneli. As
4089-525: A number of different titles. Goodman's business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff. One of these shell companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at least Marvel Mystery Comics #55 (May 1944). As well, some comics' covers, such as All Surprise Comics #12 (Winter 1946–47), were labeled "A Marvel Magazine" many years before Goodman would formally adopt
4230-406: A range of 20 feet and can emit up to 30,000 volts. The bracelets also function as radio transmitters. Besides her bracelets, Black Widow sometimes carries explosives in her belt. The fingers and feet of her outfit contain microscopic suction cups that adhere to surfaces with an electrostatic charge. The character of Black Widow was first introduced as a Soviet communist, and her origin is defined by
4371-787: A relationship with Daredevil . After she is framed for murder and clears her name, Natasha moves in with Daredevil in San Francisco . She eventually leaves Daredevil and spends time alone in San Francisco in severe poverty. Natasha then becomes a Russian language instructor at UCLA and joins the short-lived superhero team the Champions , who appoint her as team leader. After the Champions disband, Natasha encounters The Hand. They poison her, and she dies as she reaches Daredevil to ask him for help. One of Daredevil's allies, Stone of
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4512-543: A reputation for focusing on characterization and adult issues to a greater extent than most superhero comics before them, a quality which the new generation of older readers appreciated. This applied to The Amazing Spider-Man title in particular, which turned out to be Marvel's most successful book. Its young hero suffered from self-doubt and mundane problems like any other teenager, something with which many readers could identify. Stan Lee and freelance artist and eventual co-plotter Jack Kirby 's Fantastic Four originated in
4653-496: A second three-issue Black Widow miniseries featuring the Natasha and Yelena Black Widows in 2001, alongside co-writer Greg Rucka and artist Scott Hampton . Black Widow returned to Daredevil in its "The Widow" storyline (2004) by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev . Richard K. Morgan wrote Black Widow: Homecoming in 2004 with Bill Sienkiewicz and Goran Parlov , simplifying Black Widow's backstory into
4794-404: A series of junk bonds that he used to acquire other entertainment companies, secured by MEG stock. Marvel earned a great deal of money with their 1980s children's comics imprint Star Comics and they earned a great deal more money and worldwide success during the comic book boom of the early 1990s, launching the successful 2099 line of comics set in the future ( Spider-Man 2099 , etc.) and
4935-533: A solid success amidst a generally struggling industry. In 1997, Toy Biz bought Marvel Entertainment Group to end the bankruptcy, forming a new corporation, Marvel Enterprises . With his business partner Avi Arad , publisher Bill Jemas , and editor-in-chief Bob Harras , Toy Biz co-owner Isaac Perlmutter helped stabilize the comics line. In 1998, the company launched the imprint Marvel Knights , taking place “with reduced [Marvel] continuity,” according to one history, with better production quality. The imprint
5076-486: A spy, the character struggles to define her own identity. When preparing to write for Black Widow in 1999, Grayson decided that the character would need "tremendous strength and resolve" to have an identity of her own. This identity crisis grew when Black Widow discovered that many of her memories, including the loss of her husband and her time as a professional ballerina, were faked by the Soviet Union. Black Widow
5217-399: A spy. After her redemption, Black Widow became associated with the fictional intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. Black Widow went one year without being in any new comic books, until she appeared in Avengers #76 (1970) to end her relationship with Hawkeye, effectively making her an independent character. She then underwent a full redesign in The Amazing Spider-Man #86 (1970), where she
5358-552: A subservient role to male characters. Writer Gerry Conway cited his work on Black Widow as his inspiration when he created Cinder and Ashe for DC Comics . Several Black Widow stories have received critical praise. "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" (1999) and "Homecoming" (2004–2005) were celebrated for their exploration of the spy thriller genre. Her "Web of Intrigue" (1983) appearances in Marvel Fanfare and her "Deadly Origin" (2010) series received praise for their artwork, with
5499-588: A supporting character in issues #155–165 (1978–1980). Black Widow was less prominent in the 1980s. She made an appearance in the anthology book Bizarre Adventures #25 (1981), as one of heroines leading a story written by Ralph Macchio and drawn by Paul Gulacy under the issue's "Lethal Ladies" theme. The story followed Black Widow as she infiltrated a Soviet arms depot in South Africa led by her former instructor. Macchio moved away from elements he felt were reminiscent of James Bond , instead looking to
5640-413: A symbiote host, Black Widow became a major character in the " Venom War " storyline. Her role in the story was introduced in the one shot Black Widow: Venomous , written by Erica Schultz and drawn by Luciano Vecchio. She is scheduled to appear in a three issue limited series, Venom War: Venomous , in late 2024. This series will also be created by Schltz and Vecchio. Natalia "Natasha" Alinovna Romanova
5781-576: A time, drive-in film monsters another time—and even other comic books, particularly the EC horror line. Atlas also published a plethora of children's and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlo 's Homer the Happy Ghost (similar to Casper the Friendly Ghost ) and Homer Hooper (à la Archie Andrews ). Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with
Destroyer Duck - Misplaced Pages Continue
5922-422: A woman who rejects domesticity and poses a danger to men is representative of the female black widow spider, which kills and eats its male partner. In her first appearance, Black Widow is likened to the exotic dancer and alleged spy Mata Hari . Other aspects of Black Widow remain in alignment with traditional gender roles, including her practice as a ballerina and her portrayal as a victim of trauma. As part of
6063-463: Is a master of hand-to-hand combat, with training in aikido , boxing , judo , karate , and savate . She also has training in most weapons and can operate most vehicles. Outside of combat, Black Widow is a gymnast, and she was taught ballet while in the Red Room. She is fluent in Chinese, English, French, German, and Russian, among other languages. As of the "Venom War" storyline, Black Widow has
6204-447: Is further explored when the Red Room creates clones of her. Black Widow was the first solo female superhero created by Marvel Comics. Unlike most heroines to that point, she was not a love interest or a female derivative of a male character, and she was not created to fulfill a motherly or domestic role. She contrasted herself from other female Marvel characters in the 1960s by fighting her enemies in hand-to-hand combat. The character
6345-650: Is introduced as a spy for the Soviet Union until she defects to the United States. She subsequently joins the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. , partners with Daredevil , and encounters a rival Black Widow in Yelena Belova . Though she has no distinct superpowers, she was augmented in the Red Room to increase her strength and reduce her aging. She has training in combat and espionage, and she wields
6486-438: Is self-assured in her physical appearance and her ability to leverage it. She chooses not to wear a mask, which she sees as a statement of confidence in herself, though in her early crime-fighting stories she was uncertain about whether she would regret letting others see her face. Black Widow was less confident overall in the early days of her superhero career. As Black Widow regularly takes up alter egos and false personas as
6627-454: Is the 74th entry in the series and features Black Widow working with the Punisher to defeat Malum. Abattoir is the 75th and final entry in the series, featuring Black Widow and Daredevil as they investigate the murders of telepaths. She then starred in another graphic novel, Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty (1995). Although she shares the title with Nick Fury , he only briefly appears and
6768-476: The Secret Wars event. Black Widow: Forever Red , a young adult novel featuring the cinematic universe version of Black Widow, was written by Margaret Stohl and released in 2015. The next volume of Black Widow was introduced in 2016, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Chris Samnee . These stories followed the lead of the cinematic version, exploring her work with S.H.I.E.L.D. and her experiences in
6909-576: The X-Men: The Animated Series which was aired on Fox Kids , they later released Spider-Man: The Animated Series on the network as well. In 1993, Marvel teamed up with Thomas Nelson to create Christian media genre comics, including a Christian superhero named The Illuminator, they made adaptions of Christian novels too, including In His Steps , The Screwtape Letters , and The Pilgrim's Progress . In 1996, Marvel had some of its titles participate in " Heroes Reborn ",
7050-507: The American News Company —which shortly afterward lost a Justice Department lawsuit and discontinued its business. Atlas was left without distribution and was forced to turn to Independent News , the distribution arm of its biggest rival, National (DC) Comics , which imposed draconian restrictions on Goodman's company. As then-Atlas editor Stan Lee recalled in a 1988 interview, "[We had been] turning out 40, 50, 60 books
7191-979: The Avengers , X-Men , Fantastic Four , and Guardians of the Galaxy . Its stable of well-known supervillains includes Doctor Doom , Magneto , Green Goblin , Kingpin , Red Skull , Loki , Ultron , Thanos , Kang the Conqueror , Venom , and Galactus . Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe , with most locations mirroring real-life places; many major characters are based in New York City. Additionally, Marvel has published several licensed properties from other companies. This includes Star Wars comics , twice from 1977 to 1987 , and again since 2015 . Pulp-magazine publisher Martin Goodman created
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#17327907220637332-520: The Avengers . She is brainwashed by the Soviet government after she stops cooperating, but her love for Hawkeye breaks through and causes her to reform. Although she considers joining the Avengers, she is not immediately trusted by the team. Natasha instead begins working with the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and appears to betray the Avengers when she works as a double agent for the agency, causing her relationship with Hawkeye to end. Natasha becomes an independent crime-fighter until she begins
7473-469: The Cold War . As a communist spy, she was a foil for Iron Man and his symbolic representation of American values, where the danger posed by Black Widow demonstrated a danger posed by the Soviet Union and communism. Her role as a spy suggested a sense of dishonesty and deceit from Soviets that contrasted with Iron Man's role as a noble and selfless American. Black Widow was surprised to see Iron Man risk his life to save Soviets, suggesting that such morality
7614-682: The Comics Code Authority (CCA) approval seal, due to the violence depicted in the issue. The CCA, which governed the content of American comic books, rejected the issue, requiring that changes be made. Instead, Marvel simply stopped submitting comics to the CCA. It then established its own Marvel Rating System for comics. Marvel also created new imprints , such as MAX (an explicit-content line) and Marvel Adventures (developed for child audiences). The company also created an alternate universe imprint, Ultimate Marvel , that allowed
7755-515: The Epic Comics imprint for creator-owned material in 1982; introduced company-wide crossover story arcs with Contest of Champions and Secret Wars ; and in 1986 launched the ultimately unsuccessful New Universe line to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Marvel Comics imprint. Star Comics , a children-oriented line differing from the regular Marvel titles, was briefly successful during this period, although hampered by legal action by
7896-558: The MCU multiverse animated series What If...? (2021–2024). Black Widow first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52 (1964) as an opponent of Iron Man . She was designed by artist Don Heck , for a story plotted by Stan Lee and written by Don Rico under the pseudonym N. Korok. The character was portrayed as a seductress who was spying on Tony Stark for the Soviet government, making her one of several Soviet villains who faced Iron Man in
8037-639: The Onslaught event that caused the apparent deaths of her allies in the Avengers. She reappeared in the new volume of the Avengers , but only infrequently as a guest character. Black Widow's Marvel Fanfare story was reprinted as a single volume in 1999, titled Black Widow: Web of Intrigue . Black Widow was featured in two more entries of the Marvel Graphic Novel series: Punisher/Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday's Web (1992) and Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir (1993). Spinning Doomsday's Web
8178-411: The Red Room . Waid's series ran for twelve issues. Horror writers Jen and Sylvia Soska wrote a Black Widow miniseries in 2019 with the artist Flaviano, and Jody Houser wrote the five issue series Web of Black Widow the same year, with Stephen Mooney as its artist. Macchio joined artist Simon Buonfantino in a return to Black Widow with Black Widow: Widow's Sting in 2020. The one-shot comic
8319-583: The Silver Surfer , and such memorable antagonists as Doctor Doom , Magneto , Galactus , Loki , the Green Goblin , and Doctor Octopus , all existing in a shared reality known as the Marvel Universe , with locations that mirror real-life cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Marvel even lampooned itself and other comics companies in a parody comic, Not Brand Echh (a play on Marvel's dubbing of other companies as "Brand Echh", à la
8460-585: The Ultimate Universe in the 2000s, where she is a member of the Ultimates . Black Widow: Deadly Origin ran in 2009–2010, written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Tom Raney and John Paul Leon . The series followed Black Widow's history through flashbacks from different points in her life. The reimaginings of her earlier adventures had her wearing more modest costumes relative to her original appearances. Black Widow became more widely known to
8601-489: The United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare approached Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee to do a comic book story about drug abuse. Lee agreed and wrote a three-part Spider-Man story portraying drug use as dangerous and unglamorous. However, the industry's self-censorship board, the Comics Code Authority , refused to approve the story because of the presence of narcotics, deeming
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#17327907220638742-576: The limited series Black Widow the same year, which was written by Devin Grayson and drawn by J. G. Jones , running for three issues. The series was part of the Marvel Knights imprint and encompassed a single story, "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider". It was the first comic book series to solely feature Black Widow as the main character, having previously shared each book with other heroes excepting only her standalone 1990 graphic novel. Grayson wrote
8883-524: The "Name of the Rose" (2010) story arc, was written by Marjorie Liu and drawn by Daniel Acuña , the latter creating art influenced by film noir . The series was then transferred to writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Manuel Garcia for the "Kiss and Kill" story arc. Jim McCann wrote the Widowmaker limited series in 2010 with artist David López . The series was a crossover between Black Widow and
9024-479: The 1960s. This version of Black Widow was infatuated with Tony Stark's looks and wealth, and she was easily distracted by jewelry. Black Widow first took the role of a supervillain in Tales of Suspense #64 (1965) after the Soviet government gave her a costume and equipment when they forced her to continue working for them. Her first costume took the form of a blue bodysuit made primarily of fishnet -style webbing,
9165-446: The American heroes opposed to her villainous period with the Soviet Union. The trauma and painful history Black Widow endures is tied to her Soviet origin. Her superiors in the Soviet government were portrayed as evil, and she was shown to fear them more than her she feared her adversaries. Black Widow was drawn as beautiful in contrast to the typically brutish and ugly portrayal of Soviets in Marvel Comics, suggesting innocence among
9306-526: The Atlas years, allowing him now to release as many titles as demand warranted. Late that year, he sold Marvel Comics and its parent company, Magazine Management , to the Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation (later known as Cadence Industries) , though he remained as publisher. In 1969, Goodman finally ended his distribution deal with Independent by signing with Curtis Circulation Company . In 1971,
9447-570: The Barbarian in 1970, Red Sonja ), satire ( Howard the Duck ) and science fiction ( 2001: A Space Odyssey , " Killraven " in Amazing Adventures , Battlestar Galactica , Star Trek , and, late in the decade, the long-running Star Wars series). Some of these were published in larger-format black and white magazines, under its Curtis Magazines imprint. Marvel was able to capitalize on its successful superhero comics of
9588-577: The Barbarian title was canceled in 1993 after 275 issues, while the Savage Sword of Conan magazine had lasted 235 issues. Marvel published additional titles including miniseries until 2000 for a total of 650 issues. Conan was picked up by Dark Horse Comics three years later. In a cross-promotion, the November 1, 2006, episode of the CBS soap opera Guiding Light , titled "She's a Marvel", featured
9729-495: The Black Widow program, Natasha's body was modified to make her infertile and to give her a permanent hourglass figure . Through her 20th century appearances, Black Widow was primarily defined by the men around her. When she was a villain, Black Widow's motivation was to honor her husband who had been presumed dead. This, along with her relationships with Iron Man and Hawkeye, meant that all of her actions were defined by
9870-498: The Black Widow", focused on Black Widow's backstory and introduced the villain Yuri Bezukhov, the son of Ivan Petrovich. Isabella wanted to continue this story by revealing Ivan to be Black Widow's biological father, but he left Marvel Comics after completing the issue. The Champions ended after 16 issues, and Black Widow was returned to Avengers in issue #173 (1978) during the " Korvac Saga ". She returned to Daredevil as
10011-501: The Chaste, brings her back to life. The KGB forces Natasha to work for them again by creating a life model decoy of deceased husband, acting as if he had survived and was being held hostage. She again worked for the KGB unwillingly when she discovered that she was a sleeper agent who had been programmed to obey upon activation. After many instances of joining and leaving, Natasha becomes
10152-579: The Human Torch (art by Syd Shores and Dick Ayers , variously), the Sub-Mariner (drawn and most stories written by Bill Everett ), and Captain America (writer Stan Lee , artist John Romita Sr. ). Atlas did not achieve any breakout hits and, according to Stan Lee, survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply, and at a passable quality. In 1957, Goodman switched distributors to
10293-651: The Soviets and making her more appealing to the reader. Femme fatale characters frequently have origins in Russia, and Black Widow's rejection of American gender roles in the 1960s reflected the otherness that she represented as an agent of the Soviet Union. The character's surname Romanova invites comparison to the Romanov family that was killed during the Russian Revolution , drawing parallels of suffering at
10434-760: The Sports Illustrated Building in October 2010. Marvel relaunched the CrossGen imprint, owned by Disney Publishing Worldwide , in March 2011. Marvel and Disney Publishing began jointly publishing Disney/Pixar Presents magazine that May. Marvel discontinued its Marvel Adventures imprint in March 2012, and replaced them with a line of two titles connected to the Marvel Universe TV block . Also in March, Marvel announced its Marvel ReEvolution initiative that included Infinite Comics,
10575-520: The UK, and later appeared in American comics. During this time, Marvel and the Iowa-based Register and Tribune Syndicate launched a number of syndicated comic strips — The Amazing Spider-Man , Howard the Duck , Conan the Barbarian , and The Incredible Hulk . None of the strips lasted past 1982, except for The Amazing Spider-Man , which is still being published. In 1978, Jim Shooter became Marvel's editor-in-chief. Although
10716-581: The book, and she instead teams with Night Raven in his first appearance in Marvel's mainline continuity. Black Widow then starred in a three-issue arc, "The Fire Next Time", by writer Scott Lobdell and penciller Randy Green, in Journey into Mystery #517–519 (1998). A new character, Yelena Belova , took the moniker Black Widow beginning in Inhumans #5 (1999). The two Black Widows came into conflict in
10857-519: The character Harley Davidson Cooper (played by Beth Ehlers ) as a superheroine named the Guiding Light. The character's story continued in an eight-page backup feature, "A New Light", that appeared in several Marvel titles published November 1 and 8. Also that year, Marvel created a wiki on its Web site. In late 2007 the company launched Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited , a digital archive of over 2,500 back issues available for viewing, for
10998-592: The character leaving by saying that she felt overshadowed by Daredevil and robbed her of independence. When Isabella began writing The Champions , he included Black Widow as a member. Originally intended to be a duo of Iceman and Angel , editor Len Wein mandated several changes to The Champions , including the requirement of a female character. Besides his experience writing for Black Widow, Isabella used her in hope that continuing to work with her would prevent another writer from reuniting her with Daredevil. The seventh issue of The Champions , "The Man Who Created
11139-428: The characters together. I'm a sucker for redheads! Gerry Conway Black Widow was introduced as an enemy of Iron Man. Hawkeye was Black Widow's ally and love interest in her 1960s appearances, working with him to against Iron Man and then reforming so she can be with him in the United States. They inverted the traditional gender roles, with Black Widow having the power in their relationship while Hawkeye played
11280-584: The company later known as Marvel Comics under the name Timely Publications in 1939. Goodman, who had started with a Western pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. Launching his new line from his existing company's offices at 330 West 42nd Street, New York City, he officially held the titles of editor , managing editor , and business manager , with Abraham Goodman (Martin's brother) officially listed as publisher. Timely's first publication, Marvel Comics #1 ( cover dated Oct. 1939), included
11421-668: The company to reboot its major titles by revising and updating its characters to introduce to a new generation. Some of the company's properties were adapted into successful film franchises, such as the Men in Black film series (which was based on a Malibu book), starting in 1997, the Blade film series, starting in 1998, the X-Men film series, starting in 2000, and the highest grossing series, Spider-Man , beginning in 2002. Marvel's Conan
11562-442: The company's entire publishing line. This branding pattern, being typically either a full-body picture of the characters' solo titles or a collection of the main characters' faces in ensemble titles, would become standard for Marvel for decades. In 1968, while selling 50 million comic books a year, company founder Goodman revised the constraining distribution arrangement with Independent News he had reached under duress during
11703-506: The context of the story irrelevant. Lee, with Goodman's approval, published the story regardless in The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 (May–July 1971), without the Comics Code seal. The market reacted well to the storyline, and the CCA subsequently revised the Code the same year. Goodman retired as publisher in 1972 and installed his son, Chip, as publisher. Shortly thereafter, Lee succeeded him as publisher and also became Marvel's president for
11844-527: The cover of the final issue. The seven issues of the comic were published very sporadically. Issue #1 of the original Destroyer Duck series, labeled the "Special Lawsuit Benefit Edition", is notable for containing the first appearance of Sergio Aragonés ’s Groo the Wanderer and also featuring additional stories by Mark Evanier , Dan Spiegle , Shary Flenniken , Martin Pasko , and Joe Staton . The rest of
11985-541: The creatively daring though commercially unsuccessful Razorline imprint of superhero comics created by novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker . In 1990, Marvel began selling Marvel Universe Cards with trading card maker SkyBox International . These were collectible trading cards that featured the characters and events of the Marvel Universe. The 1990s saw the rise of variant covers , cover enhancements, swimsuit issues , and company-wide crossovers that affected
12126-503: The duo Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal . Goodman hired his wife's 16-year-old cousin, Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939. When editor Simon left the company in late 1941, Goodman made Lieber—by then writing pseudonymously as " Stan Lee "—interim editor of the comics line, a position Lee kept for decades except for three years during his military service in World War II . Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to
12267-453: The end of the story, she became a reformed villain and allied with the Avengers, as her love for Hawkeye motivated her to switch sides after recovering from brainwashing by the Soviet government. This made her one of several Iron Man villains who become good by defecting from the Soviet Union to the United States, symbolizing a moral preference for American individualism over Soviet communism. Her redemption coincided with Marvel's departure from
12408-600: The events of the company-wide crossover " Secret Wars " in 2015, a relaunched Marvel universe began in September 2015, called the All-New, All-Different Marvel . Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) Black Widow is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee , scripter Don Rico , and artist Don Heck , the character debuted as an enemy of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #52 (1964). She reformed as
12549-526: The first appearance of Carl Burgos ' android superhero the Human Torch , and the first appearances of Bill Everett 's anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner , among other features. The issue was a great success; it and a second printing the following month sold a combined nearly 900,000 copies. While its contents came from an outside packager, Funnies, Inc. , Timely had its own staff in place by
12690-402: The following month dropped its comics to 20 cents for 36 pages, offering a lower-priced product with a higher distributor discount. In 1973, Perfect Film & Chemical renamed itself as Cadence Industries and renamed Magazine Management as Marvel Comics Group. Goodman, now disconnected from Marvel, set up a new company called Seaboard Periodicals in 1974, reviving Marvel's old Atlas name for
12831-516: The following year. The company's first true editor, writer-artist Joe Simon , teamed with artist Jack Kirby to create one of the first patriotically themed superheroes, Captain America , in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941). It, too, proved a hit, with sales of nearly one million. Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc., beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941. While no other Timely character would achieve
12972-537: The hands of the Soviets. Ballet is commonly associated with Russia, and it has a specific association with discipline in the Russian Empire through the military and the royal court. The blending of ballet and military training draws upon the cultural competition of the Cold War. Images of Natasha alongside many identical ballerinas invokes the lack of individualism she faced in the Soviet Union. This theme
13113-710: The latter standing out for its contrasting art styles by Tom Raney and John Paul Leon in the flash back and present day segments. The positive reception toward the Marvel Fanfare appearances have led to multiple republications in standalone volumes. IGN ranked Black Widow 42nd in their "Top 50 Avengers" list, and 74th in their "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" list. Jesse Schedeen of IGN included Black Widow in their "Marvel's Femme Fatales" list, writing, "Whatever happens, at least it can be said that Natasha's life still hasn't become boring after all these years," Rob Bricken of Gizmodo ranked Black Widow 13th in their "Every Member Of The Avengers" list, saying, "She's been one of
13254-501: The leader of the Avengers alongside Black Knight . She is forced to dissolve the Avengers after most members are seemingly killed by Onslaught , but considering herself the last Avenger, she teams up with Daredevil to hunt the Avengers' enemies. Still guilty for their failure, she chooses not to rejoin as a long-term member when the Avengers returned. While tracking a biotoxin, Natasha comes into conflict with another Black Widow, Yelena Belova , and both try to prove themselves as worthy of
13395-474: The men in her life. The trend continued when she reformed as a superhero because of her love for Hawkeye and then Daredevil. This was part of a common theme in various media during the 1960s where femme fatale characters were given redemption through a romantic interest. From the 1970s through the 1990s, Black Widow suffered what was described as the "widow's curse", in which she was unable to maintain relationships with men because they kept dying. Black Widow
13536-495: The middle of the decade, the industry had slumped, and in December 1996 MEG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In early 1997, when Marvel's Heroes World endeavor failed, Diamond also forged an exclusive deal with Marvel —giving the company its own section of its comics catalog Previews . Marvel in the early to mid-1990s expanded their entries in other media, including Saturday-morning cartoons and various comics collaborations to explore new genres. In 1992, they released
13677-469: The most part and expanded into a wider variety of genres than even Timely had published, featuring horror , Westerns , humor, talking animal , men's adventure -drama, giant monster, crime , and war comics , and later adding jungle books, romance titles, espionage , and even medieval adventure, Bible stories and sports. Goodman began using the globe logo of the Atlas News Company,
13818-416: The name in 1961. The company begin identifying the group of its comic division as Marvel Comic Group , on some comics cover-dated November 1948, when the company set up an in-house editorial board to compete with the likes of DC and Fawcett , even though the legal name is still Timely. The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion. Goodman's comic book line dropped them for
13959-439: The new Captain America. When Hydra is in control of the American government, Black Widow is killed by an alternate version of Captain America working for Hydra. She is then reborn as a clone in a new Red Room, retaining all of her previous memories up to her death. Natasha spends a period of time brainwashed into believing that she lived a domestic life with a fiancé and a son. After recovering, she discovers and bonds with
14100-554: The newsstand-distribution company he owned, on comics cover-dated November 1951 even though another company, Kable News , continued to distribute his comics through the August 1952 issues. This globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications. Atlas, rather than innovate, took a proven route of following popular trends in television and films— Westerns and war dramas prevailing for
14241-561: The ongoing Hawkeye & Mockingbird series. Black Widow also appeared as a main character in Secret Avengers . A new Black Widow series was created for the Marvel Now! branding in 2014, created by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto . This series returned to Grayson's characterization of Black Widow as more introspective than action-oriented. It was the longest running Black Widow series with 20 issues, ending in 2015 with
14382-410: The overall continuity of the Marvel Universe . In early 1992, seven of Marvel’s prized artists — Todd McFarlane (known for his work on Spider-Man ), Jim Lee ( X-Men ), Rob Liefeld ( X-Force ), Marc Silvestri ( Wolverine ), Erik Larsen ( The Amazing Spider-Man ), Jim Valentino ( Guardians of the Galaxy ), and Whilce Portacio ( Uncanny X-Men ) — left to form Image Comics in
14523-403: The owners of the recently defunct Harvey Comics for purposefully plagiarizing their house style. In 1986, Marvel's parent, Marvel Entertainment Group , was sold to New World Entertainment , which within three years sold it to MacAndrews and Forbes , owned by Revlon executive Ronald Perelman in 1989. In 1991 Perelman took MEG public. Following the rapid rise of this stock, Perelman issued
14664-407: The powers of a symbiote host. In combat, Black Widow uses a pair of bracelets that conceal her equipment, operated by galvanic sensors connected to the muscles in her wrists. When her primary design was established in 1970, they were equipped with tear gas pellets, a "widow's line" wire to swing between buildings like Spider-Man and a "widow's bite" electroshock weapon . The widow's bite has
14805-500: The predominantly child audiences of the medium, thus ushering what Marvel later called the Marvel Age of Comics . Modern Marvel's first superhero team, the titular stars of The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), broke convention with other comic book archetypes of the time by squabbling, holding grudges both deep and petty, and eschewing anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. Subsequently, Marvel comics developed
14946-406: The previous decade by acquiring a new newsstand distributor and greatly expanding its comics line. Marvel pulled ahead of rival DC Comics in 1972, during a time when the price and format of the standard newsstand comic were in flux. Goodman increased the price and size of Marvel's November 1971 cover-dated comics from 15 cents for 36 pages total to 25 cents for 52 pages. DC followed suit, but Marvel
15087-451: The process brings her body to its physical peak and slows cellular degeneration, enabling her to remain young and in her prime for decades. The program also gives her false memories of her life, leading her to believe that she had previously been a ballerina. She was selected from the participants in the program to become a spy and receives the codename "Black Widow". Natasha goes to the United States to seduce Iron Man and later to fight
15228-559: The public after the character was adapted to film in Iron Man 2 (2010). The film's emphasis on her as a spy instead of a superhero influenced how she was portrayed in comics over the following years. With the character's popularity came additional publications. Black Widow and the Marvel Girls (2010) was created by Salvador Espin, Veronica Gandini, Takeshi Miyazawa , and Paul Tobin . The next volume of Black Widow featured
15369-569: The relationship between Black Widow and her father figure Ivan Petrovich. The series ran for eight issues, after which she was removed from the comic book so the Inhumans could be given a standalone series. As the writer for Daredevil , Conway introduced Black Widow as a supporting character and established a romance between the two as "a way to re-energize the title". She joined the series in Daredevil #81 (1971). John Romita Sr. designed
15510-438: The rise of direct market distribution—selling through those same comics-specialty stores instead of newsstands. Marvel ventured into audio in 1975 with a radio series and a record, both had Stan Lee as narrator. The radio series was Fantastic Four . The record was Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero concept album for music fans. Marvel held its own comic book convention , Marvelcon '75, in spring 1975, and promised
15651-561: The role of a dependent love interest. As they aligned with the Avengers, Black Widow was initially rebuffed due to her history as a Soviet spy. She worked with Angel , Ghost Rider , Hercules , and Iceman as part of the Champions. She began a romance with Hercules, but as an immortal he did not have interest in a long-term relationship with a mortal. Black Widow has also worked with Spider-Man, at one point expressing romantic interest in Marvel Team-Up #82–85 (1979). Black Widow
15792-439: The series contained the back-up feature The Starling , written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel , with art by Val Mayerik . In 1994, while Gerber was working at Image for Top Cow Studio on Codename: Strykeforce , Gerber planned for issue #14 to include Destroyer Duck. At the last minute, Marc Silvestri declined, forcing Gerber and his editor, David Wohl , to revise the story. Destroyer Duck does not appear as such in
15933-471: The series saw her framed for killing a supervillain, with Daredevil's friend Foggy Nelson leading the prosecution. Conway then moved the setting to San Francisco , and their relationship became the main focus of the series. The pairing was one Marvel had to handle carefully given potential backlash to an unmarried couple living together, having them live on separate floors and having Ivan live with them. Responding to criticism that his treatment of Black Widow
16074-463: The story in 1978, but its intended publication in Marvel Premiere and then Marvel Spotlight were both canceled. Macchio made it explicit in this run that Black Widow was killing her adversaries when necessary and that she was getting information from another character by having sex with him, portraying things that were usually left ambiguous in comic books at the time. Black Widow was
16215-512: The story, but Gerber introduces Specimen Q, a mysterious character imprisoned in his armor who is Destroyer Duck, as readers will learn in the Savage Dragon/Destroyer Duck one-shot in 1996. Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City -based comic book publisher , a property of The Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel
16356-425: The subject of the 61st Marvel Graphic Novel , "The Coldest War" (1990). In this story, she is tricked into believing that her husband is alive and is forced to work for the Soviet Union to save him. She returned to her black jumpsuit in the 1990s, and she began working alongside Iron Man during the run of writer John Byrne and artist Paul Ryan , beginning in Iron Man #269 (1991). Black Widow again became
16497-611: The success of these three characters, some notable heroes—many of which continue to appear in modern-day retcon appearances and flashbacks—include the Whizzer , Miss America , the Destroyer , the original Vision , and the Angel . Timely also published one of humor cartoonist Basil Wolverton 's best-known features, " Powerhouse Pepper ", as well as a line of children's talking animal comics featuring characters like Super Rabbit and
16638-538: The tale of how he was exploited and destroyed by a thoughtless conglomeration, "Godcorp." Swearing revenge, Duke vowed to take down Godcorp no matter what the cost. Subsequent Destroyer Duck tales would reveal that the Little Guy who died at Duke's feet was in fact a clone, and the original was still held captive by Godcorp; eventually, Gerber (by that point on better terms with Marvel, the lawsuit having long since been settled) revealed that The Little Guy's real name
16779-470: The target male demographic and the feminist movement. Her sexuality was emphasized more explicitly when she appeared in Daredevil and other series over the following decades, as characters routinely commented on her sexual attractiveness. It was my idea to team up Daredevil and the Black Widow, mainly because I was a fan of Natasha, and thought she and Daredevil would have interesting chemistry. I'm not sure what I based this on, other than my desire to bring
16920-433: The then-common phrase "Brand X"). Originally, the company's publications were branded by a minuscule "Mc" on the upper right-hand corner of the covers. However, artist/writer Steve Ditko put a larger masthead picture of the title character of The Amazing Spider-Man on the upper left-hand corner on issue #2 that included the series' issue number and price. Lee appreciated the value of this visual motif and adapted it for
17061-439: The time-consuming review process had produced no suitably professional work. The same year, the company commemorated its 70th anniversary, dating to its inception as Timely Comics , by issuing the one-shot Marvel Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1 and a variety of other special issues. On August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company announced it would acquire Marvel Comics' parent corporation, Marvel Entertainment, for
17202-508: The title of Captain America after the death of Steve Rogers . The two grew closer and began a new romance. Black Widow became closely associated with Daredevil in the 1970s, first as a recurring character in his series in 1971 and then as a main character alongside him when they began a romantic relationship. She altered the dynamic of Daredevil's character, who had previously had one specific love interest in Karen Page . Daredevil took
17343-654: The title. Afterward, Natasha learns that there were many Black Widows and that the KGB had implanted false memories in her about her life before she was a spy. As Norman Osborn takes power over S.H.I.E.L.D.'s successor organization H.A.M.M.E.R. , Natasha disguises herself as Yelena on the orders of Nick Fury to infiltrate Osborn's Thunderbolts team. This Nick Fury is discovered to be a Life Model Decoy created by Osborn, and Natasha escapes to help Maria Hill revive Tony Stark, who had previously wiped his mind. When Tony Stark becomes director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow joins and operates alongside Bucky Barnes as he becomes
17484-530: The wake of DC Comics ' success in reviving superheroes in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly with the Flash , Green Lantern , Batman , Superman , Wonder Woman , Green Arrow , and other members of the team the Justice League of America , Marvel followed suit. In 1961, writer-editor Stan Lee revolutionized superhero comics by introducing superheroes designed to appeal to older readers than
17625-739: The works of John le Carré for inspiration so readers "really didn't know who were the good guys and the bad guys". Black Widow made another return to Daredevil beginning in issue #187 (1982), created by Frank Miller . Miller redesigned her, giving her a more casual and masculine appearance with a gray leotard and shorter hair. She also appeared in the shared books Marvel Two-in-One and Marvel Team-Up . The anthology book Marvel Fanfare #10–13 (1983–1984) featured Black Widow in her next solo story. Written by Macchio and drawn by George Pérez with other artists, this story had her pursue Ivan on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. before discovering that he had been brainwashed. Macchio and Pérez had begun working on
17766-587: The world of [rival DC Comics '] Superman comic books, communism did not exist. Superman rarely crossed national borders or involved himself in political disputes. From 1962 to 1965, there were more communists [in Marvel Comics] than on the subscription list of Pravda . Communist agents attack Ant-Man in his laboratory, red henchmen jump the Fantastic Four on the moon, and Viet Cong guerrillas take potshots at Iron Man. All these elements struck
17907-568: Was Kirby's artwork with its tension and psychedelia that made it perfect for the times—or was it Lee's bravado and melodrama, which was somehow insecure and brash at the same time? In addition to Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, Marvel began publishing further superhero titles featuring such heroes and antiheroes as the Hulk , Thor , Ant-Man , Iron Man , the X-Men , Daredevil , the Inhumans , Black Panther , Doctor Strange , Captain Marvel and
18048-465: Was actually "Leonard" - a new duck character that, for all intents and purposes, was identical in every way (except in name and character ownership) to Howard. The stories introduced sentient scented dolls and Wobblina Strangelegs, who nearly got her own one-shot . After five issues, Gerber gave up writing the title, but remained its editor . Buzz Dixon wrote the last two issues, about a STD -infected parody of Gilligan’s Island . Frank Miller drew
18189-446: Was at one point killed by them before being revived. Black Widow finds a counterpart and rival in Yelena Belova , another Black Widow. Yelena's relative youth causes Natasha to question her role as a Black Widow as she ages. Black Widow was not well known in popular culture until she was adapted to film in Iron Man 2 (2010). Portrayals of Black Widow have been criticized as sexist, as she has often worn revealing outfits and played
18330-538: Was born in Russia, where she was thrown from a burning building in Stalingrad . She is found and raised by the soldier Ivan Petrovich. The Hand attempts to kidnap and brainwash her in 1941, but she is rescued by Captain America and Wolverine . Natasha marries Alexei Shostakov , but the KGB fakes his death to motivate Natasha to become a spy. She trains in the Red Room , where she is augmented through biotechnology;
18471-426: Was created in a time of uncertainty around gender roles in the United States, as a growing feminist movement competed with traditional femininity. By the 1980s, differing cultural expectations of women meant that her portrayals varied significantly between these focuses. Black Widow sometimes subverts gender roles as the more ruthless character in contrast with more empathetic male characters. Her characterization as
18612-427: Was dropped from the title after issue #107 (1973). She appeared in Avengers #111–112 (1973), but left the team almost immediately as she wished to return to Daredevil. Tony Isabella became the writer for Daredevil with issue #118, and feeling that the relationship dynamic between Daredevil and Black Widow harmed both characters, he set out to split them apart. She departed from the series in issue #124 (1975), with
18753-424: Was fostered as a child by Ivan Petrovich, who supported her in her superhero career as her chauffeur. He was initially portrayed as a father figure throughout her childhood, but newer accounts of Black Widow's history place her in training under the Soviet government for much of this time. Other portrayals removed the father figure aspect and gave them a flirtatious relationship. Ivan accompanied her until he became
18894-698: Was founded in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics , and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics . The Marvel era began in August 1961 with the launch of The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee , Jack Kirby , Steve Ditko , and numerous others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand. Marvel counts among its characters such well-known superheroes as Spider-Man , Iron Man , Wolverine , Captain America , Black Widow , Thor , Hulk , Daredevil , Doctor Strange , Black Panther , Captain Marvel , and Deadpool , as well as popular superhero teams such as
19035-612: Was given the black costume and long red hair that became identified with her character. Marvel followed this the same year with a series of Black Widow stories published in Amazing Adventures , which also published stories about the Inhumans . Marvel's first series to feature stories led by a female superhero, it portrayed Black Widow as a wealthy jet setter who doubled as a crime-fighter. The first issues, written by Gary Friedrich and drawn by Gene Colan , were about political issues. Writers Roy Thomas and then Gerry Conway moved it away from politics in favor of melodrama, developing
19176-493: Was heavily sexualized during her 1970 run in Amazing Adventures , with frequent depictions of her changing outfits or wearing lingerie. A recurring gag developed in which she changed in the backseat of her car while warning her driver "eyes front, Ivan". She was one of many female action heroes to follow a trend in the 1970s where strong women were portrayed as traditionally attractive, as writers tried to appease both
19317-431: Was helmed by soon-to-become editor-in-chief Joe Quesada ; it featured tough, gritty stories showcasing such characters as the Daredevil , the Inhumans , and Black Panther . With the new millennium, Marvel Comics emerged from bankruptcy and again began diversifying its offerings. X-Force #116 X-Force #119 (October 2001) was the first Marvel Comics title since The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 in 1971 to not have
19458-420: Was sexist, Conway reworked her role beginning in Daredevil #91 (1972), having her stand up for herself when she felt neglected by Daredevil. The series was retitled Daredevil and the Black Widow in the following issue. Steve Gerber became the writer for Daredevil with issue #97 (1972), and he moved the focus away from Black Widow back to Daredevil's superhero activity in response to weak sales. Her name
19599-437: Was trained as a spy in the Red Room, and she possess expert knowledge about the practice of espionage. She uses her physical attractiveness to her advantage as a spy, manipulating others through seduction. Unlike many superheroes, Black Widow is not associated with superhuman powers. Instead, she underwent biochemical modification while training in the Red Room, increasing her physical prowess and slowing her aging. Black Widow
19740-400: Was unfamiliar to the Soviet Union. When Black Widow chose to stop working with her Soviet handlers, they forced her to continue, first by threatening her parents and then by brainwashing her, reminiscent of the Soviet Union's image as a country without liberty. With her defection to the United States, Marvel reinforced its interpretation of Black Widow as an agent of good through her work with
19881-429: Was written as a more traditional spy drama, using many of the genre's common tropes. Kelly Thompson began writing a Black Widow series the same year, with Elena Casagrande as the volume's artist. The series was split into three story arcs: "The Ties that Bind" introduced a brainwashed Black Widow who believed she lived a domestic life as a mother, "I Am the Black Widow" continued the story with her memory returned and
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