Whilst Disney continues to roll out promos for its future releases, one movie that is still waiting is the ‘Black Widow’ solo film. Now expected to be released in May 2021, fans have a long time to wait before they can see Natasha Romanoff back in action again. With the way things ended for her in “Avengers: Endgame”, everyone is wondering what the future of the character will be going forward. That being said, the medium of comic books is fairly consistent, so I thought it was time I read one of these novels.
“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Most Wanted” sees our titular character being expelled from the infamous spy agency for something that she’s done. We get a flashback which shows Natasha being kidnapped by a mysterious villain named ‘The Weeping Lion’. This man has some files about Natasha’s past and uses it as blackmail in order to get her to steal some S.H.I.E.L.D. files which contain information about the Red Room, a shady organization that trained all of Russia’s secret spies. Having to go back to a place which she had long forgotten, Natasha is forced into a situation that will question her every loyalty. Can she salvage a situation that may lead to her burning all her bridges?
Now, this is something that really annoyed me. I don’t think I have ever felt anything other than an annoyance for Black Widow in the MCU, but the comic book version of the character? She’s everything that she should be, mysterious, self-sufficient and a total badass. We get to see glimpses of her past and there is a fair amount of character development even in this single novel.
The artwork seemed very simple and reminded me of the style of the late Darwyn Cooke, but it really worked for this novel. The covers were also pretty cool and very reminiscent of those old spy movies. Overall, I don’t think that I expected to enjoy this novel as much as I did, but it was a welcome surprise.
Favourite Panel:
Ooof. Major shots being fired at her “best friend” there.
Favourite Character:
Black Widow. She’s slick, cool and independent. I wish the MCU version had half her style.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★½
Character Development: ★★★½
Artwork: ★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★½
Re-readability: ★★★
Level: Beginner