WRITER: PETER DAVID | ART: CARLOS VILLA | PUBLISHER: MARVEL | FORMAT: SINGLE ISSUE | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

After more than twenty movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the time has finally come; Black Widow is getting her first solo movie outing and to celebrate, Marvel has released a two-part limited series tie-in comic to gear fans up for what’s in store for the spy-turned-Avenger this May. 

This prelude story charts Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow’s journey from orphan to agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and also acts as a recap of the Russian spy’s key moments in the MCU from her first meeting with Tony Stark in a boxing ring to teaming up against Captain America.

Written by Peter David and illustrated by Carlos Villa with colouring from Chris Sotomayor, the story is framed through a conversation between Councilwoman Hawley and Secretary Ross after Romanoff goes undercover to foil an attack on council members at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. We’re given a glimpse into Black Widow’s harrowing beginnings as a student at the Red Room, a top-secret Soviet training programme which turns young women into deadly spies. Those moments are beautifully illustrated in several stand-out, poster-worthy pages which show Romanoff’s development from fragile trainee to fully-fledged assassin. 

This short book serves as the perfect cheat sheet to Black Widow’s history in the MCU, laying the groundwork for her journey between the events of Civil War and Infinity War, which the upcoming film is set around. As one of the only female members of the original Avengers team, it’s hard to believe it’s taken this long for us to see Black Widow kicking ass in her own movie (Oh we forgot, female-led superhero movies don’t make money, do they? … what’s that you say, Captain Marvel?). After sacrificing herself for the Soul Stone, which no amount of snapping fingers can fix (sorry, if you haven’t seen Endgame yet that’s entirely on you) this teaser has us very excited to see Black Widow on the big screen once more.