Writer: Kelly Thompson
Art: Elena Casagrande, Elisabetta D’Amico and Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 23rd, 2022
Black Widow, along with her eclectic team of White Widow (Yelena Belova), Winter Soldier, Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon), Clint Barton and a young girl with electric powers (Lucy Nguyen), continue their fight to keep San Francisco safe from the high-powered criminals threatening the city. Black Widow #14 kicks off with Black Widow’s face-off with The Living Blade, and the action never lets up.
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The Story
Black Widow’s battle with The Living Blade at the beginning of Black Widow #14 is a furious affair, taking place over several pages. Afterward, we spend time with Spider-Girl, Lisa and the rich twins, who have been put in cages with power-restraining collars, setting up an “Escape Room” type puzzle on how they’re going to get free. The book moves at a fast pace, and it’s nice seeing all these characters (like Spider-Girl) who it seemed had been forgotten and cast aside by Marvel, dragged out occasionally for huge crossovers.
My favorite part of the issue was the interaction between White Widow and the Winter Soldier. The two contrast each other nicely, with Winter Soldier’s impulsive need to jump into every fight tempered by White Widow, who’s a cool customer. It makes me want to see these two meet in the MCU films or shows too. Hell, maybe Marvel could just give them their own book!
A hero is only as good as the villain they’re facing, and this issue proves The Living Blade is someone to be feared. This is a new character who was created for this book, and he’s quiet and brutal, much like Wolverine used to be in his early days, before thousands of appearances watered him down over the years. I’d love to see The Living Blade go up against other Marvel heroes someday, like Shang-Chi or Elektra.
Despite the fact the book jumps between different characters and locations, the story flows smoothly and ends with a shocking cliffhanger ending that I have to admit caused my jaw to drop. Good stuff.
The Art
Elena Casagrande’s art on Black Widow #14 continues to be amazing. Her panel layouts and art style are dynamic, and even though it’s not heavy on background details, the characters’ movements really give you a sense of motion. Fight scenes and quiet scenes are both drawn wonderfully and I found myself going back through the book a second time just to admire the art.
Final Thoughts
Black Widow #14 is a wild ride, a fun issue that has Black Widow and her team fighting on multiple fronts, and gives each of the characters time to shine. The cliffhanger ending is amazing, shocking, and I can’t wait to see how it’s resolved next issue.