Natasha Romanoff still hasn’t gotten her own film, but if the latest addition to her Young Adult series is any indication, she would give Jason Bourne a run for his money.
Black Widow: Red Vengeance by Margaret Stohl is the continuation of Black and Red Widows’ joint adventure, which started in 2015 with the Black Widow: Forever Red novel and the S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary comic. It’s all about the history of Natasha Romanoff and her protégé, Ava Orlova, who becomes the Red Widow.
Last we left, the Widows were trying to move on with their lives after the death of their former teacher Ivan Somodorov. Sadly for them, his terror network is still intact, compromising their S.H.I.E.L.D. network and forcing the pair into a high-stakes chase around the globe. They can’t trust anyone other than each other.
It’s a nice change of pace from the typical superhero saga, focusing more on espionage and crafty intelligence than unnatural powers that can make any situation easier.
It’s something we saw a hint of in arguably the best Marvel film to date, Captain America: Winter Soldier, where Black Widow used her skills as an assassin to outwit her enemies. It shows how amazing a Black Widow solo film would be, putting more focus on the powers an ordinary human can achieve through hard work and sacrifice — not just with nuclear waste, a metal suit, or a fancy hammer.
Black Widow: Red Vengeance is available now.
