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Today, we look at the odd path Black Widow took to becoming the leader of the Avengers in the 1990s.
This is “Out of Sight,” a feature where I explore notable comic book moments that occurred off-panel. When I say “off-panel,” I’m mostly talking about a character not being around and then showing up and us learning that something dramatic happened to them off-panel. I’m flexible enough that I can deal with maybe something “in between panels,” as well. You can hit me up at brianc@cbr.com if you have a suggestion for a future column!
Okay, I mentioned in an earlier post that I would be covering this (actually, I mentioned this in TWO posts recently, but whatever) so let’s get to it. Obviously, as you know, the Black Widow debuted as a Soviet operative fighting Iron Man through her manipulation skills. She manipulated Hawkeye into becoming a supervillain and then later she was forced to become an active operative. However, she decided she was sick of her Communist masters so she tried to defect and was shot. Hawkeye was inspired by her seeming sacrifice to decide to join the Avengers as a superhero.
Black Widow turned out to be alive in Avengers #29 (by Don Heck, Stan Lee and Frank Giacoia), just brainwashed and she teams up with Power Man and the Swordsman to destroy the Avengers, starting with Hawkeye. Luckily for Hawkeye, her love for him causes her to break free of the brainwashing in the following issue and she was back to the side of the angels.
Once she was free of the programming, she wanted to try to show that she could be an asset to the good guys, so she brings the Sons of the Serpent to the Avengers’ attention (amusingly, they never quite explain how she found out about the Sons of the Serpent. They just show her at one of their meetings and she’s all, “Oh man, I better tell the Avengers about this.” So, does she just wander into random meetings?). She then helps them take the Serpents down.
Roy Thomas then took over as writer of the series and he toys with the idea of her joining the Avengers, but the other Avengers are wary about her because she is still willing to kill. Hawkeye literally has to lie about the fact that she saves the day in Avengers #37 (by Thomas and Don Heck) by threatening to kill the bad guy…
Since the others weren’t present for that, Widow was all set to argue her way on to the team in Avengers #38 (by Thomas, Heck and George Roussos) when she was waylaid by Nick Fury while on the way to Avengers Mansion and Fury makes a pretty convincing argument that she should join S.H.I.E.L.D. instead and she does so. However, once that mission was over, the Avengers were totally prepared to make her a member of the team, but then she decided to retire as Black Widow in Avengers #45 (by Thomas, Heck and Vince Colletta)…
She then changes her mind, but it’s too late for her to be a member of the Avengers and she goes back to working for S.H.I.E.L.D.. She later becomes partners with Daredevil after breaking up with Hawkeye. In Daredevil #99 (by Steve Gerber, Sam Kweskin and Syd Shores), she and Daredevil are offered membership with the Avengers. They aren’t sure, but they do agree to help the Avengers defeat Magneto. Once that story is finished in Avengers #111 (by Steve Englehart, Don Heck and Mike Esposito), they are again offered membership and Black Widow shocks everyone (including Daredevil) by accepting it…
However, after just a single adventure with the Avengers in Avengers #112 (by Englehart, Heck and Frank Bolle), she quits the team…
She does make a notable guest appearance along with Hercules when the Avengers needed help during the Korvac Saga in Avengers #173 (by Jim Shooter, David Michelinie, Sal Buscema and a bunch of inkers)…
She was still with the team in the famous issue where the government dictates the membership of the Avengers (she doesn’t make it).
Okay, so many years pass and Black Widow does show up to help out as a reserve a few times (including the famous story in West Coast Avengers Annual #1 where all reserves are asked to help out) and in Avengers #305 (by John Byrne, Paul Ryan and Tom Palmer), she shows up when the Avengers debut this weird, “Everyone is an Avenger at once” deal that Byrne was using based on the fact that he was writing both Avengers books at the time…
It was with that in mind that Black Widow shows up to help out during Acts of Vengeance in Avengers #313 (by Byrne, Ryan and Palmer)…
However, Byrne soon left the book and his “one big Avengers team” idea was dropped. Black Widow did not appear in the book for the next year.
However, suddenly, in Avengers #329 (by Larry Hama, Paul Ryan and Tom Palmer), the Avengers name a new roster and somehow…Black Widow is on the team?
It’s completely out of NOWHERE! She wasn’t in the series at all for over a year! She had recently helped out Captain America during his weird “Say No to Drugs” story, where she is mentioned as an Avengers reserve, but that’s it. Then suddenly, she’s part of the main Avengers team!
By the time Bob Harras takes over the book in Avengers #343 (by Harras, Steve Epting and Tom Palmer), she’s clearly Cap’s second-in-command…
And after Cap takes a leave of absence in Captain America #401 (by Mark Gruenwald, Rik Levins and Danny Bulanadi), there’s no, “Black Widow is in charge” stuff right away, but she’s clearly in charge, as seen in the first issue following Cap #401, Avengers #348 (by Harras, Kirk Jarvinen and Tom Palmer)…
Widow would remain the Avengers leader for the next THREE YEARS. And all from a return to the team that didn’t even merit a mention! So weird!
If anyone has a suggestion for a notable plot point that happened off-panel, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!
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