The Black Widow - Beware the Black Widow

 

Of course, I remember the first appearance of Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, in Tales of Suspense, as a Russian spy sent to get secrets from Tony Stark and fight Iron Man, with the help of a strongman named Boris. Natasha first appears in classic 60's fashion, ala Jackie O., with a black veil, fitting for her "widow" moniker. As she evolves, she gets a fishnet'n'swimsuit-styled super-outfit complete with a "widow's sting" and the ability to walk on walls'n'such via innovations built into the suit before she designs her jumpsuit that we are all more familiar with. This collection pulls from these original stories, her romance with Hawkeye, her fights against and alongside the Avengers (as she defects from the "commies", is brainwashed into returning, and defects again), her romance with Daredevil and her many solo exploits.

While I'm not a big fan of artist Don Heck - he was a bit too simplistic in his details, although his overall layouts weren't bad - Stan Lee's stories are fun, as always, and the character continued to grow throughout her appearances and we learn more about her background, including an ex(?) husband who becomes a super-powered villain. The artists vary as well, with John Buscema and Gene Colan also working on different issues.

The format here is a little strange, though, as they include random pages from various issues of different mags that mention the Widow, so you miss the narrative of that issue but - at least sorta/kinda - keep tabs on Natasha's timeline. 

Obviously, Marvel wants to capitalize on Natasha's current popularity due to the Avengers movies and this is a good place to learn her origins and motivations.