By Paul Thomas — As a teen I had two experiences that have shaped my entire life, being diagnosed with scoliosis (resulting in wearing a full-body brace throughout high school) and subsequently falling in love with comic books and science fiction. This was the 1970s, and I was captivated by a much different Marvel Universe than people recognize now with the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

As a comic book collector and fan of superhero comics, I was drawn to Spider-Man (of course), but I also developed an affinity for so-called second-tier characters and sidekicks. One of my favorite characters was the Falcon, who shared the cover title with Captain America starting with issue 134 and lasting until issue 222.

The most enduring characters for me, however, were Daredevil and Black Widow, who co-titled Daredevil from issue 92 until issue 107 (although actually teamed with Daredevil issues 81-124):

*Daredevil and the Black Widow issue 104* *(Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia)*

Black Widow Underestimated and Hypersexualized

In the MCU era, Black Widow is associated with the Avengers, but for me, the connection to this day remains Daredevil. Also, in the MCU, Black Widow has suffered a double death — her character killed off (and then given an after-the-fact solo film), and the high-profile actor playing the role, Scarlett Johansson, breaking ties with Disney and Marvel.

The end of the Johansson/Black Widow run in the MCU often contrasts with the jumbled ways Marvel has handled Black Widow in the comic books beginning with her introduction in 1964, Tales of Suspense 52 (v.1).

But there is one significant similarity, identified by Johansson in an article for Salon:

All of that is related to that move away from the kind of hyper-sexualization of this character and, I mean, you look back at ‘Iron Man 2’ and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is so sexualized, you know? Really talked about like she’s a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever — like a piece of ass, really. And Tony even refers to her as something like that at one point.

Here, then, I am starting a series today on how Marvel has underestimated and hypersexualized Black Widow — one of my personal all-time favorite characters — in her comic book history. Entries in this series, which will run monthly, will span 8 volumes of solo runs and numerous limited and co-series.

The Many Beginnings of Black Widow

As noted above, Black Widow/Natalia (Natasha) Romanova (Romanoff) has her origin with Iron Man and then the Avengers in the 1960s before eventually teaming with Daredevil in the 1970s.

Since many sites have now detailed Black Widow’s origin, this series will focus on establishing the pattern of underestimating and hypersexualizing Black Widow, with future posts carefully examining the eight solo volumes for the character (although the official legacy numbering of these volumes is limited to volumes 4, 5, 6, and 8…but such is comics).

The hypersexualizing has its roots in the earliest days of the character, notably Gene Colan’s pencils from Amazing Adventures #5 (1970) [note the light censorship from pencils to finals]:

*Pencils from* *Amazing Adventures 5* *(1970), written by Roy Thomas, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Bill Everett, letters by Artie Simek, and edits by Stan Lee.*

*Final panels from* *Amazing Adventures 5* *(1970), written by Roy Thomas, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Bill Everett, letters by Artie Simek, and edits by Stan Lee.*

Amazing Adventures (v.2) featured Black Widow as the secondary co-title with the Inhumans from issue 1 through 8. This run in many ways is a harbinger of what came next; Black Widow as sidekick, and in that role, Black Widow is frequently also framed as a sex object. By issue 8, Black Widow is relegated to the bottom right corner of the cover of a title that bears her name as co-headliner:

Even as Black Widow’s status during her co-titles with Daredevil certainly increased, it seems she was very often portrayed in provocative and helpless poses on several covers during that time:

*Daredevil* *101* *(Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia)*

*Daredevil* *102* *(Rich Buckler, Frank Giacoia, John Costanza)*

As Brown notes in his scholarship, “Female superheroines…are primarily depicted as scantily clad and erotically posed fetish objects.” (p. 135). Bound Black Widow, in fact, remained a common motif into the 2000s, even when Black Widow is Yelena Belova:

*Black Widow: Pale Little Spider 3* *(Greg Horn)*

Well before Black Widow earned a solo series (1999 unofficially and then 2004 officially, according to legacy numbering), Marvel Fanfare included a four-issue run, 10-13, powered by George Perez.

While still provocative, covers under Perez avoid the bound Black Widow for much more powerful poses, proving that it can in fact be done:

*Marvel Fanfare 10* *(v.1) (George Perez)*

The Perez run also represents another trend I will examine in writing about the eight solo runs — Marvel assigning influential creative teams to Black Widow (often paralleling similar approaches to Daredevil). Despite celebrated writers and artists working on Black Widow, though, most of her solo series have been incredibly brief, some lasting only three issues.

Still, Natalia/Natasha as Black Widow is a compelling and complicated Marvel character that has endured since the 1960s despite being underestimated — something the character herself recognizes:

*Black Widow v3 issue 1* *(Greg Land, Matt Ryan and Justin Ponsor)*

“But like most men, in the end,” Natalia Romanova observes, “he underestimates me.”

The Series to Come

Over seven or eight posts, next, I want to examine how Marvel has treated Black Widow in the 8 solo series (and some important mini-series) that have culminated in a wonderful current run, written by Kelly Thompson.

As I will detail, the thread of underestimating and hypersexualizing has continued, but I think there are also glimmers of hope along the way. Excited to explore it all through specific examinations of each series featuring Black Widow over the years.

Read our parallel look at the history of Daredevil, Man Without Fear…By The Year!

Read more feature writing about comics!

P. L. Thomas, Professor of Education (Furman University), taught high school English for 18 years in South Carolina before moving to teacher education and teaching first-year writing. He is author of How to End the Reading War and Serve the Literacy Needs of All Students: A Primer for Parents, Policy Makers, and People Who Care (IAP). Follow him at http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/ and @plthomasEdD.