Black Widow - The Long Goodbye!

For this final part of the Black Widow's journey with Daredevil I have to resort to Essential Daredevil Volume 5. The logo of the Daredevil comic has returned to just featuring "The Man Without Fear" alone. The Widow's name was gone but she was not yet. It would some months but the signs are there that this partnership and romance are ont he rocks. 

Bob Brown is back on the pencils with Paul Gulacy supplying he inks. Steve Gerber is cueing up his next bit story and it turns out to be a doozy. Daredevil and Moondragon have seemed to be close and Natasha wants to know what Matt plans. He dodges the question but it's clear that his devotion to Natasha is waning. Matt gets a call that Foggy has been shot and heads off to NYC, but the Widow refuses to go, her enmity against Foggy still very much part of her. Moondragon offers DD a ride and at the same time gives him the brush off. Once in NYC Matt meets Foggy and his sister Candace who Matt hadn't before known about. Then the Beetle shows up to steal some government printing plates at the same time as some mysterious masked villains. DD knows little after the battle. 

The next issue showcases some weird crimes which have defaced national monuments with wicked stuff like carving Hitler's face onto Mount Rushmore. Then the soldiers of Black Spectre spill uncounted bills onto the streets to film for unknown purposes. At first it seems DD and the Beetle are both fighting on the same side but the latter proves unreliable. Black Widow runs up against a strange pale indestructible woman named Nekra. 

The next stop is Marvel Two-In-One #3 of all places. Gerber was writing this at the same time and this story with Sal Buscema artwork fits between these issues of Daredevil. DD and the Thing end up trying to invade the weird metal blimp used by the organization known as Black Spectre. They encounter the mysterious leader and tragically the Black Widow who has become his slave by a means yet unexplained. 

The next issue is drawn by Gene Colan and we learn that the Black Spectre soldiers are all women. This because the leader is The Mandrill, a mutant who can make slaves of nearly all women. We learn that he and Nekra were both born of the same radioactive accident. The Widow is still a slave and barely shows up in this one. 

Shanna the She-Devil has been a part of this storyline from the beginning and in issue #111 she takes Natasha's place in the logo design. DD faces off against the Silver Samurai who is a mercenary hired by Mandrill. Bob Brown draws this issue.

Gene Colan is back for the finale when DD and Shanna invade the aircraft and finally free Natasha from Mandrill's malign influence. Mandrill and his soldiers have dropped an idol on the front lawn of the White House and issued an ultimatum to the entire country that he will blow up NYC is his demands are not met. But the combine efforts of DD, Widow, and Shanna end the threat. Matt and Natasha seem to be back together, at least temporarily. 

Daredevil is on his own for the next three issues of the comic in which he battles the Death-Stalker in the Everglades and later in NYC itself. He is looking for Foggy's kidnapped sister Candace who has uncovered a project which seeks to make men into pollution-breathing creatures so that industry and such can continue unabated. This turns out to have military possibilities as well and so DD battles first the Gladiator then his mysterious employer. The Widow only shows up in a few pages, in this storyline, in San Francisco where she and Ivan reveal they have a problem which is weighing on them. Bob Bronw and Vinnie Colletta handle the art on this trilogy which also features the Man-Thing. 

Gene Colan returns as DD goes back to San Francisco to help the Widow. The duo seem still to love one another as they work together fight the Owl. The trouble is that Natasha's lease on her mansion has run out and both she and Ivan are living out of their car, albeit that auto is a Rolls Royce. 

Bob Brown returns for part two of this tale which sees the inevitable defeat of the Owl and also perhaps the end (sort of) of the Daredevil-Black Widow partnership. After all the action, the two say goodbye at the airport as Matt returns to NYC. It feels like the end of an era. But it's not quite. The script for this issue is by Chris Claremont for Steve Gerber's plot. 

When DD returns to NYC he immediately runs into trouble when the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime are back in town and up to their usual thieving ways. (How do these guys keep getting out of jail?) In this story by Gerry Conway and artist Don Heck with Vinnie Colletta inks we meet a new baddie named Blackwing who has an uncanny power over bats. The Circus if of course captures (they always are) but Blackwing escapes. More on him later. 

Tony Isabella is the new writer, and his debut is smashing. He has DD return to the boxing ring when he tries to help a young bantam weight fighter who wants to go heavyweight. He has found an unscrupulous scientist who has gotten access to the Crusher chemicals and applies them to his new charge. The transformation is brutal and it's all DD can do to survive, but not everyone does. It's dandy little story with some of Bob Brown's best work yet for Marvel under some Don Heck inks. We learn that the Black Widow will be returning to NYC in the next issue. 

The finale begins in Daredevil #120 when the Black Widow and Ivan return to NYC. The San Francisco adventure seems to be at an end. Natasha is upset when Matt takes her to a party given by Foggy Nelson who she has not forgiven for putting her on trial. She is on the verge of accepting his apology when El Jaguar and other Hydra agents appear to attempt to kidnap him. They fail. This four-part story was written by Tony Isabells and all four parts are drawn by Bob Brown with Vinnie Colleta inks. 

Nick Fury informs Foggy that SHIELD wants him to be on an advisory board to oversee the outfit's operations. We learn that Hydra has reformed under a new leader and we further learn that they have specific divisions to maximize their efficiency. They prove so efficient that when the Dreadnought leads another attack Foggy is captured. 

Turns out that Blackwing was a Hydra operative all along. He lures DD into a trap, but the Widow is most upset at being treated unlike an equal when DD heads off yet again. The two seem to be confirming with every encounter that their relationship, though full of mutual affection, is less sturdy than it ought to be.  Most of the problem is Matt's unwillingness to be fully honest. The Widow and DD talk and agree to work together. DD is caught while the Widow defeats El Jaguar. 

This great four-part tale wraps up with Daredevil and the Widow battling a gaggle of villains aligned with Hydra. Nick Fury and his SHEILD agents show up and a small war erupts in Shea Stadium under which is hidden the Hydra base. The new Supreme Hydra is a revived Silvermane and his son is Blackwing. After a bitter battle, Foggy is saved, Hydra is defeated though Silverman and Blackwing escape. The Daredevil-Black Widow partnership is about to end for good. 

In the first few pages of Daredevil #124 Black Widow and Ivan leave. Matt and Natasha say their goodbyes and the Widow says that despite their affections she will not live in DD's shadow as merely his sidekick. Matt is reluctant to accept the truth but has no choice. Natasha and Ivan leave and it's over. DD goes on to battle a villain from the past called Copperhead. Len Wein and Marv Wolfman write this issue with Wein handling the pages with the Widow. Bob Brown is joined by Klaus Jansen on inks. The logo will change with the very next issue when the Black Widow disappears from the book for good. 

Marvel is clearly wanting to build a little buzz around the Black Widow again by having her guest-star Marvel Two-In-One #10. Natasha even references this adventure when she talks to Matt about going solo again. I'll have more on this one later. 

Natasha's next stop will be The Campions. She may not have succeeded in going it alone, but this is a chance for her to prove her leadership skills as she takes the helm of this new Marvel team. Clearly Tony Isabella like writing the Widow and is the force behind The Champions. More on The Campions next week. Now some final thoughts. 

I have pleasant memories of the Daredevil and Black Widow partnership. I enjoyed the stories and the art for the most part. Reading them again though so many years later has given me some clarity. For one thing Matt Murdock behaves like an asshole an awfully lot in these stories. Despite the Widow's proven history of taking care of herself he constantly shuts her out and tries stupidly to protect her. He also is careless with their relationship, finding himself caught up with other women from time to time without really considering Natasha at all. He walks off to NYC rather abruptly when Foggy is hurt and stays for a very long time. She for her part refuses his help when he offers it especially in regard to finances. As far as I can tell he lived rent-free for many months because the Widow dropped a bundle on the mansion. Her later money woes are not Matt's responsibility, and he does offer to help, but he seems oddly ignorant of that side of the relationship. In other words, we got witness two people who had a complicated adult relationship that ultimately did not work out. Not bad for a funny book. 

Rip Off