Black Widow: Venomous is a training montage that leads into Venom War
Natasha Romanoff, the infamous spy known as the Black Widow, didn’t go looking to bond with an alien symbiote. But a good spy works with all the tools available to her, and when one of the most powerful and versatile weapons in the universe lands in your lap…you take it. Now she just needs to figure out how to work with a weapon with its own drives and desires. Redefining Widow’s relationship with her symbiote. Black Widow: Venomous is an interesting one-shot, setting the stage for her appearance in Venom War!
I’ll admit, I haven’t been paying too much attention to Black Widow lately nor Venom, so Natasha Romanoff bonding with a symbiote is something that’s new to me. I know it happened, but can’t think of any comic I’ve read that has featured this new take on the classic character(s). So, I wanted to check it out as I plan on seeing what “Venom War” is about.
Written by Erica Schultz, Black Widow: Venomous features Black Widow attempting to infiltrate an Alchemax facility that’s experimenting on symbiotes. What’s interesting is this isn’t the classic bond I was expecting, Black Widow but now with the tools of a symbiote at her disposal. Instead, this “venom” is more independent, coming off more like a sidekick than a super-suit. It definitely caught me off guard in a good way.
Things go wrong and Natasha decides she needs to train her new companion. Red Room training. From there, it’s Natasha diving into her memories and taking her new friend through some rough training so it can react as she does and become as every bit as deadly and experienced as Black Widow.
The art by Luciano Vecchio is solid. With color by David Curiel and Rachelle Rosenberg and lettering by Ariana Maher, the comic looks cool. The training montage is visually striking with fantastic use of color. The symbiote’s use of spiders in its attacks and to aid Natasha will leave those with a fear of arachnids with an unease. The panel layouts play to the action well and overall, Schultz and Vecchio are a great team for this character.
Black Widow: Venomous delivers a different dynamic for Black Widow, giving her a partner and sidekick who she has to train. It’s a situation she’s been in, but not quite like this. In the comics I’ve read, Natasha has dealt with less experienced killers and Widows, here she has someone completely green and new in so many ways. But, it’s a powerful fighter who brings tools of its own to the fight, so the combo creates a lot of potential. Overall, an interesting one-shot that leads into “Venom War,” and intrigued me enough to want to check out more.
Story: Erica Schultz Art: Luciano Vecchio
Color: David Curiel, Rachelle Rosenberg Letterer: Ariana Maher
Story: 7.75 Art: 8.15 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle
