Fuck Yeah, Black Widow

Unlike the heroines of the previous 20 years, Black Widow was a thrill seeker who chose the life of a crime fighter for the excitement it brought her. She didn’t do it to aid a boyfriend, she didn’t hide being a wallflower alter ego, and lived her life with a freedom usually reserved for men. In keeping with the issue-conscious 70’s, she descended from her penthouse to battle loan sharks and came to the aid of Puerto Rican youth groups… Black Widow was unquestionably sexy, but, as with everything else in her life, it was on her terms. Still, the liberated heroine had doubts. “Is there really a place for her in a world such as this?” Black Widow thinks in 1970, of the newly independent persona she has created for herself.

— Mike Madrid, The Supergirls: Fashion, feminism, fantasy, and the history of comic book heroines

Contrast that with an American comic books store experience for a new reader. First challenge—find the store. Now say you just saw the Avengers movie and you think you might want to find something about Black Widow. Where do you even start? If you don’t have a friendly clerk, you’re going to get overwhelmed and leave. If there’s no BLACK WIDOW #1 on the shelf, you literally do not know what to do. New comics readers have to have a guide. Compared to getting into traditional American comics, it’s easier for a new reader to learn to read backwards! Think about that.

—

Kelly Sue DeConnick

(and addendum by FYBW, who has been saying just this for a while: if the Black Widow #1 you offer is titled something obscure like Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes #1 and also isn’t particularly well-made and has all its fight scenes done in underwear, then maybe, on the off chance our unicorn new reader does find this book, all it does is convince this unicorn new reader that comics are not meant for her, and she will not be likely to come back)

Source: reddit.com

We wanted more titles anchored by female characters — that was a goal — but that doesn’t mean that any pitch that featured a female protagonist got rubber-stamped for approval. “Fearless Defenders” was approved because Ellie [Pyle] submitted a great pitch. Elsewhere, adjectiveless “X-Men” got a gust of wind in its sails when Jeanine Schaefer and Brian pitched a phenomenal concept for an all-female team. And — spoiler alert — perhaps there’s something on the horizon for Bla>cough< Wid>cough<

— Axel Alonso (though a few months ago he specifically said there was no Black Widow project planned for Marvel NOW!)

Source: comicbookresources.com

You speak so casually of death, Viper. I grew up with death. I’ve walked hand in hand with it all my life! I saw children starve in the ruins of Stalingrad, and men freeze solid as ice overnight. Because I know death so well… I know how supremely precious life is.

— Natasha Romanov, Marvel Team-up #85

Why aren’t you asking a hundred other guys why they don’t write strong women characters? I believe that what I’m doing should not be remarked upon, let alone honored, and there are other people doing it.

— Joss Whedon

Source: youtube.com

From the very beginning, she had no say in her own destiny, which is a very noir, very dark kind of outlook on life. And yet, she fought back from that and has now taken her own life in her own hands again. I guess I respond to those kinds of characters. Characters that seem screwed, who are also talented but are put in a difficult position and who fight their way out of it. That’s what appeals to me about her. Despite the convoluted, difficult life, she’s come out on top. And now her mission, the way I see it, is that she wants to free other people from being controlled and used. That’s her thing, I believe, and why she is equally super hero as she is a spy.

— Duane Swierczynski