Fuck Yeah, Black Widow

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The Avengers by ~tyrannus

Some Marvel ladies not deemed cool enough to be playable are turning up in the game as cards.

Some things you shouldn’t have to learn about from a newspaper! Thus, as the mighty Avengers pass by a newsstand after a benifit in nearby Central Park, they…and especially an incredulous Hawkeye… are startled to behold banner headlines proclaiming—
Wanda: The Black Widow— a traitor? It isn’t possible!
Pietro: She told us that she was leaving America— but we never imagined that she might plan to betray it!
Hank: We’ll discuss the matter when we get back to Avengers HQ! Then— Hawkeye, wait! Where are you going?
Clint: What’s the difference? I just wanna be alone for a while! Gotta think things out… I’ll be along later… maybe…

Some variation of the “Black Widow: Traitor” headline has run through Marvel Universe newspapers many a time. (Again, strangely for someone so supposedly steeped in secrecy!!) In this case, it was a ruse— Natasha faked a defection so that she could infiltrate enemy ranks for SHIELD. So, a flashy public return to eeeevil might be just what Dr. Nick ordered.

But, uh, she didn’t tell Clint, whoops. So he read about it in the paper. I like that even the framing text compares his moping here to “bleeding-heart romances.” There’s a lot of criticism of Marvel’s Silver Age ladytypes as being dewy-eyed creatures of perpetual sigh, but the dudes spent a fair bit of time in moping melodrama mode, too.

From Avengers #39, by Roy Thomas and Don Heck.

Avengers Women by alanlopetegui.

And now, lest you suspect that we’ve forgotten the vengeful Valkyrie and her newly-formed Liberators, lift your startled gaze skyward, and behold—
Wanda: The town of Rutland should be directly below us, Valkyrie!
Valkyrie/Enchantress: Excellent! Now does each of you know what she must do?
Medusa: Yes! But— I see some sort of battle going on in the streets— and the Avengers are involved!
Valkyrie/Enchantress: What? Then— someone else— no! We must not be robbed of our chance!
Jan: I’ll zoom ahead— see if I can slow things down a bit!
Valkyrie/Enchantress: Hurry, wench— hurry!

I’m not very fond of this issue or the Lady Liberators, but I can’t deny the awesomeness of their mode of transportation. Every superteam should ride a flying chariot!

From Avengers #83, by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.