The deadly super-spy from IRON MAN 2, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN and CAPTAIN AMERICA in her own action-packed tale! Natasha Romanoff is not a super hero. She's not psychic. She doesn't fly. And yet as the Black Widow, she manages to hold her own against a world of incredibly powerful enemies and allies. But now someone has tried to kill Natasha and almost succeeded.
Black Widow: The Name of the Rose
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More About the Author
Marjorie M. Liu is an attorney who has lived and worked throughout Asia. She hails from both coasts, but currently resides in the Midwest, where she writes full-time.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Sean Curley
Format:Hardcover
Natalia "Natasha" Romanova, the Black Widow, has been a fixture of Marvel Comics since her debut in the 1960s, but rarely as a headliner character. She started out as a villain in the pages of "Iron Man", and over the years has been a frequent guest star and partner to such heroes as Daredevil (with whom she co-starred for a good run of issues in the early 1970s), Iron Man (again), and Hercules (when they were together "The Champions"), as well as a member of the Avengers. She's had a few miniseries of her own as well, but has never quite managed the audience for her own solo title. Following her appearance in "Iron Man 2", Marvel decided to give it a shot, with this being the first and ultimately only story written by Marjorie Liu (with art by Daniel Acuna). Based on this, it's unfortunate that Liu didn't have more time with the character, because it's quite good. Spoilers follow.
Prior to the launch of this series, Natasha has spent the last few years as a major supporting character in "Captain America" under the pen of Ed Brubaker (who now also writes her in the pages of "Secret Avengers"), and is now the girlfriend of the new Captain America, James "Bucky" Barnes. Natasha tends not to stay in one place for long, so her supporting cast is pretty much all other superheroes (Bucky, Wolverine, Iron Man, Hawkeye - all but Wolverine being current or ex-boyfriends), which Liu runs with here: a mysterious new presence appears on the scene, who exposes Natasha's secret data collection efforts and attempts to frame her as a spy (similar to the JLA "Tower of Babel" storyline, but refreshingly, Natasha's friends aren't surprised by this nor do they have a problem with it). Natasha's on the run, cut off for a time from her most reliable allies, and a number of prominent Marvel characters put in appearances, including Elektra and Lady Bullseye. Liu adds her own new episodes from Natasha's past as well. The final plot resolution isn't especially revelatory (Liu ultimately backs away from some new villain on a personal vendetta to bring in an old Avengers foe), but it's a good story nonetheless.
Every solo series needs a strong character voice for its lead, and Liu's greatest strength is giving Natasha a very good and recogizable one. She's a believable product of her decades of experiences, tough and extremely capable, compassionate but also not without a vengeful streak. And Liu writes her relationships, particularly with Bucky, very well; their romantic attachment and partnership as superheroes comes across very well. The various guest villain characters from the Marvel Universe are well-done, particularly Lady Bullseye in her first appearance outside a "Daredevil" comic. Daniel Acuna's art surprised me quite a bit; I wasn't previously a fan of his work, but he does a great job of rendering Natasha's world as a mix of spy noir and superheroics.
Recommended.
Prior to the launch of this series, Natasha has spent the last few years as a major supporting character in "Captain America" under the pen of Ed Brubaker (who now also writes her in the pages of "Secret Avengers"), and is now the girlfriend of the new Captain America, James "Bucky" Barnes. Natasha tends not to stay in one place for long, so her supporting cast is pretty much all other superheroes (Bucky, Wolverine, Iron Man, Hawkeye - all but Wolverine being current or ex-boyfriends), which Liu runs with here: a mysterious new presence appears on the scene, who exposes Natasha's secret data collection efforts and attempts to frame her as a spy (similar to the JLA "Tower of Babel" storyline, but refreshingly, Natasha's friends aren't surprised by this nor do they have a problem with it). Natasha's on the run, cut off for a time from her most reliable allies, and a number of prominent Marvel characters put in appearances, including Elektra and Lady Bullseye. Liu adds her own new episodes from Natasha's past as well. The final plot resolution isn't especially revelatory (Liu ultimately backs away from some new villain on a personal vendetta to bring in an old Avengers foe), but it's a good story nonetheless.
Every solo series needs a strong character voice for its lead, and Liu's greatest strength is giving Natasha a very good and recogizable one. She's a believable product of her decades of experiences, tough and extremely capable, compassionate but also not without a vengeful streak. And Liu writes her relationships, particularly with Bucky, very well; their romantic attachment and partnership as superheroes comes across very well. The various guest villain characters from the Marvel Universe are well-done, particularly Lady Bullseye in her first appearance outside a "Daredevil" comic. Daniel Acuna's art surprised me quite a bit; I wasn't previously a fan of his work, but he does a great job of rendering Natasha's world as a mix of spy noir and superheroics.
Recommended.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Been on a Marvel reading jag the last several months. Been getting to know certain characters very well, following their evolution over the years in back issues mostly bought on ebay. Black Widow came into view for me when she became involved in Bucky Barnes' story, which I love. I became a big fan of the Widow from Brubaker's Captain America, mostly. What a great character. What isn't there to like? But what I don't like is how often it seems Marvel let's their creative team play her out as a sexual fantasy. I admit there will always be an element of that in her character, and that's fine. But for me Black Widow: Origins went too far in making her a sorta bimbo who kicks ass, eh, somehow? Because the script needs her to and we'll just say she's a strong women from that? That blows. And I don't know how that became a well respected "classic" and how this series fell off the radar so damn quick. Because frankly I think what the writer began to do with Black Widow here...well without getting into something that will take me all night to write, it just seemed so exciting to me. And on par with whatever Brubaker is up to these days. Seeing Black Widow take the pain of surgery while awake, meeting her old friends, following her on her "this time it's personal" (and isn't it always?) spy mission, it was everything it should have been. And it had Bucky Barnes as her weepy bimbo! The art was nice, too. Not exactly what I would have chosen to go with Majorie Liu's script, but it works. And it seemed down and dirty, which itself is absolutely appropriate for a Black WIdow story.
Please don't hold the limits of my reviewing against the book. I could go on about it, really. Lemme just say, if you want to know the Black Widow at her core, this is the story to read. Skip the Origins. Or at least get this one first.
Please don't hold the limits of my reviewing against the book. I could go on about it, really. Lemme just say, if you want to know the Black Widow at her core, this is the story to read. Skip the Origins. Or at least get this one first.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By E. Wong
Format:Hardcover
Excellent book. Seems a bit over-priced and maybe I should have waited for the TPB to come out, but I didn't pay list price and it was a fun read. One of the draws of Black Widow books is that the superhero is a spy, so essentially this is a spy thriller in graphic novel form, with some popular superheroes as sidekicks. As a bonus for those of us who have been in the Marvel Universe since we were kids, we get some interesting background material on BW.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic book!
I LOVED this book. It's so well written and the art is gorgeous. I'm pre-disposed to like Black Widow books anyway, but this is really one of the best. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lauren
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
bought this as a gift for a friend. its a hardback book with great artwork, great story, all in all a great purchase.
Published 4 months ago by Too-Tall
5.0 out of 5 stars
A story not for the faint of heart...
"Black Widow: The Name of the Rose" captures Black Widow Issues #1-5 in graphic novel format, courtesy of author Marjorie Liu and artist Daniel Acuna. Read more
Published 19 months ago by D. S. Thurlow
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Marvels best new series.
Never was really into the Black Widow but man she can now carry her own title. Great writing and art.
Published on April 25, 2011 by Andrew L. Small
4.0 out of 5 stars
I love the Widow
Anybody who is not used to this will not like it. I get that, but it was slow to start and finished decent.
Published on April 7, 2011 by Thunderhead
