Natasha Romanoff has been many things over her decades-long career: Soviet super spy, crime-fighting super hero and even a top ranking agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, this April, the sexy spider weaves her web in brand new territory when she stars in her very own self-titled ongoing series written by Marjorie Liu.
"I'm intrigued that she has no powers beyond her own natural, human abilities and yet, she manages to hold her own against immensely powerful individuals, who are intimated by her, and who respect her," says Liu of her series' star. "She's incredibly confident, totally in control-ruthless, pragmatic, fiercely intelligent. And she can kill you with her pinky. What's not to like?
"Liu plans on immediately putting Natasha's countless skills to the test beginning with the very first issue, which sets the dark and gritty tone of the series. However, no matter how long and dangerous the road, Liu says Natasha always treks it through to the end due to her unbeatable will and relentless attitude.
"The measure of a dangerous character isn't the strength of the body but the mind," says the writer. "And she's one of the most dangerous women in the world.
"Artist Daniel Acuna, who previously wowed with his work on ETERNALS and X-MEN: LEGACY, brings his uniquely beautiful visual style to the book. Liu describes Acuna's work as irresistible, rich and sleek, and cites the cover to issue #1 as a perfect example as to what makes him ideal for the title. That same cover also features the Widow alongside bothTony Stark and Wolverine, which Liu says gives only a small hint to the variety of characters that will be appearing throughout the series. But as with any great spy thriller, no one will be exactly as they seem.
"Natasha has a rich and varied history within the Marvel Universe, and an interesting life can make for interesting problems," Liu promises.
However, Liu does acknowledge that Natasha as the star of the title and doesn't want that point sidelined by focusing on too many guest appearances.
"I want to establish Black Widow as her own character, not as someone's girlfriend or the member of a team," she says. "Which isn't to say that Black Widow's relationships won't be explored, but she's a cunning, ruthless woman whose physical prowess would be nothing without her staggering intelligence. She's a force to be reckoned with, in every possible way.
"The Widow's busy lifestyle parallel's Liu's own packed schedule for 2010. This year sees not only the release of a video game adaptation by PassionFruit games to her first novel "Tiger Eye," but also the third book in the Hunter Kiss series, "A Wild Light," and the eleventh book in her Dirk & Steele line, "The Stars Below." Liu also lends her skill to two anthologies: "With Great Power"-featuring stories by fellow comic writers like Paul Cornell, Mike Carey and Bill Willingham-and "Songs of Love and Death," with Neil Gaiman, Peter S. Beagle and many others.
Her ability to juggle so many projects and ease at writing one of the Marvel Universe's deadliest super spies brings into question just how much Liu has in common with her comic book counterpart. Confronted with the possibility of actually being the real life Black Widow, Liu chooses to play it close to the vest:
"I wouldn't be much of a secret agent if I told, would I?"
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