Natasha brings her motorcycle to a slow roll down the alley and backs it against the brick wall of a building. She cuts the headlamp and the darkness off the alley floods in. A tropical storm has just passed over Madripoor and the city's usual thrumming nightlife hasn't had a chance to crawl it's way back into the streets. The storm leaves a thick, sodden feeling to the air.
A little over an hour ago, she received an alert that the security system in her Lowtown safehouse was disarmed and the pressure sensors she installed in the floor registered a presence. She removes her helmet and the alley's wet pavement reflects back pink and blue neon onto Natasha's vibrant red hair. Now that she is stationary, the humidity has Natasha peeling off her riding jacket and stashing it in the panier in exchange for her firearm. She tucks it in the back of her leather pants, more for convenience than to actually conceal it. The cropped black halter top highlighting Natasha's toned torso doesn't do anything to hide the gun. It's not as if Madripoor dress code calls for being discreet either.
Natasha walks around the corner and down the block to a different alley. The block heel of her boots clacks with each step and she feels suddenly aware of just how weird a quiet Madripoor is. She approaches the back door of the safehouse. There is moss growing at the bottom of the wooden door frame and several large native plants climb up the walls adjacent to the door on either side. Warm yellow light faintly illuminating the gauzy curtains of a small widow to the left of the door divulges a presence inside but Natasha can't hear any noise.
She reaches for her lock pick kit from her back pocket and hunches a bit to get a better view of the lock. The door is slightly ajar, which would normally be a little unsettling to Natasha, but she has a feeling she knows who is inside. She nudges the door open, forgoing the lock pick.
Natasha steps inside and closes the door behind her with a soft thump. There is a mostly empty bowl with chopsticks resting in it, a carafe of old coffee, and an ashtray on the table in front of her. The kitchen is empty but she wraps her fingers around the butt of the gun resting at her lower back as she approaches the doorway to the bedroom just off the kitchen.
Before Natasha rounds the corner, she hears a loud gulp, followed by a heavy sigh. The left corner of Natasha's mouth curls into a knowing half smile and she relaxes her hand from the firearm.
"You know, I think you've gotten a little rusty in your espionage skills," she greets him warmly as she leans against the doorway. "I'd be happy to give you a few tips."
Bucky is sitting on the edge of the bed facing the doorway, his legs stretched out in front of him and metal arm resting between his thighs. He blinks up at Natasha blearily and the yellow light from the kitchen exaggerates the sharp planes of his face. There is a gash on the corner of his mouth that still looks fresh. Bucky's right hand grips the neck of a bottle, which rests on top of his right thigh.
"Hmm," he hufs. He pulls his left leg under him and goes to stand unsuccessfully. A hiss of pain passes through his clenched jaw.
"At ease Sargeant, I'm not here to evict you," she quips, still leaning against the doorway. "What happened?"
"Power broker goons. Turns out I'm no good on my own these days," he says and turns his head from her gaze.
"Turns out," Natasha echoes. "Let me get a look at you."
Natasha pushes away from the door to approach Bucky's still seated form. He leans down to set the bottle on the floor and it clinks against another one, empty and previously discarded.
"I thought you super soldiers couldn't get drunk," Natasha questions as she presses her palm to his shoulder to encourage him to lay back. The intense heat radiating off his body sounds at least one alarm in Natasha's mind.
"M'not drunk, just needed something to do," Bucky protests as he complies to her gentle touch and lays back with his legs still off the bed.
"Hmm," Natasha suspects that might not be entirely true.
She notices Bucky's shoulder holster is still on over his red henley. Definite sweat rings have formed around the collar and underarms of the shirt and he doesn't appear to be using his left arm. He must've been in pretty bad shape when he stumbled into the safehouse a few hours ago.
"You feel feverish," Natasha states flatly, even though she meant it to be a question. "Stay there."
Bucky grunts lowly in response.
Natasha takes four strides into the bathroom right outside of the bedroom door and doesn't bother turning on the light. She yanks open a stuck bathroom drawer that has been warped from the humidity. She jiggles it forward once more to reach the first aid kit stashed at the back of it. Natasha brings it to the kitchen and sets the first aid kit on the table. The warm yellow light helps her locate a syringe and a small gauge needle inside of it. She retrieves a glass vial from the dated avocado-green fridge and sets about attaching the needle to the syringe. Natasha punctures the foil top with the needle, flips the vial upsidedown, and draws a suitable dose of the liquid into the syringe.
Natasha strides back into the bedroom with the first aid kit in her right hand and the syringe in the left. She sets the kit down on the bed near Bucky's side and straddles his outstretched legs. She gazes over his supine form, watching his broad chest rise and fall with deep breaths. After a moment of consideration, she hikes one knee up on the bed to better lean over him. Natasha puts the barrel of the syringe between her teeth and presses the palm of her left hand into the top of Bucky's thigh to steady herself. She reaches for the bottom hem of his shirt with her right and attempts to make eye contact with Bucky for his consent to lift his shirt, but his head has lulled to the side.
"James," she calls softly around the barrel of the syringe as to not startle him if he's drifted off. He doesn't respond.
Natasha slowly begins to lift his shirt and can feel it sticking to his skin with blood from a recent wound just below his ribs. Bucky suddenly snaps to awareness and lurches up. The abrupt contraction of his abdominals causes fresh blood to seep from the wound.
Bucky is inches from her face and his eyes are darting rapidly between hers. His top lip curls into a snarl and his right hand grips the bedsheets below him. His gaze breaks to look down at the syringe between her lips and then immediately back to her eyes.
"Relax," Natasha hisses behind the syringe, drawing out the last syllable.
"Natalia?" Bucky whispers. His brow is furrowed and eyes are rapidly scanning Natasha's face. A hiss of pain escape him as his abs pull in protectively. He briefly closes his eyes, snarl still firmly in place. Natasha's insides briefly constrict. She reaches up to safely remove the syringe from her mouth before anymore sporadic movements are made and swallows roughly.
"Yeah, it's me."
Bucky relaxes his mouth and exhales. His right arm buckles and he falls back to the bed. Natasha briefly considers that bringing a syringe around a fever addled former assassin was probably not the best course of action.
"I'm giving you something to help with the infection," she says and adds for reassurance, "It's just me here."
Bucky has gone back to his semi-catatonc state, head lulled to the left. Natasha pulls the neck of his shirt and shoulder holster down to access the muscle of his right shoulder before swiftly puncturing it with the needle and depressing the plunger with her thumb. She withdrawals the needle and releases the over stretched fabric.
Natasha returns to the task of lifting Bucky's shirt to asses his injuries, but decides against it. Instead, she removes the knife secured at Bucky's hip, bunches the fabric in her left hand and pulls the knife through it. She tears the shirt the rest of the way up to the neckline.
Fresh blood bubbles out of the poorly sutured wound on Bucky's right side. The skin around it is inflamed and several smaller cuts adorn his torso around it. What's more concerning to Natasha though is the massive deep red coloring that takes up the entirety of his left pectoral.
"Lucky me, you're too stubborn for that," Natasha's half smile returned as she met his eyes.
"Barnes," Natasha tries to rouse him. He doesn't respond immediately and in the stretch of silence, Natasha can hear his shallow breathing. She reaches up to press two fingers into the pulse point of his neck.
"M'not dead," Bucky grumbles. "Yet," he finishes as his eyes find Natasha's soft gaze.
A (Lazy) History of Natalia Romanova/Natasha Romanoff/The Black Widow ⧗
Part 1: Madame Natasha (1960’s)
The Black Widow was first introduced in Tales of Suspense (1964) Issue #52, as a spy for the Soviet Government tasked with taking down Professor Vanko (Note: Vanko is a former Reds Agent under the name “The Crimson Dynamo”. Iron Man defeated the Crimson Dynamo and convinced him to defect and begin working for the American government instead.) Her first introduction sets her up as an enemy of Iron Man through the “Reds”. Marvel Comics in the 50’s and 60’s touched pretty heavily on Communism, the Red Scare, the KGB, the Cold War, etc, and Natasha is a reflection of that.
Natasha isn’t yet the badass super spy most of us are familiar with today. At this point she’s mostly a two dimensional “seductress” character who uses her charms to lure men into vulnerable situations. During this period she frequently fell into the “damsel in distress” archetype, and was primarily used as a plot device for the male characters around her, particularly Hawkeye (but we’ll get to that later.)
Tales of Suspense (1959-1968) Issue #52, Page 3
Tales of Suspense (1959-1968) Issue #57 Page 18
That is until we get to Hawkeye. Natasha and Clint go way back, all the way from their first meeting in Tales of Suspense (1964) Issue #57 (The first appearance of Hawkeye). When they first meet, Hawkeye immediately falls in love with Black Widow, who uses his affections to her advantage in her mission against Iron Man. I like to call this era of their relationship “the Situationship from Hell”.
Tales of Suspense (1959-1968) Issue #57 Pages 8 & 9
Tales of Suspense (1959-1968) Issue #60 Page 7
You might’ve noticed something curious about Natasha’s hair. While she had red(ish) hair in her first appearance, Natasha actually had black hair for the rest of the sixties, and didn’t get her iconic red hair back until 1970. But this post is about the sixties, so we’re not going to be getting much into that, just a fun fact.
But back to the sixties, at the end of Tales of Suspense Issue #60, Natasha gets taken by the Soviets while Hawkeye is away fighting Iron Man. But don’t worry, we see her again in Tales of Suspense Issue #64, this time in her brand new super suit. She reveals to Hawkeye that she was taken by the Soviets as punishment for failing her mission against Iron Man, and that they threatened both her and her parents to get her to continue working for her. She agrees and is given the classic blue Black Widow suit, along with a few new toys.
Tales of Suspense (1959-1968) Issue #64 Page 4
Now with fun matching masks, Hawkeye and Black Widow team up once again to take down Iron Man. They continue as an evil, love struck duo until Hawkeye joins the Avengers. Black Widow then sits in this weird on again, off again limbo, mostly just following Hawkeye around as a love interest. She leaves the Soviets and occasionally fights alongside the Avengers, but again she’s mostly in this weird limbo state. (Honestly, I’m not sure if the writers knew what to do with her.)
In Avengers (1963-1996) Issue #38, Hawkeye tries to get the Avengers to vote in the Black Widow as an official member, but they aren’t really feeling it, especially Goliath (who at this point is Hank Pim). During this, Black Widow is secretly hired by Nick Fury to take on a mission in Communist China.
Avengers (1963-1996) Issue #38 Page 8
After having her cover blown, she is kidnapped and held prisoner by the Communists until Hawkeye eventually comes for her. He gets kidnapped too and we are introduced to the Red Guardian.
Avengers (1963-1996) Issue #43 Page 19
Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that during this entire “Situationship from Hell”, Natasha was actually married to someone else? Well she was, but I’ll forgive her because the Red Guardian is a bitch and I love her pixie cut here.
This is where we get more of Natasha’s backstory. At this point in comics history, there is no Red Room or army of Black Widows. Her husband, Alexi, was a test pilot for the Soviets. One day she was approached by another soldier and was told Alexi had died in an accident. They used her grief in order to convince her to enrol as a spy, and then gave her the title of Black Widow.
Avengers (1963-1996) Issue #44 Page 20
This is Natasha’s last key issue from the 60’s. She continues working in the background and an agent for shield, coming back every now and then when Clint needs something to do.
Avengers (1963-1996) Issue #63 Page 16
Oh yeah, Clint is Goliath now. Just in case things were starting to make sense.
And that concludes the sixties! There isn’t a ton here as she only had a handful of comic appearances in the sixties. The seventies is where we begin to see the Black Widow we all know and love come into form. Lemme know if I should make a part two about the seventies!
the right thematic moment for a Black Widow solo movie is right after Winter Soldier. She’s blown all her covers and is counting on time to figure out a new one. She’s not joining Fury to go root out the remains of Hydra, she’s not joining Steve and Sam on their quest to save Bucky, she’s going on a selfish journey of self discovery, right after she loses more than maybe anyone else (except Fury maybe?) in the movie, leaking her whole history to the world
What needs to come next, obviously, is a story where Natasha can square this movie with her future. CA:TWS ends on a very similar note as The Avengers, with them going their separate ways but with the promise that when they’re needed, they’ll be back. How does she get to that, though? “When I joined SHIELD, I thought I was goin’ straight… but I guess I just traded in the KGB for Hydra”
This is where a solo project slots in! Natasha on her own, trying to define who she is apart from these Organizations that have shaped her. Natasha’s past finally public. We needed a nemesis here, someone she’d wronged who could only come after her now because of the file dump, someone to make her question who she is and what she should do next—something like the Edmonson/Noto run would stun here—where the end of the story is, of course, her independence from spycraft and decision to commit to the Avengers full time
many women are excited to get old and weird, but i have great news that it's fully possible to become weird now, before you get old. just imagine the heights of weirdness you will be able to reach in fifty years if you get started now. that's what I think
