In the latest issue of Black Widow, Natasha recruits the help of the innocent Spider-Girl, sending her on her first steps down a dark path.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Black Widow #7 by Kelly Thompson, Elena Casagrande, Elisabetta D’Amico, Jordie Bellaire, and VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, recently walked away from her idyllic family life, unwilling to jeopardize the lives of her loved ones. The tragic experience had an effect on Natasha and gave her a new drive and purpose that she now embraces. This makes it somewhat surprising that she has just chosen to involve Anya Corazon, the innocent young hero known as Spider-Girl, into her life of danger and espionage.
In the midst of her investigation into a mysterious new villain, Apogee, Black Widow seeks help from Anya, who she asks to go on a dangerous undercover mission. The new Spider-Girl is ecstatic about the opportunity to work with Widow and is able to get results in less than a week. Although she has proven to be successful thus far in her mission, Natasha’s partner — Yelena Belova, the White Widow — is not pleased about Romanoff involving the young hero in such a dangerous affair, nor is she pleased that Natasha kept it a secret.
Anya Corazon was first introduced in 2004’s Amazing Fantasy #1 by Fiona Avery and Mark Brooks, as a normal teenager who was granted powers by the mystical Spider Society in order to save her life when she was mortally wounded. Anya notably does not possess any web-shooters, opting instead to create modified bolas for herself. She joined the Spider Society and was named “Spider-Girl” by Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman, who she worked with on several occasions. And now, it now seems that some of Drew’s espionage training has rubbed off on her young protege, which may be a dark harbinger of things to come.
Jessica Drew’s life has been rife with hardships stemming from the secrecy and shadowy figures that have made up much of her own life. As an infant, Jessica’s parents moved the family near Wundagore Mountain where her father could continue his research with the man who would eventually become the High Evolutionary. The irradiated environment left young Jessica terribly ill, and not long after she was sealed away for decades while her father and the his partner toiled away at the problem. During this time Jessica’s mother, unwilling to leave her daughter’s side no matter how old or frail she became, had herself cloned so as to keep watch over her child. Once finally freed from her confinement, it didn’t take long for Jessica to fall into a life much like that of her parents, working alternatively for Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. over the years. Most recently, Jessica’s past has caught up with her in heartbreaking ways, including nearly being killed by a clone of her mother.
Although it’s not surprising that Spider-Girl has jumped at the chance to follow in the shadowy and secretive footsteps of the heroes that she admires, that hardly takes away any of the concern. Apogee has already proven himself capable of empowering his own followers to deadly levels, and there is no telling what he might do should Anya’s cover be blown.
Thankfully, Natasha and Yelena both have her safety in mind, even if they have differing opinions of just how deep into the mission is too far for their new ally. With any luck, Anya will emerge from this experience unscathed and continue her growth toward becoming a respectable hero.
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