Natasha Romanoff is breaking into the estate of the mob boss Silvio “Silvermane” Manfredi. SHIELD knows that he has something that he shouldn’t that had been stolen from Dr. Strange of all people. It’s going to be a tricky extraction in Black Widow: Widow’s Sting. The one-shot story is written by veteran Marvel writer Ralph Macchio. The story is rendered for the page by Simone Buonfantino. Macchio puts together a briskly-moving single-serving story that makes a strong case for an ongoing series of single adventures for Marvel’s super-spy. Macchio delivers a clear, concise mission for Natasha in the span of a normal-sized issue.

The organized crime outfit known as the Maggia is known for its ruthlessness. It’s also known for its love of advanced tech. How does a Maggia man get ahead in a gangland world of sci-fi technology? Easy: look to magic. The Maggia boss known as Silvermane has reached for a very powerful artifact known as the Wand of Watoomb. Retrieving the powerful artifact is going to be a delicate operation. Naturally, they’re going to send in one of their best. Naturally, they’re going to send-in the Black Widow. It isn’t going to be easy even for her. Silvermane is a man of science and magic. 

Macchio gracefully guides Natasha from infiltration via Black Widow costume to undercover spy-work in a long, green dress to climactic action as Black Widow again at issue’s end. Macchio tells the story from Natasha’s perspective. Her inner monologue drives the narrative. Focussed as she is on the mission, Macchio never allows her much emotional reflection on what she’s doing, which is fine as it’s a pretty straightforward mission that she’s on. There aren’t any major twists or turns in the plot. She makes it in, finds the Wand, and ends up in a big, climactic confrontation. Macchio delivers a clean, elegantly uncluttered single-issue story. 

Buonfantino is given the tine canvas of a single luxury estate on a single evening. She manages to make it feel big and expansive anyway. This is a big journey for Natasha. Buonfantino delivers on the size of that journey. It feels big even if it’s just a series of brief encounters on a single evening. The steely intensity in Black Widow’s gaze feels powerful enough to carry the story, but with very little that is of a genuine challenge to Natasha that’s encountered this issue, it’s not nearly as compelling as it could be. That being said, Natasha’s beautiful tackling the villains in action that is strikingly delivered to the page by Buonfantino.

The tendency in modern comic books is to work on story arcs that take several issues to resolve. There’s a definite appeal in taking Black Widow into the realm of something more concise. The super-spy mission in the Marvel Universe holds so many different possibilities that it really COULD serve as the basis for a really appealing series of one-shots if Marvel was to invest some time in developing something like that for Natasha. 

Grade: B