Car Cushion: In #2 of the 2014 series, the Widow dives off a skyscraper in Shanghai to avoid an assassin. After attempting to slow her fall, it eventually ends with her landing atop a car.

Depending on the Writer: Natasha’s past has been rewritten an inordinate amount of time with different dates being given to her birth and different accounts for how exactly she ended up working for the KGB, the usual Hand Wave from Marvel is that the varying accounts of Natasha’s past are intentionally vague and contradictory to reinforce her status as a spy. The Atoner: One of the motivations for her becoming an Avenger is to atone for her past as a Soviet agent. Played up more in the MCU movies than in the comics.Breakout Character: Natasha has gone through this twice. First she was just a minor villainess of Iron Man before eventually becoming a recurring character and love interest of Hawkeye before pulling a Heel–Face Turn and becoming an Avenger. Then thanks to her prominence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe played by Scarlett Johansson, Natasha has been catapulted into the Marvel A-List and has her own movie, she’s even gotten her own anime film where she’s similar to Fujiko Mine. Panaligan, EJ (September 10, 2022). "Marvel's 'Thunderbolts' Recruits Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and More". Variety. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022 . Retrieved September 10, 2022. More specifically to this book, I found his expositions on politics to be especially heavy handed and clumsy. Again, we get it... You don't like President Obama. I wouldn't be bothered by that if it hadn't been such a distraction from the narrative in this novel. There was way less Gabriel Allon and way more potshots at the current administration. I think Silva is at his best when he's telling stories, not beating us over the head with his political views. In the past, he has been very successful at showing us how complex the political situation in the Middle East is when he is telling people's stories. Tartaglione, Nancy (September 10, 2021). " 'Shang-Chi' China Release Unlikely In Wake Of Unearthed Comments By Star Simu Liu; 'The Eternals' Hopes In Question". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021 . Retrieved September 10, 2021. An issue of X-Men: First Class detailing Natasha's first foray into catsuits had several concussed members of A.I.M. taking the time to discuss her, rather than their severe Natasha-inflicted injuries.

Davis, Erik (April 11, 2016). "Here's When We'll Know Who's Starring in And Directing Marvel's 'Captain Marvel' Movie". Fandango. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016 . Retrieved April 11, 2016. Think of ISIS as the Death Star and their recruiting tactics as the thermal exhaust port. Gabriel, then, would be Luke Skywalker, planning to expose their lone weakness. Mizrahi is the torpedo aimed to bring the whole thing down, if only it were that simple…) Boucher, Geoff (November 30, 2018). "Spider-Women, Captain Marvel & Harley Quinn: Females Fly In The Face Of Old Hollywood Perceptions". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018 . Retrieved November 30, 2018. a b c O'Hara, Helen. "Against the Odds". Empire. No.May 2020. United Kingdom: Bauer Media Group. pp.58–65.

Daniel Silva has entertained and even educated us, throughout the last 15 novels featuring the brilliant and enigmatic hero, Gabriel Allon - Israeli intelligence agent, super spy extraordinaire, art restorer, family man. We have been taken on journeys to different places throughout the globe, met a cast of varied, interesting and compelling characters. Creative and inventive plots filled with present day situations and past history that affects our lives today. Cain, Sian; Davidson, Helen (January 18, 2023). "China ends de facto ban on Marvel films after more than three years". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023 . Retrieved June 26, 2023. What Shortland found difficult at Pinewood was the male-to-female ratio. “It was incredibly gendered in Britain, more so than I had experienced in America or Australia. Scarlett and I both felt it. On set, sometimes there would be two of us and 200 or 300 men.” Several Israeli citizens, as well as Gabriel's friend Hannah Weinberg, are among those killed in France. So Gabriel postpones his promotion (once again) to chase down 'Saladin', the ISIS mastermind who planned the bombings.

Pretty in Mink: To play up her Russian Femme Fatale look, she has worn some flattering furs, from a brown mink stole in her very first appearance in Iron Man, and a white mink coat and hat ◊, over a slinky purple dress, in a mid-90s issue. Ridgely, Charlie (September 22, 2021). "Everything Coming to Disney+ in October 2021". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021 . Retrieved September 22, 2021. Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Mandrill had Natasha and other women completely under his control using his powers. Making them love him. Natasha was forced to give out Daredevil’s secret identity. But it wasn't the only thing she gave Mandrill. Awards". Georgia Film Critics Association. January 7, 2022. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022 . Retrieved January 12, 2022.Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 6, 2016). "Kevin Feige On 'Captain America: Civil War' And All Things Marvel – Deadline Q&A". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016 . Retrieved May 6, 2016.

Maresca, Rachel (September 29, 2013). "Scarlett Johansson flaunts curves in new magazine photo shoot, reveals details on 'The Avengers' sequel". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013 . Retrieved September 29, 2013. Despite the fact that the novel is a bit of a dark read, it does end with a sense of hope. The good guys will fight on. That is the stuff of movies, and hopefully of reality. Its ending however leads me to believe that Mr. Silva intends to continue another frame of the story in the next novel of the series. The story does not quite feel complete. Intermittently throughout the story we witness the author trying to navigate her new reality while processing the grief over her husband's death. As someone who has experienced deep loss, I could relate to Leslie's subsequent anxiety, frustration, depression, and over-indulgence (food, etc.) while she tries to keep afloat in this new life she never planned to live.

Black Widow provides examples of:

Convenient Miscarriage: One of the effects of the Red Room's Super Serum is to instantly cause a miscarriage in case she gets pregnant, since a pregnant spy would be an inconvenience. Ironically Natasha still manages to have a living child anyway through her genes being used to artificially engineer a baby boy. It was interesting to read that the author had written this book before the bombings in France took place this year. I am so impressed by the research that is done with each book that he has written. The vivid imagery is truly astounding. Powerful. “ISIS doesn’t crucify only because it is cruel. It crucifies because, according to the Koran, crucifixion is one of the proscribed punishments for the enemies of Islam. It crucifies because it must. We civilized Westerners find this almost impossible to comprehend.” It seems that this may be the last book in the Allon Series, which makes me feel pretty sad. I have loved this series for years and Gabriel Allon has become one of my favorite fictional secret agents. Hopefully he will make a "guest" appearance in future books. Although her marriage with Shostakov is arranged by the KGB, it is a happy one, and Natasha is devastated by his apparent death. Their story is one of great tragedy; every time she discovers that Shostakov is alive, he is either almost immediately seemingly killed, a life-model decoy, or a villain. Still, she remembers their initial time together as a happy one. Roof Hopping: She's able to keep up with the likes of Daredevil and Spider-man by using a combination of her acrobatic skills and Grappling-Hook Pistol to Building Swing. In 1992, a more seasoned Walter gets wind of a woman named Amy Archer, who he just knows is the very same Amy who had escaped six years previously. He has come to believe that she may have been the one torturing the dead man and could be an extremely dangerous killer.