Black Widow – In The Hall Of The Mountain King – Shaun Richens.

PAGE 5.

7 PANELS.

1. HAWKEYE is on his knees in front of LOKI arrows lie all around his feet. HAWKEYES bow broken in two lies at his side. LOKI looks down on him a hand on his shoulder.

         LOKI 1: You showed courage boy.

         LOKI 2: Not that it is worth much.

2. We are looking down the barrel of a gun from the shooters point of view. LOKI is the target in the sights.

3. Close up on LOKI an angry frown on his face. The first time he has shown any anger all issue.

LOKI: You think to kill me with your mortal weapons women? You insult me just as your companion did. At least his weapon took some skill to wield.

4. BLACK WIDOW holding her pistol out in front of her faces down the god known as LOKI. Shots are fired.

         SFX: P-TUFF. P-TUFF. (Gun shot)

5. Bullets crushed and spent now lay at LOKI’s feet along with the arrows.

         LOKI: HAHA. HAHA.

6. A page wide panel. BLACK WIDOW has thrown her gun to the floor and now leaps and back flips her way towards LOKI she is swift and graceful any normal foe would never be able to stop her approach and avoid her attack. LOKI is not a normal foe however.

7. LOKI holds BLACK WIDOW by the throat her feet clearly off the ground. Her hands pull at his fingers trying to loosen his powerful grip. Her eyes closed, pain all across her face.

         LOKI 1: Your spirit is strong.

        

         LOKI 2: Your neck less so little one. 

Black Widow - Loyalty – MK Stangeland Jr.

(Issue takes place prior to BLACK WIDOW’s defection from USSR. At present, she is meeting with a higher ranking agent, AGENT SMIRNOFF at a high-class restaurant.)

(6 Panels)

Panel 1: AGENT SMIRNOFF and BLACK WIDOW (in professional eveningwear as agent ROMANOVA) are at their table. Their food is delivered to them.

AGENT SMIRNOFF: Regardless, our superiors are beginning to question your results as of late.

ROMANOVA: They are aware of the task assigned to me, correct?

AGENT SMIRNOFF: Yes, they are aware of the difficulties presented by Mr. Stark and his ‘associate’.

Panel 2: AGENT SMIRNOFF preps his napkin before he eats.

AGENT SMIRNOFF: Which is why you specifically were assigned to this task. You are among the most capable employees our organization employs. You would not have been assigned to this matter if they were not fully aware of the situation.

Panel 3: AGENT SMIRNOFF cuts into his food.

AGENT SMIRNOFF: But they also expect results. At present, they question whether your record is as clear as it appears.

Panel 4: ROMANOVA takes a bite of her food as she listens to AGENT SMIRNOFF.

AGENT SMIRNOFF: However, they would be more understanding if they weren’t suspicious of your involvement of this Mr. Barton.

Panel 5: ROMANOVA puts her napkin to her lips as she digs for more information

ROMANOVA: I’m afraid I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about.

Panel 6: AGENT SMIRNOFF doesn’t look at ROMANOVA as he responds, instead focusing on his food.

AGENT SMIRNOFF (1): Of course you do.

AGENT SMIRNOFF (2): Our superiors suspect you might be getting too close to him.

(END PAGE)

Black Widow - Ladies Night - Dan Hill

I struggled with this one too I'm afraid.

Panel 1

1.1

We OPEN in a dark corridor in a faceless military facility and a CLOSE UP on a GUARD slumped unconscious against the wall, partly hidden in the shadows.

NATASHA (CAP): “Secrets don’t stay in the shadows forever”

1.2

We ZOOM OUT to show the more of the corridor. The bodies of several unconscious GUARD’s are strewn all over it. In the ceiling is an open vent cover.

NATASHA (CAP): “Sleeping giants wake.”

1.3

CUT TO a TIGHT SHOT on NATASHA in the vent. She wears a black bodysuit and peers through a cover into the room below.

NATASHA (CAP): Empires rise--

1.4

CUT TO Natasha dropping into the room below. The dark room is bathed in an eerie dark red light coming from an unseen source off panel.

NATASHA (CAP): --fall--

1.5

TIGHT on Natasha. Snarky.

NATASHA (CAP): -- and rise again.

NATASHA: Ladies...

1.6

Wide panel. We are slightly above Natasha now-- a CRANE shot. She is encircled on all sides by teenage girls dressed in all in one black bodysuits similar to hers.

CAPTION: The Red Room, Moscow.

Black Widow - Standing Corrected - Grant McLaughlin

Page 4

Panel layout isn't the most important.  Just make sure that the last panel is of big enough size to do the image justice.

1 – Same panel that finished last week's page (check that here, should you misremember). Natasha wears that same expression of disbelief and disdain, but she is finally able to muster a response to Clint's ridiculousness. Also of note, the clock, which is outside Natasha's filed of vision, appears to be starting to transform into a small clockwork creature.

BLACK WIDOW: Do you ever stop to think about anything you do or say?

2 – Shot of Clint. He has drawn and nocked an arrow, aiming in Natasha's general direction.  The angle is mostly from behind him, giving a good view of Natasha and the newly forming clockwork creature. Unable to see what Clint's aiming at, Natasha is confused and a little surprised. The clockwork creature is jumping from the wall towards Natasha.

HAWKEYE: Rarely.

3 – A thin panel. It is entirely black and the only thing in it is the sfx, which is written down vertically.

SFX: ka-thunk!

4 – Shot of the half-transformed clockwork creature. It has been pierced by Clint's arrow, which went straight through its middle and now pins it to the wall. The sfx can really go anywhere, but make it clear it is coming from off-panel.

BLACK WIDOW (off-panel): What is that?

HAWKEYE (off-panel): It's what I've been trying to warn you about!

SFX: clong

5 – Natasha is closely examining the broken clockwork creature. Clint isn't really paying attention. He's distracted by the sound, looking around to try to pinpoint its source.

BLACK WIDOW: I'll be honest with you, Clint. This is definitely strange, but it doesn't look all that dangerous.

SFX: CLANG

CLINT (quietly): What's that noise?

6 – The Hulk bursts through the wall, fighting off a pair of much larger clockwork creatures. Each one is easily of equal size to Hulk. From Hulk's battered appearance, it is clear that the clockwork creatures have the upper hand. Fortunately for Natasha and Clint, the wall breakery is happening just next to them as opposed to directly into them. Nevertheless, the two instinctively put up their arms to protect themselves from the crashing debris.

SFX: KEE-RASH!

Black Widow - Day Job - Ryan K Lindsay

Page 22 - 2 Panels

1. Nearly a full splash page. The Eiffel Tower is taking up most of the background - and it is also exploding on two of the legs and so it's all leaning over to one side. Swooping through the air toward us on a string line is the Black Widow. We have no idea what the line is attached to - it doesn't matter.

Caption: In and out.

2. A small and wide panel down the bottom. The Widow walks away through the crowd, she now has a trenchcoat on and is dipping a relatively large hat.

Caption: Just another day.

Black Widow – Some Assembly Required, Page 4- Ben Rosenthal

PAGE FOUR

1. Black Widow has been sent flying back by an unseen force.

CAPTION: 3 minutes ago.

CAPTION (Black Widow)

Проклятый

2. The widow has been slammed against a wall.

CAPTION (Black Widow)

He just swatted me away. Like a fly.

3. The Widow has come to rest against the wall. We are looking at her front on. Her head is down, and we can see a slight trickle of blood down the side of her mouth.

CAPTION (Black Widow)

So to you I must be a fly. Then you are the spider?

4. The Iron Man armour, holding Cap’s shield is walking towards Thor and Mjolnir.

CAPTION (Black Widow)

Stop me if you have heard this joke.

In America, the spider eats the fly.

5. Same as Panel 3, however the widow is looking up at us, a smirk on her face. We can see a device in her hand, flat with an LED timer on it. It is a small explosive device.

CAPTION (Black Widow)

In Soviet Russia, the fly eats you.

The Black Widow – Spiderbait – Rol Hirst

Panel One.

A luxury Manhattan hotel room, seen from outside. Curtains blow in the breeze of the open window. Behind those curtains, two figures are silhouetted – the Black Widow and Peter Parker. The Widow stands before Peter’s silhouette. She is unzipping the front of her costume.

Peter: This is some weird spider-thing, right? I mean, you never showed any interest in me before…

Panel Two.

We’re inside the hotel room now. We’re looking over Peter’s shoulder. He’s wearing his Spider-Man costume but not his mask. The Widow is holding that. Her costume is now unzipped to mid torso, showing plentiful cleavage. She’s smiling seductively.

The hotel room is set up for romance. Champagne cooling, subdued lighting, candles. Maybe some rose petals scattered over the sheets of the four poster bed.

Peter's spider-sense is tingling.

Natalia: You were with someone else. Though I’ve always believed in going after that which I desire, I won’t choose to harm a happy relationship…

Natalia: Especially if there’s another redhead in the equation.

Panel Three.

The widow rests her arms on Peter’s shoulders, drawing him close. She’s still holding his mask, behind his head now. She’s staring in deep in the eye. Peter is embarrassed. His spider-sense is still tingling.

Peter: See, I don’t know if my spider-sense is tingling now because of your entomological reputation…

Peter: …I’m worried about the freaky age difference…

Peter: …or, um, y’know, I'm just afraid of getting beaten up by a jealous Winter Soldier… Daredevil… Hawkeye… Herc—

Panel Four.

The Widow kisses Peter passionately. His spider-sense goes wild. She drops his mask.

Panel Five.

The kiss continues. The tingles of Peter’s spider-sense diminish in intensity.

Panel Six.

The kiss ends, though Natasha’s face remains close to Peter. They’re both smiling now. Peter’s spider-sense is no longer tingling.

Peter: Woo. No more tingling. Not from up there, anyway…

Panel Seven.

We’re watching the scene through a CCTV camera now, from elsewhere: a dark, secret-agent monitor room. A shadowy figure is watching the monitor (possibly O/P).

CAP: Stage one complete. The Widow’s kiss has neutralised the subject’s inbuilt defences. Begin stage two…

Why The Black Widow?

Because Natalia (Natasha) Romanova (Romanoff) is a fascinating character with a complex history that dates back to the time of Czarist Russia. She's been an assassin, a ballerina, a spy, a revolutionary, a double agent, a defector, an Avenger, a Champion, a sidekick, a leader and a heartbreaker. There's plenty of story material there for us thoughtballooners to get our teeth into!

For the definitive tale of the Widow's history, I'd recommend Paul Cornell's excellent Deadly Origin mini-series of a few years back. I'm still not convinced Scarlett Johansson is the perfect casting for any aspect of the character beyond the catsuit... but, once again, Hollywood failed to ask my opinion.