Natasha’s old friends aren’t sure whether or not she’s not who she thinks she is. There are too many questions, though. She’s been gone for only a few months and now she’s got a one-year-old kid. There are those who have plans for her. Natasha’s about to find out that she’s living in a much bigger world in Black Widow #3. Writer Kelly Thompson continues a tale of a misplaced amnesiac Marvel super-spy with the inspired aid of artist Elena Casagrande. Color comes to the page. courtesy of Jordie Bellaire. Having developed in kind of a derivative direction with the second issue of the series, Thompson and company infuse some originality into the story in a satisfying third chapter. 

Natasha thinks she’s Natalie...and Natalie is about to get married. Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier aren’t sure what to do about it. She’s clearly in the wrong place and she doesn’t seem to know that she’s not an architect. She confides in her babysitter that something isn’t right, but she doesn’t know what it is. Something is clearly off, though. There isn’t time for her to figure out what it is, though. The consortium of people who have put her where she is is ready to strike. She might not remember who she is in time. 

Last issue it seemed as though Thompson had essentially lifted the premise from the movie The Long Kiss Goodnight and transplanted it into the Marvel Universe with Black Widow in the Geena Davis role. Here the story develops a greater complexity as Natasha is given the opportunity for a life she never thought she could have and still feels something deeper within her trying to work its way out. The action that feeds its way through the issue is perfectly in synch with Natasha and the revelations she’s having. It’s a very evenly-weighted script that lifts itself a bit into more clever territory as the trap is sprung around her. 

Casagrande covers romance, slice-of-life family moments, workplace drama, and spy action in a very fluid style that seems to keep everything quite distinct without jarring cuts between the different moods and modes of the story. The deep conflict that Natasha feels is written across her face in subtle shades captured in emotionally vivid color by Bellaire. A big two-page spread of Black Widow springing into action is beautiful but the multi-figure action meant to show her quick action feels a bit strange and disjointed. Everything else about the visuals of the issue is beautiful, though. Bellaire does a beautiful job with highlights of red splashing across the hush tones of an issue largely taking place at night and in a darkened room. 

There’s an attempt at overall continuity being made her. It’s admirable. Black Widow has been through so many things over the years and now she’s finally got what a part of her has always wanted. There’s a two-page spread featuring art from many different artists that flit through her memory while she’s unconscious. It’s kind of breathtaking to see the work from so many different artists from so many different eras all coming together to fuse into a vertiginous perspective of the woman and what she’s going through right now. The Marvel Universe has come to be so hopelessly convoluted over the decades. A true moment of perspective on continuity like the one near the end of this issue is rare.

Grade: B+