A quick summary of MCU comics: Part 3/9 [Black Widow Strikes]

This is part 3. Read the other parts!

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Here is part 3, on the prelude Black Widow Strikes.

Part 1: We start with Black Widow undercover in a strip club. But if you're a ScarJo fan, the artistry doesn't much look like her, so don't buy it for that alone. After running around in a leather bra for several pages, and some interplay with Coulson, she leaps off a roof and has a fancy Widow-logo themed flight-glider-harness-thingy. Not sure what to call it, but its cool.

The next page has her in a new set of lingerie, but she's getting dressed. Can't finish though, cuz she gets attacked. So 6 more pages of her fighting in underwear before finally wearing clothes for the last three pages. Turns out there is something of an actual plot -- a Russian assassin and former fan of Romanov (uses the alias Sofia) is disappointed by her lack of menacing methods since joining SHIELD, and is challenging her for who gets to claim the title of Black Widow since this new person thinks Natasha is undeserving.

Part 2: We start with Natasha on some crazy "rail bike." We see some flashbacks on all the horrible things shes done in the past that made her the object of Sofia's obsession. We make it all the way to page 4 before they take her clothes off again, now in a bikini. She gets nearly killed by Sofia, before Coulson (who else?) saves her. For the latter half of this book, she's actually wearing clothes. Albeit a low cut super-cleavage dress, but clothes. Along the way, Sofia kills a few SHIELD agents, and Natasha vows to kill her.

Part 3: Starts the book out in full costume! Yay! Practicality! Chasing chasing chasing. Ten Rings reference? Whoaaaaa first real tie to the movies. Flips and twirls and shooting things. Finally face to face with Sofia, both are out of bullets. Classic. More fighting, and Sofia apparently dies in an explosion. But are we sure. Then Widow says something in self-pity when talking to Fury.

Conclusion: Not very many ties to the movies, but some backstory on Widow if you care for that. I personally think that they might bring this stuff into future movies more than what they have now. There's a Ten Rings reference, and the whole idea of a second Black Widow is something that I think could be a great plot point in a future movie. If they focus more on Widow in future films, then this series might be worth buying as a connection to the MCU. Otherwise, its pretty tangential. And bikinis and strip clubs and bras don't really make great comics in my opinion, but thats what 2/3 of this series is. But it's nice that they give Widow some attention in this reality, I just wish Hawkeye could get a book.