Review: Black Widow Vol. 3- Last Days

Quick Summary

Pros: The bulk of the narrative is an exciting thrill ride. Aspects of the conclusion work well in concluding Black Widow’s personal story. The final two chapters are fantastic reflections on Black Widow’s past. The artwork looks as beautiful as ever and makes the whole comic more enjoyable.

Cons: Some aspects of the conclusion are disappointing.

Overall: This is another positive entry in this Black Widow series. It ramps up the tension and drama, as the comic’s narrative moves into its conclusion. Though it stumbles a bit when reaching this conclusion, it manages to end the series in a way that works for Black Widow’s story. Plus, as always, the gorgeous artwork makes the entire journey even better. Black Widow fans, especially those who enjoyed the last two volumes, are in for another solid read with this collection.

Story

Black Widow Vol. 3: Last Days, by Nathan Edmondson, is the exciting conclusion to this Black Widow series that most fans have been waiting for. It starts by picking up right where the previous collection left off by continuing Black Widow’s intense crusade against an evil organization. Then, it moves into the conclusion for this comic’s most significant narrative. This conclusion is a bit mixed but it does work well with Black Widow’s personal journey, which has been the central focus of this series. Finally, the volume ends with two flashback chapters that elaborate on Black Widow’s past in a way that perfectly fits into this volume. Overall, though the narrative stumbles a bit at one point, this is still a worthwhile volume and a solid way to end this series.

(spoilers start here)

The opening chapters of Last Days have Black Widow on the hunt for Chaos, the mysterious organization that has been targeting her. These chapters are intense displays of Black Widow when she is at her most motivated. Her brutality and conviction are on full display and make her seem less like a hero than she is normally portrayed as, which fits well into this narrative.

Then, upon finally meeting the Prophet, a representative from Chaos, the series’ conclusion begins. Black Widow is offered the chance to live a happy life free of her complicated relationship with justice and morality. All she has to do is work toward the future that Chaos has planned. However, this offer is juxtaposed against Natasha’s experiences in the Red Room, which turned her against anyone willing to rob others of free will or control. In this way, Black Widow’s rejection and triumph over the Prophet works as a conclusion to the personal journey she has made over the course of this series.

The problem here is that aspects of this conclusion are a little disappointing. Readers barely learn anything about Chaos or their ultimate objective, which adds to their mysterious nature but weakens the justification behind Black Widow’s decision to kill the Prophet. The speed with which she is able to take him down also seems odd, especially considering that she had a harder time killing some common criminals than she had killing this superpowered being. Though I still enjoyed most aspects of this conclusion, I was left with a slightly bitter taste in my mouth over the way certain aspects were handled.

Last Days then closes with two final chapters separate from the rest of the book’s main narrative. These chapters mostly focus on a flashback to Black Widow’s past, when she was a fresh agent working for Soviet Russia. They highlight her unwavering cruelty and commitment to her job. The entire time, I was expecting her to reconsider killing her targets or even to secretly help them escape. However, the twist here is that there is no twist, she kills her targets, kills her friend’s boyfriend, and then kills her only friend. This entire series has focused on how Black Widow’s dark past has influenced her present, so seeing it for the first time, without any rose-colored glasses, is a perfect punctuation on the journey she has gone through.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The final volume in this Black Widow series looks every bit as good as the first two. Phil Noto’s work on Last Days provides another gorgeous look at Black Widow’s adventures. The well-structured panels and wonderfully timed splash pages convey the action and tension of the narrative in a positive way. Meanwhile, beautifully drawn characters and locations fill the book with visual delights. In this volume, this is particularly noteworthy as intense cityscapes and breathtaking landscapes help make the book’s locations feel diverse. In the end, this is a good-looking book with visuals that provide a serious boost to the collection’s overall appeal.

Continuity

Black Widow Vol. 3: Last Days continues the story from Black Widow Vol. 2: The Tightly Tangled Web (Review).

This Black Widow series ends with this volume. The next one is detailed across Black Widow by Waid & Samnee: The Complete Collection.

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Black Widow #19 references Punisher Vol 10 #17, collected in The Punisher Vol. 3: Last Days.
• This collection’s last two chapters reference the events of Time Runs Out (Review) (Reading Order), which lead up to the events of Secret Wars (Review).