There was no funeral, no final goodbye, just one last sacrifice to save the world. With one final selfless act, Natasha Romanoff is gone. Yeah, I shed a tear as well. Scarlett Johansson was the embodiment of the Black Widow, but now with her gone who will take up the name?

The new Black Widow movie will be showing us the events of Natasha clearing out the "red" in her ledger, after the events of Civil War and before Infinity War. Here we finally learn what happened in Budapest! From what we know so far, Natasha will face off against Yelena Belova which will end in a truce, Red Guardian will be there as well, and the main villain will be Taskmaster. Iron Man will be making a cameo appearance as well. It's like Marvel just wants to rip open every scab left behind from Endgame! Still sooooo worth it!

 

Black Widow #1

In my opinion, not that it really matters, if you are going to collect anything, besides Nat's first appearance, this is the book to get. Here we see both Nat and Yelena face off against each other to own the code-name Black Widow. Plus, it is the first time the Red Room is mentioned, which is where all the girls for the Black Widow program were trained. Yelena's real identity is also revealed in this issue. Since we won't be seeing Natasha anymore, Yelena will be a key figure for future movies and possibly even appear in Falcon and The Winter Soldier since they were all former lovers. When it comes to this book, prices have jumped in the last two years. Back in 2017, you could get a graded 9.8 for about $30-$50, now you are looking at $180ish and it still has the potential to go higher.

 

The Inhumans #5

If you want to get ahead of the game and score Yelena's first appearance, this is the issue you want. She is seen in the shadows with some dialogue right before she is fully revealed and seen in Black Widow #1. According to sources, when this issue first came out, only 50k copies were purchased by retailers and we only have 58 copies graded on the census. Even with such a few copies, this issue has been moving with a listed 7 sales since August just in the 9.8's!

 

 

Black Widow: Pale Little Spider #1

Although not a huge key, this is Yelena's first solo series. Yelena must go undercover in order to solve the murder of her former mentor. Like I said, not a key issue, but for those who love having everything about a particular character, pick this up. Natasha is mentioned but not seen or shown. You can score a nice 9.8 for still about $30-$40.

 

 

Thunderbolts #128

This issue is pure speculation. This is when Yelena joins Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts. Most of the members of the Thunderbolts have been introduced or soon will be in the next phase of the MCU. With that being said, there might be a chance to see her join the infamous group. Baron Zemo will be making an appearance in the upcoming Black Widow movie and there are lots of rumors of Thunderbolt Ross also being in it, but in what form, who knows? Kevin Fiege is king in throwing the unexpected at us, so who knows what the future holds. Luckily this issue is still going for only about $15 at a 9.8. It is so low right now that it's worth getting a copy even if it never makes it into MCU lore.

 

These are some great issues to get you ahead of the game when it comes to the new Black Widow. She has some big shoes to fill but I think in time it will be great for all of us.

Till next time, Happy Hunting!

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