2020 was supposed to be a banner year for Black Widow, with the espionage-oriented superhero receiving her own solo movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel putting out a whole set of comic books to commemorate Natasha Romanoff finally stepping into the spotlight. Among these is the one-shot special issue Black Widow: Widow's Sting #1, providing a standalone story that ultimately is a lightweight look at the Marvel Universe super-spy in action as she takes on a familiar foe after he receives a magical upgrade; competently delivered by Ralph Macchio and Simone Buonfantino, if not particularly necessary in the grand scheme.

While on assignment for S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow infiltrates an exclusive social thrown by the Maggia, the Marvel Universe's criminal syndicate of its biggest crime families. What starts as a simple mission quickly goes off the rails when Maggia senior member Silvermane, the longtime Spider-Man supervillain, reveals he has come into possession of Doctor Strange's Wand of Watoomb as the lifelong mobster sets out to become the biggest mob boss in the world with his new weapon in hand with only Black Widow on hand to stop him and save the day.

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Macchio has been writing and editing for Marvel for decades, with a creative hand in some of the publisher's most influential, acclaimed titles, including several prominent Black Widow stories. With that in mind, Macchio certainly has a strong grasp on the character's voice and that has not visibly diminished over time. This is, ultimately, a very straight-laced Black Widow story -- no shocking revelations or Natasha forced to confront the more unsavory moments from her past, just her latest assignment. That makes the proceedings feel largely low-stakes and without any major frills as a pretty clear-cut, self-contained mission for the super-spy. There also a couple of moments that can come off as a bit dated -- the most glaring being the comic taking the time to explain what S.H.I.E.L.D. is -- but this is a largely straightforward Black Widow story that could fit in virtually any era of the character's history.

Simone Buonfantino is joined by color artist Rachelle Rosenberg to bring this mission to visual life. The wider shots and action sequences are effectively rendered but there are some noticeable inconsistencies in the close-up and talking head panels. Buonfantino's facial work, especially for Natasha Romanoff herself, is distractingly varied. Fortunately, when Black Widow is in action -- and there is plenty of action to be had -- these discrepancies are less apparent and all the action has a genuine sense of dynamism to them as Natasha stands alone against Silvermane and his latest bid for power.

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Black Widow: Widow's Sting is a look at Natasha Romanoff on a routine mission that quickly escalates to a greater threat than she had originally anticipated. That said, this is a standalone, self-contained story that never feels especially vital; it doesn't take huge swings narratively or add anything particularly new to the character or Marvel Universe but, in its defense, that was never really the goal. For fans looking for a one-off tale that shows Black Widow out on the field doing what she does best, Widow's Sting may deliver on that but readers looking for something more substantial and with more narrative weight behind it are better off checking out the recently relaunched solo series or any number of Black Widow comic stories past for a more rounded showcase of the superhero.

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