Marvel’s Black Widow prelude comic will explore the heroine’s past

Marvel Comics is preparing fans for Black Widow’s big-screen, solo outing with a new, prelude comic.

Marvel’s Black Widow has officially wrapped filming and will be arriving this coming spring. The prequel film is set to give audiences a better understanding of who Natasha Romanoff is. But before that, comic book readers will have an opportunity to dig even deeper into the mysterious Avenger’s past.

As part of their January solicitations, Marvel Comics has announced a two-issue Black Widow prelude comic that will center on the character’s checkered past. The limited series is being written by Peter David and penciled by Carlos Villa. Marvel also provided a brief description:

"“TRACE THE BLACK WIDOW’S HISTORY IN THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE!From spy to Avenger, the enigmatic BLACK WIDOW has lived many secret lives.  But how do these disparate episodes add up to the life of the heroic Avenger, and what is the thread that connects her past to her future?Get ready for MARVEL STUDIOS’ BLACK WIDOW solo film with this glimpse into the storied history of NATASHA ROMANOFF in this tale set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!”"

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Marvel Comics first began releasing Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in comics in 2010, with Iron Man 2: Public Identity. Following the release of The Avengers in 2012, the company streamlined the titles and branded them as “preludes,” even giving each of them an MCU-tie in seal.  Some of the titles feature original stories set within the MCU continuity like the Iron Man 3, Black Panther and Captain Marvel preludes, while others, like those of Captain America: Civil War and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, are retellings of previous films. The comics aren’t essential reading, but they do fill in the gaps for die-hard fans of the films.

This will actually be the second prelude series that Natasha Romanoff has headlined, as she previously starred in an Avengers prelude called Black Widow Strikes. In the series, Romanoff battles an assassin who wants the mantle of the Black Widow. Although the comic fleshes out Romanoff, it doesn’t touch any of her personal history, which fans finally seem to be getting a taste of in this latest comic.

It’s hard to predict when and where the comic’s story will take place or what it revolves around, but it’s likely to set the tone for the upcoming film. Black Widow hits theaters on May 1, 2020.