The Black Widow and Anti Heroes

Those of you who aren't familiar with the Marvel Comics character the Black Widow from her appearances in the comic books might remember her from last summer's major blockbuster film the Avengers. Black Widow first appeared in 1964 as an Iron Man villain. Soon after she hung around the Avengers for awhile, dated Daredevil during his San Francisco phase, and officially joined the Avengers in issue #111, 1973.


BUT.... before all that, there was another character from Marvel named the Black Widow.

First appearing in Mystic Comics #4, 1940, the character was short lived. I knew of the character, but only that she existed. I had never read any of her stories or knew how she differed from the Black Widow I'm more familiar with. Until yesterday, when I read Mystic Comics #7 from December of 1941.


Holy Moley!!

This Black Widow is the spawn of Satan! And she doesn't fight for good and justice so much as that SATAN GETS IMPATIENT FOR THE SOULS OF EVIL MEN AND SENDS HER TO SNATCH THEM UP EARLY!


She's listed on the Grand Comic Database as an 'anti-hero'. Which is hilarious in it's understatement.


I've read much on the history of comics and their creators. But I still feel like I'm finding new things every time I read one of these things from the 1940's. Marvel's Sub-Mariner is largely regarded as one of the first comic book anti-heroes, if not THE first. And Marvel's publisher Martin Goodman is widely known as a guy that jumped on a hot thing and copied the heck out of it. So why would I be surprised in the slightest to find another Marvel anti-hero?


I think what catches me off guard is the depths of 'anti' that this hero achieves.

Satan sends the Black Widow, alias Claire Voyant (see what they did there?), to Earth in order to claim the souls of two evil-doers. The evil-doers in question were practicing the blackest of black deeds, selling munitions to the Axis powers in late 1941 just to increase their own fortunes. Makes you wish that a character like the Black Widow was around today to help major companies remember their morals.


There's something sophisticated in it's simplicity going on here. Satan and God and religious stories are not fiercely taboo in comics yet. And the creators thought nothing of employing them in their stories. Satan's bad, God's good, let's write a story. The kids will understand. And they were right! I'm sure there's not a 1941 kid who read this story that felt "Hey! Satan's a swell guy!"

But later America ended up censoring the comics for fear of juvenile delinquency, and the comics went decades with watered down kid stuff.

Which makes a story like this all that more interesting to me.

Thanks,
DCD