*Marked for Issues 1 - 3*


It was no surprise to me when I saw that Devin Grayson was the author of this work. Devin Grayson is one of my least favorite comic book writers, ever. This woman literally changed her name so that she’d have the same surname as Dick Grayson, and her first name so they’d have the same first initial. So I think this gives you a general idea of the kind of person this woman is. She’s a little crazy. Not only is she crazy, but everything I’ve ever read from her has been a 2 stars or lower.


But what’s also unique about Devin Grayson is her weird fucking fixation with rape and sexual assault. She’s had her fave (Nightwing) raped and assaulted 2 or 3 times in comic book history, because it’s one of her weird kinks. And this comic wasn’t any different. This was one of the most fucked up things I’ve ever read, with Natasha allowing Daredevil to r@pe and assault Yelena Belova. And Natasha even tells Yelena at the end of this story that Natasha did this for Yelena’s “own good” and to “save her”.


The fact Devin Grayson was even allowed to write this, let alone publish it is fucking astounding to me. Especially since this came out in 2001. Yelena evens asks Natasha “why did you rape me?” So it’s obviously clear she was assaulted and raped. I’ve read a few Marvel Knights works, and none of them have been very good. It was an era where Marvel tried to make their works, and comic characters catered more for mature audiences (such as older teens and adults). But this was too far. This shouldn’t have been catered to any audience, period. Black Widow: Breakdown should have never been written.


Besides the rape and assault (which is 95% of the story anyways) nothing else was very good in here, and this was one of most rushed plots I’ve ever read in my entire life. I couldn’t tell you anything about the villain or his motives at all. So final thoughts: this was pretty bad. The only reason I didn’t give this a one star is because of the art.