- Title: Winter Soldier #8
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Ed Brubaker
- Artist: Butch Guice
While Bucky and Jasper search frantically for Leo Novokov, the third Soviet sleeper agent trained by Bucky and now loose in the world, the pair keep coming up empty. And now that Novokov has the Black Widow he can put his plan into action.
And his master plan is to turn Natalia back into… a ballerina? Sorry? I know, I know, Novokov uses Professor Rodchenko and his brainwashing techniques to return the Black Widow to the Soviet assassin she once was, I just think it’s funny (and a little stupid) that the one instance we see of Natalia’s old self is dancing around on stage.
Meanwhile Bucky and Jasper are able to find and trace the helicopter Novokov used to make off with Natalia, but they don’t know that they are far too late because Natalia has now fallen to the dark side and is… dancing. Great idea for a story, but Brubaker’s choice of the final reveal makes the comic read far more humorous than ominous. Still, worth a look.
[Marvel, $3.99]