Tales Of Suspense Will Reveal What Really Happened To Black Widow In Secret Empire

So, like... is she actually dead?

Sep 15, 2017 September 15th, 2017

Secret Empire - Nick Spencer's controversial Hydra-themed event - may be over, but it seems as though Marvel aren't done with the storyline quite yet.

One of the series' biggest and most divisive moments came when Black Widow - the then leader of the Anti-Cap resistance - was murdered by Steve Rogers. Deviating from your typical comic book death, the event's tenth issue seemingly planted the final nail in Natasha Romanov's coffin, as she failed to return when Kobrik restored the world to its pre-Hydra days.

Now, however, it looks as though a return could be on the cards. Beginning with Tales of Suspense #100, Matthew Rosenberg and Travel Foreman will follow Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier as they attempt to uncover Natasha's real fate, "each in their own way and their own trajectory," according to Tom Brevoort.

The news came with yesterday's episode of 'Inside Marvel', when Brevoort and fellow editor Alanna Smith took to the stage. This is anything but a buddy cop story however, as Clint and Bucky differ in who they think's behind this latest bout of Widow-style murders. Barton thinks it's her, but Bucky doesn't, and Marvel seem confident that it's a premise worth investing in.

While the return of Tales of Suspense is certainly something to be excited about (particularly so, given this updated format), teasing the potential return of Black Widow so soon after her (admittedly tactless) death almost seems to exemplify many of the glaring issues that ruined Nick Spencer's event. Inconsequential shock-value could yet mount a return for Legacy.

Either way, Bucky-Clint is a pairing we rarely see enough of in the Marvel Universe and, irrespective of Natasha's fate, it's one to follow. Legacy is the underdog event of the year, and if Marvel can pull it off, then the publisher might've found their answer to DC Rebirth.

Tales of Suspense #100 hits shelves December 20th, but how do you feel about Black Widow's death anyway? Should she return so soon? Or is this Marvel's way of apologising for her untimely demise? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

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Ewan Paterson

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.

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