Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
    Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Reveal promotional image

    Battlefield 6 Classes, Maps, And More: Everything You Need To Know

    07/31/2025
    A glimpse at all the upcoming Star Wars stories coming to the galaxy

    Star Wars Stories: What We Learned At SDCC 2025

    07/25/2025
    Blindspot episode still

    It’s been 5 years since ‘Blindspot’ ended. Why haven’t you watched it yet?

    07/24/2025
    Strange Scaffold

    Strange Scaffold Summer Showcase Delivers Bizarre And Brilliant Games

    07/22/2025
  • Fantasia Festival
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
But Why Tho?
Home » Marvel Comics » REVIEW: ‘Black Widow & Hawkeye’ Issue #1

REVIEW: ‘Black Widow & Hawkeye’ Issue #1

William TuckerBy William Tucker03/13/20243 Mins Read
Black Widow & Hawkeye #1
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Black Widow & Hawkeye #1 is published by Marvel Comics, written by Stephanie Phillips, art by Paolo Villanelli, colors by Mattia Iacono and letters by Joe Sabino. Black Widow hunts for Hawkeye, who is on the run and wanted by multiple assassins and governments.

The initial structure of the comic isn’t easy to follow, with a complicated manipulation of time in the early stages. After the most critical event, Phillips works backwards to clarify what is happening. It takes several pages of moving backwards and forwards to establish this, but the book eventually levels out amid the turbulence. The assassin and the Avenger find themselves back into a world of darkness. The circumstances have dramatically changed, diversifying the situation entirely. It makes the start of the series dramatic and unexpected. That usual world of espionage takes Natasha and Clint to Madripoor, the fictional city that is a hive of criminals and dirty money. But their background as spies has undoubtedly changed after so many years in the Marvel Universe.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Black Widow & Widow #1 excellently displays how far the characters have come. A Symbiote partner now aids Black Widow. Hawkeye never goes beyond his bow and arrows, but he finds himself on the run and badly injured right from the start. Phillips delves into one of the most longstanding friendships in Marvel Comics. Clint and Natasha are best friends who always manage to find each other in their worst moments. Black Widow is scary with the Symbiote, with an unsettling introduction to her. As for Hawkeye, his sardonic attitude covers up the unimaginable pain he is in.

The art brings out the best of booth protagonists. Black Widow’s beauty and fierce personality come through within the same moments. She has numerous outfits in the first issue, depicting her abilities and Villanelli’s stylistic prowess. There is a sleek cleanliness to her presentation, even when in action. Meanwhile, Hawkeye is scruffy and stumbling his way through life, thrown around from his opening appearance in the comic. The sense of movement in the book is fantastic, and it is crucial when two acrobats are at the forefront of the action. Black Widow gaining the Symbiote is an excellent design full of possibilities and new abilities. Every single location looks fantastic, from the city of Madripoor to the tundras of Siberia.

The colors are sensational. Iacono’s style makes the work look like brushstrokes, especially the sky. It is a gorgeous effect that adds depth to the pages. In Madripoor, the orange glow from the city makes the streets look like they are on fire. The lettering is terrifically clear. Due to the color coding, it is very easy to tell which character the caption boxes belong to.

Black Widow & Hawkeye #1 pushes an old friendship to its limits. This partnership is built out of tension and difficulty. Natasha and Clint will always search for each other in their worst moments, even if they don’t recognise the person they find. The start of the plot is unorthodox and complicated, but when the comic straightens out, it excels. A brief backup story highlights how the duo may repeat the same dance but in different costumes and locations. And yet Phillips, Villanelli, and Iacono utilise new elements to take Black Widow and Hawkeye to new extremes.

Black Widow & Hawkeye #1 is available where comics are sold.

Black Widow & Hawkeye #1
4

TL;DR

Black Widow & Hawkeye #1 pushes an old friendship to its limits. This partnership is built out of tension and difficulty. Natasha and Clint will always search for each other in their worst moments, even if they don’t recognise the person they find. The start of the plot is unorthodox and complicated, but when the comic straightens out, it excels.

  • Read Now on ComiXology with Our Affiliate Link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Ultimate Black Panther’ Issue #2
Next Article Keen Games Announces Developmental Roadmap For ‘Enshrouded’
William Tucker

William is a screenwriter with a love of comics and movies. Once referred to Wuthering Heights as "the one with the Rabbits."

Related Posts

Cover art for Ultimates Issue 14

REVIEW: ‘Ultimates’ Issue 14

07/30/2025
Cover art for Uncanny X-Men Issue 18

REVIEW: ‘Uncanny X-Men’ Issue 18

07/23/2025
Cover of Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe Issue 1

REVIEW: ‘Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe’ Issue 1

07/16/2025
Cover of Imperial Issue 2

REVIEW: ‘Imperial’ Issue 2

07/16/2025
Fantastic Four Issue 1 (2025) cover

REVIEW: ‘Fantastic Four’ Issue 1

07/09/2025
Ultimate Spider-Man Incursion Issue 2 cover

REVIEW: ‘Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion’ Issue 2

07/09/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Wildgate promotional key art
9.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Wildgate’ Is Co-Op Space Mayhem Done Right

By Adrian Ruiz07/25/2025Updated:07/30/2025

Built for friends and tuned for competition, Wildgate is messy in the best way: smart, surprising, and bursting with room to grow.

Glass Heart
7.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Glass Heart’ Offers Messy, Musical Catharsis

By Allyson Johnson07/22/2025

The musical drama series ‘Glass Heart’ soars when it focuses on the epic performances of it’s fictional band, TENBLANK.

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

By Jason Flatt08/02/2025

An Honest Life is an overly severe misfire about a law student who falls in with anarchist burglars that can’t decide who it resents more.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here