This Deranged New York Killer Almost Killed Black Widow and Daredevil
Isn’t it quite difficult to imagine our favorite heroes tasting defeat in the Marvel universe? However, even the ones with the most incredible powers can sometimes stumble and fall. Black Widow and Daredevil, two expert street fighters and superheroes, almost met their match when a serial killer almost killed the duo during an almost nightmarish mission.
Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir (by Joe Chiodo and Jim Starlin), which came in the year 1993, started with Black Widow being chained up inside a cabin, stained with blood. The room is full of tools of torture, alongside decaying remains of some previous victims. Another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent can be seen bound next to her, as the body of yet another man grew cold on the floor ahead of them. There are two more people present in the cabin: a heavily built man, called Charlie, who is soaked in blood, and a woman clad in black leather.
Black Widow Is Held Captive By This Serial Killer
As soon as the woman, named Rose, took a deadly knife and headed toward Black Widow, the story starts to backtrack chronologically. On a cold winter day, Black Widow met Nick Fury, as her old friend – a woman called Anne Baxter, had been murdered, and Nick Fury is tasked with delivering a small statue to Black Widow, as per Anne’s last wish. Vowing to find Anne’s killer, Black Widow decided to take Daredevil’s aid in her search.
As some terrible luck saw Black Widow held captive by these serial killers, Daredevil went on to plead with Nick Fury to send some help for Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, but an upcoming blizzard and some heavy traffic in New York City prevented S.H.I.E.L.D. from sending any aid. Relying on pure luck and heightened senses, Daredevil went on to hijack a taxi and follow Natasha’s captors into the Catskill Mountains. Coming back to the events at the start of the story, Black Widow is seen watching Rose laugh in pure ecstasy as she murders the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Black Widow comes to a realization that Rose has turned psychic, deriving some pleasure from others’ anguish. While Rose’s powers seemed unrefined, Black Widow was finally able to enter Rose’s mind.
Daredevil Comes To Natasha’s Aid – Just In Time
After getting into her mind, Black Widow saw that her mind is full of immense pain and sorrow. She sees that Rose was abused by her father as a young girl and all her pleas for help were ignored by her own mother. When her mother was killed by her father, Rose went on to discover her telepathic powers and was thereby able to control her father’s mind into jumping off a building. From this very moment, Rose decided to take the path of murder, vowing to spread enough pain that she suffered as a young girl.
The story’s climax was quite bloody and swift, as Daredevil was then defeated by Charlie right outside the cabin. Daredevil was struck by an axe to the shoulder, which left him stunned as Charlie pulled him inside. Meanwhile, Black Widow managed to escape her bonds and ultimately kill Charlie. However, Black Widow was almost forced by Rose to stab herself, but a deadly shove by Daredevil sent Rose right onto the floor, as she got impaled by her knife. Later, when the two heroes aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Daredevil is seen checking in on Black Widow, as she still looks pretty stunned by her tears, not for the pain endured by her during the fight, but by the sorrow suffered by Rose. The lifetime of agony experienced by Rose cut through the defenses of Black Widow which left her feeling unclean and raw. This is quite significant as Natasha Romanoff has always shown herself as a hardened assassin, as seen in 2012’s film The Avengers during her interrogation of the God of Mischief, Loki.
It’s horrible that an event like this would go on to show the humanity hidden beneath Black Widow’s exterior, but her senses and understanding of compassion make her an outstanding hero. We all are aware of the hellish upbringing suffered by Black Widow herself, reliving Rose’s trauma was a triggering experience for Natasha. This is also a subtle reminder that even the toughest ones aren’t absolutely invulnerable.
