Warning: SPOILERS for Infinity Countdown
In Infinity Countdown: Black Widow #1, Natasha Romanoff gets help from an unlikely source: Merlin. After obtaining an Infinity Stone left in a toilet by Wolverine, Black Widow gets some assistance from the legendary wizard in a battle with Captain Britain’s evil brother.
Black Widow was supposedly killed by an evil Captain America in Secret Empire, and was one of the event’s biggest casualties. However, Natasha didn’t remain dead for long. In March, Marvel relaunched Tales of Suspense—a Captain America/Iron Man double feature series from the 1960s—with Hawkeye and Winter Soldier as the two main characters. The series focused on the two characters trying to find out if Natasha is really dead. Eventually, we find out that Black Widow is alive and well, and ready to rejoin the Marvel Universe.
Infinity Countdown: Black Widow #1 picks up with Natasha Romanoff in the possession of the Space Stone, which was left for her by Wolverine. While in London, Romanoff makes good use of the Stone’s teleporting abilities, but is only able to teleport within her line of sight. She engages in a fight with Captain Britain’s mutant brother, Jamie Braddock, who uses his reality-warping abilities to enslave children.
Widow defeats Braddock, but is poisoned in the fight by a magical snake. After making her escape, she meets Merlin, who she mistakes for a drunken hobo. Dressed in modern clothes, Merlin’s only identifiable characteristic is his blue pants, which are covered in stars and crescent moons.
Though Widow is skeptical of him at first, Merlin cures her of the poison, but never divulges his identity. The wizard also helps Widow access more of the Stone’s power so she can teleport to the Sanctum Sanctorum. Widow is so impressed with him that she offers to give him the Stone. Merlin declines, and tells Widow, “this is not my story”.
The most interesting exchange between Widow and Merlin involves Natasha nearly breaking the fourth wall. When Black Widow asks Merlin if her enemies were the Hellfire Club, Merlin remarks that the Hellfire Club is too busy “grumbling about the X-Men.” Black Widow responds with, “so is the rest of the internet”, which seems like a reference to fans who continue to clamor for the X-Men to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This isn’t the first time the wizard has popped up in a Marvel comic. Though there have been numerous characters in Marvel Comics who have called themselves “Merlin”, this particular version appears to be the real deal from the Arthurian legends. Merlin is typically seen in the company of characters associated with magic, such as Captain Britain, Black Knight, and Doctor Strange, which makes his team-up with Black Widow so much more interesting.
More: Black Widow Movie May Film In 2019
Infinity Countdown: Black Widow #1 is on sale now from Marvel.
