—Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)I suppose in some ways, I'll never stop grieving them-- Stevie and James, a life I cannot have-- and it's foolish of me to keep expecting that moment, that feeling of... relief... to come. But this is good too. This is beautiful. It will do.
Appearing in "Die By the Blade - Part 4 of 4"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
- Craig
- Spider-Girl (Anya Corazón)
- Marigold (Lucy Nguyen)
- The Twins
- Liv
- Lars
- Starfish (Will) (First appearance)
- Winter Soldier (James Barnes)
- White Widow (Yelena Belova)
Antagonists:
- Living Blade
- The Host (Apparent death)
- The Host's henchmen
Other Characters:
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Steve Grey (Mentioned)
- Misty Knight (Mentioned)
- Tony Stark (Mentioned)
- Apogee (Aldrich Lux Voss) (Main story and flashback)
- James Grey (Referenced)
Races and Species:
Realities:
Locations:
Items:
- Black Widow's Gauntlets
- Hawkeye's Suit, Hawkeye's Bow and Trick Arrows
- Vibranium (Mentioned)
- Winter Soldier's Bionic Arm
Synopsis for "Die By the Blade - Part 4 of 4"
As the Living Blade commends her resolve, Black Widow knows she will lose if she cannot escape. Fortunately, Hawkeye (Clint Barton) arrives and uses an explosive arrow to stun Living Blade long enough to rescue Natasha. Although delirious, Natasha asks about the others but Clint can't say before handing her off to Craig. Below, Marigold (Lucy) continues her efforts to revive Lars as Spider-Girl persists that her inhibitor collar be broken only for it to deactivate soon after. As Spider-Girl handles the goons on her own, Lucy succeeds in reviving Lars as Liv returns enough strength to allow him a healthy body again. With their work done, Spider-Girl and Lucy find The Twins unsurprisingly vanished on them and proceed to look for the others. As Clint carries Natasha away, she starts succumbing to blood loss and asks Clint to ensure her son's safety, as he tries to tell her that there are many solutions to her arm being severed. By luck, Craig returns with a freed captive who can heal Natasha through reattaching her arm back, but has her brace for it with an arrow in her teeth.
After the painful regeneration, Natasha deduces Will to be the Starfish and warns him that the Living Blade is after him. She orders Craig take him to The Web for protection, but he asks of her to see something before they do. On the Roof, The Host is found by Winter Soldier and sends her security to stall him, but he easily overwhelms the detail and shoots the engine to stop her escape. However, The Twins arrive and throw The Host from the roof ledge in retaliation for their abduction and tell Bucky about what happened to Natasha. Below, Craig leads Natasha to the scene he found of Apogee linked to tubes and machines pumping out his blood, which the medical notes indicate is the source of his super powered Olio. Natasha concludes that his manic power granting was a means to bolster a defense from those that would exploit his biology, so despite her reticence, she frees him but warns there will be no mercy next time. As they continue on, she has Clint destroy the room so the blood samples don't get out as Craig leaves to get himself and Will to the Web.
Upstairs, Yelena holds back a heavily damaged Living Blade until Natasha arrives to help, with the feared adversary seeing her reattached arm and rightly concluding her having Starfish. But as he demands "her" back, Natasha thinks he knows little of his target and plays to Living Blade's perception, while thinking there may be something wrong with him or someone close to him. In reciprocation of their last encounter, Natasha lets Living Blade leave with his life as now she has more friends to cover her in battle. After Bucky talks with Natasha about the fight, she reassures him that all is well and Bucky explains how The Twins apparently killed the Host before she detonated the self-destruct so the building won't be destroyed. As nobody else will be eating the fancy food, the team sits at a table and eat it instead to relax after the stress of the mission. But as they do, Natasha supposes to herself that she cannot stop thinking of Stevie and James, that it is foolish of her to expect that happy ending. Yet seeing her team celebrate together and finds the new family to be good to her, and that will be enough for her.
Solicit Synopsis
The bloody conclusion to "Die by the Blade"!
Guns. Explosives. Widow's bites. Good old-fashioned hand-to-hand. Natasha Romanoff is an expert in just about every form of combat known to humankind…and it's not enough. The Living Blade will not let his query escape this time. San Francisco's golden gates slam shut for the superspy as Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande delivers another stunning visual feast in their Eisner-winning epic!