black widow

Sure, she fits the femme fatale mold, but Black Widow is more than an archetype. She's a tremendous hero, even if her motives are almost always closely guarded. Combined with her unwavering confidence, Black Widow isn't just a great character, she's also great inspiration for cosplayers.

Avengers Academy is a hit mobile game where your favorite Marvel Comics characters are inexplicably reimagined as teenagers attending high school, and I am addicted to it. I’m not the only one, as the charming character designs and spot-on characterization of the students has millions of people playing. So why isn’t there an Avengers Academy comic?

So far the ThreeA Marvel crossover figures have largely been characters with a bit more of a fantastical bent. We've seen Iron Man, the man who lives inside a suit of armor. We've seen Doctor Doom, a calculating genius... who lives inside a suit of armor. We've seen Ultron, a literal walking suit of armor, and even the company's new Spider-Man figures feature the Peter Parker's alter-ego as a mechanical construct (though a little Peter is also included). Now the talented team at ThreeA is finally putting its trademark spin on the first true, non-powered, non-armored hero since starting the line. This August, ThreeA will give us Ashley Wood's take on Marvel's senior Soviet spy, the Black Widow.

Chris Samnee is one of the best artists working in comics today. His stock has risen steadily since 2010 as he went from Thor: The Mighty Avenger to The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom, to a long, esteemed run with Mark Waid on Daredevil, winning both a Harvey and an Eisner award along the way. Now on Black Widow, again with Waid, he continues to develop his craft and turn heads, so much so that "one of the best artists working in comics today" doesn't seem to describe just how good he actually is. One of the reasons he's so good is that he's picked up tricks from some of the greatest artists to come before him, and one in particular stands above the rest: Alex Toth.

Surprise, there are new Black Widow and Captain America figures hitting Disney Stores right now! Marvel's parent company just launched an all-new premium figure series called Marvel Ultimate, and the Soviet Spy is finally on the front lines instead of waiting around in the wings. Yeah, Captain America is there too, but it's not like he needs any help getting merchandise out to the masses. The Marvel Ultimate line is Disney's latest take on the action doll market. Each figure includes a fully-poseable body with 30+ points of articulation, as well as molded and fabric elements. You could view this as Disney's attempt to target that DC Super Hero Girls market, without having to rely on any third-party partners. Launching store-exclusive lines isn't a new tactic for Disney, but this is the first time we're seeing practices usually held for the Princesses adapted over to the Marvel brand. Not that we're complaining. The Marvel Ultimate figures actually look cool.

Since stepping away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Joss Whedon has been pretty upfront about how anxious and exhausted the entire experience left him. Even as recently as a few weeks ago, Whedon was still coming to terms with the failure he felt after Avengers: Age of Ultron opened to backlash from fans. With Marvel bringing in new talent and taking its films into different directions, it seemed the door had closed on Whedon and Marvel ever working again.

Yesterday we reported on the leaking of Marvel Comics' Marvel Previews free magazine, unveiling their entire post-Civil War II line-up including comics such as The Unstoppable Wasp, Solo, Foolkiller and Prowler. Today, the magazine has officially been released via comic stores and online, confirming even more titles and creative teams, including a Kate Bishop Hawkeye book and the much awaited Gamora solo title from Guardians of the Galaxy screenwriter Nicole Perlman.

How do you become a fan favorite as an actor? Easy. Just love the character as much as the fans do. For as much as we enjoy pitting the various comic book franchises against each other, the secret weapon of the films released by Marvel Studios has always been that we honestly and truly believe that the people involved are having as much fun making the movies as we are watching them. And near the top of that list has to be Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow.

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. This week we're counting down the top five face turns in comics, which doesn't mean times when someone turned their head to face another direction. It turns out it is some wrestling business where a bad guy turns good; that's what we're looking at. A surprising number of villains have become popular enough that fans want to see them as headliners, fighting crime in their own formerly villainous ways. This list takes a look at those whose changes have stuck the longest, have had the greatest influence, or who just generally feature in the best stories.