Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir #1
Abattoir
Now
Natasha Romanov, aka the Black Widow, and SHIELD Agent Bancroft are being held prisoner by two sadistic killers named Rose and Charlie. They have been chained to a wall and forced to watch as the pair murdered a man in cold blood. Rose decides to give Charlie some time to rest and then begins taunting the prisoners. She intends to kill Bancroft next and slashes at him with her knife. Natasha tries to kick at her but Rose moves out of the way and slashes the Widow across the belly. As Natasha winces from the pain, she thinks back to how this all started….
Earlier
It began with the murder of a woman named Anne Baxter. Anne worked at the US Embassy in Russia during the years that Natasha was a Russian spy. Despite their political differences the pair became fast friends.[1] One day, Nick Fury contacted Natasha to tell her that Anne had been killed. Fury found a statue of a bird (called Freedom) that was found at the scene of the crime and wants to know if it has any significance to the crime. After Fury gets the information he turns to leave, telling Natasha that anything else pertaining to this crime is classified. He reminds her that she doesn’t work for SHIELD anymore.[2] When Natasha decides to join back up to help catch Baxter’s killer, Fury tells her that he’ll have the casefile sent to her apartment.
Reading the file, Natasha learns that Anne was investigating the a series of murders where the victims were all SHIELD Esper agents. She suspects that Anne likely got too close to the killer and got herself killed. The way her body was stuffed in a storm drain suggested to Fury that this wasn’t the work of a foreign operative, but a serial killer. She takes this information to her friend and former lover, Matt Murdock aka Daredevil for his help on the case.[3] What they can’t figure out is how the killer has been able to target SHIELD Espers since their identities are all classified. More over, there have been over 50 recorded deaths linked to others with latent telepathic abilities. To find out, Matt Murdock goes out and interviews the families of the victims to see if they can find the connection. Unfortunately, they fail to uncover any clues but Murdock has developed a hunch: That perhaps the killer they are looking for is a telepath as well.
In order to determine if this is the case, the Black Widow and Daredevil go back to Nick Fury and ask him to arrange for one of his Esper agents to act as bait. Fury doesn’t like the idea and it takes some doing, but he manages to find someone agents to assist them. Fury has tapped retired agent Fred Wilson to be their bait and is assigning Agent Dexter Bancroft to be Wilson’s tail. What they won’t know is that the Black Widow and Daredevil will be shadowing both men at the same time.
That evening, the plan is set in motion and eventually, a big brute of a man gets up behind Bancroft and clubs him. The Black Widow sees this and follows the man as he drags Dexter into an alley. When she leaps out to stop him the apparent killer from loading Bancroft into a van, the back door suddenly swings open with enough force to knock Natasha out. Daredevil sees this and begins following the killers van while he reports back to Nick Fury. Fury tells Daredevil to stand down, as his agent will handle things from here on out. However, they are too far away and Daredevil insists on following after them. The masked vigilante commandeers a taxi cab and begins tailing the van as it crosses the George Washington Bridge. Although he is blind, Daredevil’s radar sense allows him to navigate his way through traffic. He is also able to follow Natasha by following the signal on a tracking device planted on her bracelets. However, as they get out of the city and enter the Catskill Mountains, a winter storm cuts off the signal, leaving Daredevil with only his enhanced senses to continue following their trail.
Now
As Natasha finishes her recollection, Rose has removed Dexter Bancroft’s shackles. Keeping him in a telepathic trance she delights in slashing him with a knife. As she revels in this torture, Rose inadvertedly creates a mental link with Natasha, allowing the Widow to look into Rose’s past. She learns that Rose came from an abusive household, her father was both physically and sexually abusive toward her at a very young age. Her mother, who had little care for the child, also verbally abused the 12 year old. The child’s emotions during that period of time are so harrowing that it makes Natasha cry.
By this point, Rose then forces Agent Bancroft to stab himself in the gut with a knife. This killing sends Natasha into another memory from Rose’s past. She witnesses a moment when her father shoved his wife down the stairs. The fall killed her and Rose’s father managed to get away with it by convincing the cops that she was drunk and tripped down the stairs. Romanov is shocked when young Rosie suddenly becomes aware of her presence and tells the Widow that her father needs to pay. That’s when adult Rose appears in Natasha’s mind and finishes her tragic tale. She explains that she discovered she had mental powers when she was 10, but it took until her mother was murdered before she could fully control these powers. Soon she hatched a revenge scheme against her father. Influencing him to drink to the point where he could no longer resist her power. Rose then used her mental powers to compel him to go up to the roof of their apartment building and walk off the edge, falling to his death.
While Natasha is learning all of this, Daredevil continues to try and find her. However, the winter storm gets so bad that he cannot drive on the roads anymore. Climbing out of the taxi, the Man Without Fear then begins tracking Natasha on foot knowing that if he gets lost he will not survive in the freezing cold.
Back at the cabin, Rose finishes her tale by explaining how she could sense other telepaths as well. Seeing them as stains to be removed, she started killing any she encountered. However, this was a task she couldn’t carry out on her own. Luckily, she happened upon Charlie a serial killer with the strength and brutality that could make up for her own lack of strength. With that, she mentally commands Dexter to fatally stab himself. Fearing that she’ll be next, Natasha wonders what is taking Daredevil so long. Picking up on this stray thought, Rose tells Charlie to expect some company. As the killer heads outside, Natasha finally manages to pull one of her hands free of her shackles.
Outside, Daredevil is relieved when he begins picking up Natasha’s tracking device once more. The signal leads him directly to the cabin. There, he is confronted by Charlie, who comes at Daredevil with an axe. Although Murdock is able to hold his own, Rose manages to sneak up behind him and hit him in the head. This dazes the hero long enough for Charlie to give him a good whack with his axe. They then shackle Daredevil up and drag him inside the cabin to join the Black Widow.
Inside, the Widow manages to get her hands free and wraps a chain around Charlie’s throat. Rose responds by putting her knife up against Daredevil’s. The two find themselves in a stalemate, but Natasha convinces Rose to spare Daredevil in exchange for a mental duel. However, as Rose gets up, Natasha uses her chain to snap Charlie’s neck. Rose is furious and uses her mental powers to enthrall Natasha. She then hands the Widow her knife and begins imposing her will onto her in order to make Natasha slash her own throat. Romanov is able to resist long enough for Daredevil to come around and kick Rose from behind. This sudden attack causes Rose’s control to slip. As Rose falls toward her, the Black Widow holds out the knife, fatally stabbing Rose in the chest. As Rose dies in her arms, Natasha laments that she couldn’t save the tortured girl’s life.
Later, Natasha wakes up in the med-bay aboard the SHIELD helicarrier with Daredevil standing by her bedside. Matt catches her up on what happened and she apologizes for blowing up earlier. She explains that she was deeply upset that she couldn’t save Rose, or the two SHIELD agents who lost their lives on this mission. When Matt asks how she is feeling, she says it will take time to get over the 18 hours she spent as a prisoner of two maniacs but assures him she’ll be fine eventually. When Daredevil leaves, Natasha gets up to go to the bathroom and admits to herself that after this it will take a very long time before she feels clean.
Recurring Characters
Daredevil, Black Widow, SHIELD (Nick Fury)
Continuity Notes
The Black Widow was a Russian spy until she defected to the United States circa Avengers #30.
Natasha has worked on-and-off for SHIELD since Avengers #63.
This story makes multiple references to Natasha’s past partnership and romance with Daredevil. See Daredevil #81-124.
Topical References
Russia is referred to as the Soviet Union in this story. As it is being referenced during a period of the Black Widow’s Modern Age history, this reference should be considered topical. This is due to the fact that the USSR collapsed in 1991.
When recounting the SHIELD file on the Esper murders, Natasha says that it read like something out of Stephen King. King is a notable writer best known for his horror fiction starting with 1974’s Carrie. King was at the height of his popularity when this graphic novel was originally published. While King still writes books time of this writing (January, 2023), he is now in his late 70s. A more contemporary writer could easily be used in King’s place.
