Black Widow: key issues, one-shots and modern first issues

Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) is a Silver Age creation: she made her first appearance in Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964) as a Soviet spy sent to destroy Tony Stark. Stan Lee wrote the script, Don Heck drew the art, and Don Rico contributed to the character's original design. Over six years she evolved from antagonist to ally, underwent a radical costume redesign (1970), became a co-lead in Daredevil (1971), and finally received her own solo series beginning in 1999. The MCU film Black Widow (2021, Scarlett Johansson, $379.75 million worldwide) confirmed Silver Age keys as flagship collectibles in their own right.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: records documented by Heritage Auctions, Landry Pop Auctions, GoCollect, and sellmycomicbooks.com. Our eBay estimator does not cover Tales of Suspense — those figures come exclusively from web sources. The Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil series are well-covered (30 and 47 listings respectively). Where no public record exists, we remain qualitative.

Black Widow key issue ranking (real documented data)

Tales of Suspense issues are not covered by our eBay estimator: all their data comes from web sources. For Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil, eBay medians come from our tool (all printings and grades blended — the blended median is low; high-grade copies command significantly more).

Sources: Landry Pop Auctions, Metropolis Comics, sellmycomicbooks.com, GoCollect, our eBay estimator (ASM and Daredevil only).

Tales of Suspense #52 (1964): a Silver Age spy enters the Marvel Universe

Published in April 1964, Tales of Suspense #52 introduces Natasha Romanoff in a story drawn by Don Heck on a Stan Lee script — Don Rico having contributed to the character's initial design. The Black Widow is presented as a Soviet agent dispatched to eliminate Tony Stark; she wears a very different costume from the one that would make her iconic. This is a Silver Age key in the same bracket as the first appearances of Thor (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962) and the X-Men (#1, 1963). A CGC 9.0 copy realised $5,124 at Landry Pop Auctions in September 2025; a CGC 7.0 copy sold for $1,586 at the same house in February 2025. The all-time documented record remains a CGC 9.6 Pacific Coast Pedigree sold for $15,000 in 2014. High-grade copies are scarce: approximately 85% of the CGC census falls below 8.5.

Tales of Suspense #57 (1964): Hawkeye debuts alongside Black Widow

Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964) is celebrated primarily as the first appearance of Hawkeye (Clint Barton) — but it is Black Widow who recruits him in this story, linking the two characters from the very beginning. That dual status — first Hawkeye and a major Black Widow issue — makes it one of the most speculative Silver Age keys on the market: a CGC 9.8 copy from the Curator Collection sold for $210,000 in December 2024 via Metropolis Comics, more than doubling the previous 2022 record. This issue is not covered by our eBay estimator; all data comes from specialist sources.

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (1970): the black costume that defined a character

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (July 1970) marks a decisive visual turning point: Black Widow abandons her earlier inconsistent costume in favour of the full black bodysuit designed by John Romita Sr., inspired by the Golden Age character Miss Fury. That costume — adopted with barely a modification for over fifty years across comics, the MCU, and animated adaptations — makes this a Bronze Age key worth tracking. Our eBay estimator records a blended median of €13 across 30 listings, with high-grade copies reaching up to €93. The issue's accessibility makes it a realistic entry point for collectors covering the Bronze Age arc of the character.

Daredevil #81 (1971): Black Widow as Bronze Age co-lead

Daredevil #81 (November 1971) opens the editorial partnership between Matt Murdock and Natasha Romanoff, scripted by Gerry Conway and drawn by Gene Colan. Black Widow becomes a full co-lead of the series through approximately issue #107 — a run that cements her identity outside of Iron Man's orbit. This oversized square-bound issue is notoriously difficult to find with a clean spine in high grade. Our eBay estimator records a blended median of €9 across 47 listings, with high-grade copies reaching up to €19 — an affordable Bronze Age key.

Black Widow #1 (1999, Marvel Knights): the first modern solo and Yelena Belova

In June 1999, Marvel Knights published Black Widow #1, a three-issue limited series written by Devin Grayson and drawn by J.G. Jones. This issue introduces Yelena Belova, the second Black Widow — the character later brought to the screen by Florence Pugh in the 2021 MCU film. It is the first time Natasha Romanoff headlines a solo series in the modern era. The issue is not covered by our eBay estimator; CGC 9.8 copies circulate on the secondary market (eBay, GoCollect), but no publicly documented auction record is available. Its status as the first appearance of Yelena Belova anchors it as a modern market key, especially in the wake of the film.

The 2016 and 2020 series: acclaimed modern relaunches

Black Widow #1 (March 2016) by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee is one of the most critically acclaimed solo runs in the character's history — it opens without a word of dialogue across a kinetic double-page spread, a storytelling gamble that only Samnee's visual language could carry. Our eBay estimator does not cover this series directly; web sources report a pandemic peak near $800 in CGC 9.8, a market that has since largely normalised. Kelly Thompson's Black Widow #1 (2020) is a strong relaunch in its own right, though without the "first appearance" status that defines the issues above. For both runs, raw copies remain accessible and offer an excellent entry point into the complete reading experience.