Black Widow: the undervalued issues worth watching

Natasha Romanova — known as Black Widow — is a Silver Age creation: she first appears in April 1964 in Tales of Suspense #52, drawn by Don Heck on a script by Stan Lee and Don Rico. She enters as a Soviet spy tasked with manipulating Tony Stark — an antagonist, not yet a hero. Issue #57 of the same series (September 1964) introduces Hawkeye, whom she recruits. Her iconic black bodysuit, designed by John Romita Sr., does not arrive until 1970 in Amazing Spider-Man #86. The Bronze Age consolidates the character: from Daredevil #81 (November 1971) onward, she becomes a full co-star of the title.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: eBay medians from our estimator (the Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil series are covered, 30 to 47 listings), and documented web records for Tales of Suspense #52 and #57 (those titles are not in the eBay tool). Where no public record exists, we remain qualitative.

Black Widow key issues by era: real data at a glance

eBay medians: mycomicscollection.com estimator, June 2026. Tales of Suspense data: web sources (sellmycomicbooks.com; Metropolis Comics via ourquadcities.com).

Tales of Suspense #52 (1964): the Silver Age grail

Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964) is the definitive Black Widow key. The story — “The Crimson Dynamo Strikes Again!” — is written by Stan Lee and Don Rico and drawn by Don Heck. Natasha Romanova appears as a Soviet spy assigned to compromise Iron Man. This is a pure Silver Age key: the character turned sixty in 2024. Available data from sellmycomicbooks.com shows a CGC 9.6 Pacific Coast pedigree copy sold for $15,000 in 2014 — the highest publicly documented record for this issue. Mid-grade copies are considerably more accessible: FN 6.0 exceeds $1,000, GD 2.0 exceeds $300. Our eBay estimator does not cover the Tales of Suspense series — all figures here come from documented web sources. This issue remains underrepresented in European collections and trades with less liquidity than flagship Silver Age keys like Amazing Fantasy #15 — a factor worth considering for anyone targeting resale.

Tales of Suspense #57 (1964): the shared key with Hawkeye

Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964) is a double-key issue: the first appearance of Hawkeye, recruited by Black Widow to fight Iron Man. The issue’s valuation is driven largely by Hawkeye’s role as a major Avengers film character. In December 2024, Metropolis Comics sold a CGC 9.8 copy for $210,000 — more than double the previous record according to that source, illustrating the strong recent appreciation. At FN 6.0, available web data puts this issue around $450. Like #52, the series is not covered by our eBay tool — all figures are sourced from documented web records.

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (1970): the black costume, finally measurable

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (July 1970) is where Black Widow’s defining look arrives: the black bodysuit that shaped every subsequent depiction of the character, including in the MCU films. John Romita Sr. designed the costume, drawing inspiration from the 1940s strip Miss Fury. This is a Bronze Age key, and the series is covered by our eBay estimator with reliable data: across 30 recent eBay listings (June 2026), the blended median across all grades is 13 EUR, with high-grade copies reaching 93 EUR. For a comic that holds such a clear visual milestone in the character’s history, these prices represent a genuine gap. The issue also includes a retelling of Natasha’s origin, written as a prelude to her Amazing Adventures run.

Daredevil #81 and the Bronze Age run: undervalued co-starring keys

From Daredevil #81 (November 1971) onward, Black Widow becomes a full co-star of the title — her name appears on the cover alongside Daredevil. The co-starring run extends to approximately issue #107, covering close to thirty issues. Our eBay estimator covers this series with solid volume: Daredevil #81 carries an eBay median of 9 EUR across 47 listings (high: 19 EUR); issue #92 a median of 9 EUR across 40 listings; issue #100 (the milestone anniversary number) a median of 15 EUR across 42 listings. These are low prices for Bronze Age co-starring keys of a character who appeared in the biggest Marvel films — that disconnect between MCU profile and market price is precisely what makes them worth tracking.

The MCU factor in Black Widow collecting

Scarlett Johansson has portrayed Natasha Romanoff from Iron Man 2 (2010) through Avengers: Endgame (2019). The standalone Black Widow film, released in July 2021 simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+, grossed $379.8 million worldwide despite the post-pandemic release context. That MCU footprint sustains collector interest in Silver Age keys, yet the Bronze Age issues — particularly the Daredevil co-starring run — have not yet been repriced to reflect the character’s standing. For modern era collecting, Black Widow #1 (1999, Marvel Knights, Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones) and the 2016 run by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are solidly documented entries built on a character with proven, lasting appeal.