The Most Iconic Black Widow Covers and Their Values

Natasha Romanova — Black Widow — is a Silver Age creation: brought to life by Stan Lee (plot), Don Rico (script, writing under the pen name N. Korok) and Don Heck (art), she debuted in Tales of Suspense #52 in April 1964 as a Soviet spy. It was John Romita Sr. who, in Amazing Spider-Man #86 (1970), designed the iconic black bodysuit inspired by Miss Fury, cementing her visual identity for generations of collectors.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: values documented by Heritage Auctions, ComicConnect and sellmycomicbooks.com, supplemented by real eBay data from our estimator (the amazing-spider-man and daredevil series are covered; tales-of-suspense returns “invalid parameters” — all ToS figures come from documented web sources). Where no public record exists, we remain qualitative.

Black Widow key cover ranking (real documented data)

Sources: Heritage Auctions, ComicConnect, sellmycomicbooks.com, DaleRobertsComics, mycomicscollection.com eBay estimator (June 2026). Tales of Suspense data sourced exclusively from web documentation.

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

Published in April 1964, Tales of Suspense #52 contains Black Widow's first appearance, plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by Don Rico under the pen name N. Korok (Rico did not want his paperback publishers to know he was moonlighting in comics for lower pay), and drawn by Don Heck. The cover shows Natasha in an evening gown — the glamorous spy rather than the fighter. Heritage Auctions documents a CGC 9.6 Pacific Coast Pedigree sale at $15,000 in 2014 — the highest public record for this issue. At lower grades: a GD 2.0 exceeds $300, an FN 6.0 crosses $1,000 (sellmycomicbooks.com), and ComicConnect recorded a VG 4.0 sale at approximately $500 in October 2024. Our eBay estimator does not cover the Tales of Suspense series.

Tales of Suspense #57 (1964): the cover that launched Hawkeye

Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964) is the issue in which Black Widow recruits Clint Barton — the future Hawkeye — to fight Iron Man alongside her. A dual Silver Age key: Hawkeye's first appearance and Black Widow's second major role. Current market data from DaleRobertsComics puts a CGC 6.0 at around $700 and a CGC 8.0 at around $2,100.

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (1970): the black costume, the most referenced cover

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (July 1970) is the defining visual moment for Black Widow: she adopts the skintight black bodysuit that John Romita Sr. designed using Miss Fury as a reference. Romita later explained that Stan Lee saw an updated Miss Fury sketch and suggested building Black Widow's new look on it, replacing the mask with a clean black-vinyl suit. The Romita Sr. cover is among the most referenced in modern homage variants. Our eBay estimator (30 listings combining all grades and editions) shows a median of €13 and a high of €93. Certified high-grade copies (CGC 8.0+) trade considerably above this blended median.

Daredevil #81 to #100 (1971–1973): the Bronze Age co-starring run

From Daredevil #81 (October 1971), Black Widow becomes co-protagonist of the series, officially retitled Daredevil and the Black Widow from issue #92 — the first time she shared equal billing with an established male superhero. Our eBay estimator returns: Daredevil #81, median €9 (47 listings); #100, median €15, high €28 (42 listings). Accessible Bronze Age entry points for any Black Widow collection.

Black Widow on screen: the MCU effect

Scarlett Johansson has portrayed Natasha Romanoff from Iron Man 2 (2010) through Avengers: Endgame (2019). The solo film Black Widow (2021) earned $379.8 million worldwide despite a simultaneous theatrical and Disney+ release. This sustained MCU presence keeps demand alive for Silver Age keys — particularly Tales of Suspense #52 — and maintains collector interest in the full Bronze Age Daredevil run.