We’ve already learned that there will be an ‘Underground‘ working against Captain America’s “Secret Empire” and now have learned that Black Widow is planning an ‘Uprising’ against it as well! With art by J. Cassara, writer Derek Landy has shared a few details about what this master spy and assassin has in store for Steve Rogers.
Instead of joining one of the current teams such as the ‘Uncanny Avengers‘, ‘Thunderbolts‘, or ‘Secret Warriors‘ which are all poised to go after the new head of Hydra, we’ll be seeing Natasha Romanoff gathering members from the ‘Champions’ and a few surprise variables to throw into the mix.
We’re still unclear if any of the mainstream Avengers teams will even be operational when the fight for America goes down or if Rogers has found a way to take them all off the board.
For the tone of this book, we’ll have the younger heroes trying to deflect the seriousness of the situation with a bit of humor, but Black Widow is the one who is fully invested and knows the stakes.
According to Landy:
“Black Widow belongs in the shadows. In an event like Secret Empire, she’s a major player, and the reader can only imagine what she’s going through, dealing with what she’ll have to deal with. For me, she’s the slice of darkness that UPRISING needs, through which we can take a peek at her “little revolutionaries.” They’ll provide the humor, they’ll bring the jokes, but her very presence in the story is the essential link with the main [book].”
Natasha makes perfect sense when putting up a group of heroes against Roger’s Hydra:
“A story like this needs spies. It needs people who are not only willing to get their own hands dirty but also willing to compromise others for the greater good. Who else but Natasha would truly understand that? She’s going to be putting some of these kids [into] some very specific places, as all handlers do, in order to achieve some very specific objectives. For her, it’s all about the mission.”
While you could argue that Cho has been around for awhile, Landy points out that these are all younger heroes and that “This is where they start earning those stripes.” Part of the code of those who came from the ‘Champions’ is to find a different way to resolve problems, so it will be interesting to see what Natasha has in mind for them as:
“That’s been the most interesting aspect to tackle. Two of these kids are going to end up undercover, working to get within striking distance of Captain America. Whether they succeed or not is beside the point—the question is what then? Since the Champions formed, they’ve been trying to approach things differently. They don’t want to punch out every opponent. They don’t like hurting people. They’re certainly not killers. If you want to assassinate someone, you send in Black Widow, not the Totally Awesome Hulk or the Unstoppable Wasp.
They hope.”
While only a one-shot it sounds like we’ll be seeing the dedication of some of these heroes to their beliefs tested. I’m eager to see how at least those who are ‘Champions’ will deal with reporting directly to Natasha during this event.
‘Secret Empire: Uprising’ will set Black Widow’s team against Captain America on May 31st, 2017!
Source: Marvel
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
