The Black Widow: The true crime book of the year

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Soko (December 6, 2016). "Ever Anderson". Interview. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021 . Retrieved July 31, 2021. I also speak Russian. Dark Action Girl: She used to be a super spy for the Soviets and a villain for Iron-Man prior to doing her Heel–Face Turn. On set at Pinewood, the buzzwords among the crew were “gritty” and “grounded”. It is a film with a bit of a Bourne conspiracy-thriller feel, location-hopping from Norway to Budapest to Morocco, and never takes off into space. Shortland tells me she asked for the action scenes to feel truthful. “I said to the fight choreographer that I wanted it to feel like these are real fights. I didn’t want it to be a wrestling match.” The female characters that she looked to were Ripley in Alien and Sarah Connor from the Terminator movies, as well as Thelma and Louise. She mentions a scene in The Silence of the Lambs that she likes, in which Jodie Foster held up a gun, terrified: “What we saw was so beautiful; it was a woman holding up a gun and her hand is shaking. And so moments like that, when the audience is allowed in and they identify with her, they put themselves in her position.” Several Israeli citizens, as well as Gabriel's friend Hannah Weinberg, are among those killed in France. So Gabriel postpones his promotion (once again) to chase down 'Saladin', the ISIS mastermind who planned the bombings. Couch, Aaron; Galuppo, Mia; Kit, Borys (October 21, 2022). "Marvel, DC Among Last Bastion for Supersized Paydays". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022 . Retrieved October 30, 2022.

Can the Gabriel Allon series get any better? This may be the best book in the series to date. Daniel Silva's writing skills continue to grow. The story could be something straight out of the news headlines. Silva's prescience is uncanny. While this won’t be the first time Gabriel runs an operation in France, it does mark the first time that he’s doing so with their blessing. In fact, they requested his services and even strong-armed him into helping out.

The Atoner: One of the motivations for her becoming an Avenger is to atone for her past as a Soviet agent. Played up more in the MCU movies than in the comics. Early-Installment Weirdness: When she was first introduced as a Iron Man villain, she was a Red Scare Agent Provocateur with no fighting abilities who relied on Mooks or a manipulated Hawkeye to be her muscle. It was later, around the time she pulled a Heel–Face Turn that she adopted her Spy Catsuit and Super Wrist-Gadget that she became a proper Action Girl, but she was later Retconned into having been a Soviet super-spy since the Cold War era, making her early non-action villain characterization inconsistent. Her Spy Catsuit generally includes an understated version of the motif, typically a small red hourglass symbol. Maresca, Rachel (September 29, 2013). "Scarlett Johansson flaunts curves in new magazine photo shoot, reveals details on 'The Avengers' sequel". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013 . Retrieved September 29, 2013. Byford, Sam (November 8, 2021). "Disney Plus is upgrading Marvel movies to IMAX aspect ratio". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021 . Retrieved November 8, 2021.

More specifically to this book, I found his expositions on politics to be especially heavy handed and clumsy. Again, we get it... You don't like President Obama. I wouldn't be bothered by that if it hadn't been such a distraction from the narrative in this novel. There was way less Gabriel Allon and way more potshots at the current administration. I think Silva is at his best when he's telling stories, not beating us over the head with his political views. In the past, he has been very successful at showing us how complex the political situation in the Middle East is when he is telling people's stories. A pesar de ser una novela de espionaje internacional y plantear una trama un tanto compleja, se entiende perfectamente, el autor hace énfasis en el conflicto valiéndose de los hechos históricos que han llevado a la formación de tamaño grupo terrorista, y nos hace comprender de manera sencilla de dónde proviene su fanatismo y cómo lo contagian. De seguro, a otras personas tanto como a mi me pasa, nos resulta impensable caer en tal extremo, pero los hechos nos han demostrado que efectivamente existe. Damsel out of Distress: While she's been a Badass in Distress a couple of time, she usually manages to escape some dangerous situations by herself thanks to her espionage skills. Not to mention that many times she lets herself be Captured on Purpose or is a Play-Along Prisoner as part of the plan.

Black Widow provides examples of:

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she sacrifices herself in Avengers: Endgame to allow the Avengers to claim the Soul Stone.

Boucher, Geoff (November 30, 2018). "Spider-Women, Captain Marvel & Harley Quinn: Females Fly In The Face Of Old Hollywood Perceptions". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018 . Retrieved November 30, 2018. These enemies are often linked to whichever team she is helping at the time. When she fights alongside Daredevil, she assists him in taking down his villains, like the Hand, Purple Man, or Mr. Fear. As a member of the Champions, Natasha’s foes include Warlord Kaa, Swarm, Godzilla, MODOK, Doctor Doom, and the Vanisher’s Sentinels, among others. She also assists Hercules with this team to fight his enemy Pluto, the Olympian God of Death. Sympathy for the Devil: A one-shot story by Jim Starlin has Natasha and Daredevil going up against a Serial Killer named Rose who has murdered at least 40 telepaths. When Rose captures Natasha, it is revealed that Rose is a telepath herself and that as a child she was sexually abused by her father while her mother refused to believe her. Eventually, Rose's mother was killed by her father which caused Rose to snap and use her powers to make him commit suicide. When she discovered other telepaths existed she began a killing spree because she "wanted to be special". Despite the depravity of Rose's crimes, the fact that one of her victims was an old friend of Natasha's and that Natasha herself kills Rose, the Russian spy cannot help but shed tears over how a little girl was twisted and broken into becoming such a monster. That Rose was sharing her memories with Natasha telepathically might have contributed to Natasha's reaction. Dark and Troubled Past: She suffered a lot during her time in Russia, being orphaned at a young age, enduring years of Training from Hell in the Red Room and doing all sorts of morally questionable acts as a Soviet spy. Driven by self-reproach, Natasha worked almost obsessively to bring in all of the Avengers’ previous foes. It was Daredevil, fearing for her condition, who helped her work through her guilt. This was, of course, easier to do once the Avengers resurfaced alive.Couch, Aaron (June 18, 2021). "Disney Studios Marketing Head Asad Ayaz on Mischievous 'Loki' Campaign". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 19, 2021 . Retrieved June 19, 2021. Yelena is the annoying little sister that says everything that comes to mind with no consequences,” actor Florence Pugh says of her character, who comes to life on the road with Natasha. “She is kind of discovering the world in a new light. She is hurt and complicated and acts out. She meets Natasha as she’s rediscovering who she is after being in the Red Room for so long. And together they realize that they’re both suffering in very similar ways. And so you get this very lovely and unique friendship between the two of them, because they are ultimately long-lost sisters. They kind of repair one another and each other’s holes in their lives. That was one of the most interesting things about this script—that, in amongst all of these epic car chases and battles and amazing stunt sequences, at the heart of it is this very brutal journey of figuring out who they are.” Couch, Aaron (February 22, 2022). " 'Spider-Man,' 'Shang-Chi' Lead Critics Choice Super Awards Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022 . Retrieved May 11, 2022.