Marvel's Wastelanders: Black Widow

Marvel's Wastelanders #3

by Alex Delyle

Almost thirty years after The Day the Villains Won (aka V-Day), Helen Black arrives at her new apartment in The Onar, a 161-story apartment complex in what used to be Midtown Manhattan. Owned and operated by S.H.I.E.L.D., The Onar has become the very embodiment of the dystopic wealth and inequality that’s engulfed New York City ever since V-Day. A collection of uber-rich families – including the media magnate Burge family – occupy the opulent penthouses in the DecaDomes, The Onar’s highest ten stories. Helen Black’s apartment is located in the much more humble “100 Block’. When her nosy neighbor Dr. Brian Mizuno asks Helen (through the paper thin walls) what brought her here, she cryptically alludes to “problems with an ex…”.

On the same day that Helen moves into her apartment, Lisa Cartwright reports for her first day as a Junior Residential Security Analyst for Panopticog Solutions, a private security company hired by S.H.I.E.L.D. to monitor the residents of The Onar (without their knowledge or consent). Lisa is assigned to surveille Helen’s corner of The 100 Block, and quickly discovers that Helen Black is not at all who she says she is.

Marvel's Wastelanders: Black Widow is the third installment in the “Marvel's Wastelanders” audio epic. The series stars Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon as Helen Black, and features performances by Eva Amurri (Saved!), Nate Corddry (Mom), Amber Gray (Hadestown), Melissa Gilbert (Little House on the Prairie), Chasten Harmon (Elementary), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Justin Kirk (Weeds). Written by Alex Delyle (Fear the Walking Dead), directed by Timothy Busfield (Thirtysomething, The West Wing), with sound design and original music by Daniel Brunelle (The Two Princes, Sandra).

Genres: Audiobook, Marvel, Comics, Science Fiction

Audiobook

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[~ Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non è quello che mi è piaciuto di più della serie, ma obiettivamente è fatto benissimo, il doppiaggio e il sound design sono di prim'ordine!

[Özge Yildiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Das war sehr spannend. Ich habe es gestern begonnen und muss sagen, dass mich die Story fasziniert hat. Handlung spannend, Figuren ebenfalls. Musik, Sounddesign und die Sprecherauswahl: einfach top! Ich war gefesselt vom Inhalt und ich denke, ich werde einen Marathon machen, wenn alle "Staffeln" draußen sind.

[Giovanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prodotto Audible impeccabile come sempre!.
Marvel's wasterlanders si sta rivelando il mio podcast preferito di sempre!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Sarandon headlines, and truly shines, as Black Widow in this installment of the storied Wastelanders timeline. It's Red Skull territory--excuse me, *President* Red Skull--and Manhattan is battening down the biodomes for a Cat 7 barreling up the coast. But a complicated plot is underway to take advantage of this disaster, to wrest just a bit of power away from the fascist state, and one of the last Avengers still alive finds herself in the thick of it. But will they go too far?

It's a twisty little plot, with a couple WTF moments, and a kick-ass theme. Marvel's production quality is as usual, stellar. Characters are fun, if sometimes motivationally challenged, but Marvel has dug deep into the Black Widow vaults, and the result is satisfying, if not nearly as emotionally powerful as the earlier Marvel's Wastelanders: Star Lord.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This podcast is the third of a new series that takes place in an apocalyptic world, 30 years after the fall of the Avengers and X-Men heroes. It is obviously inspired by the graphic novel series Old Man Logan but isn't necessarily following that storyline. This series first two included Star-Lord and Hawkeye and will eventually include seasons about Doctor Doom and Wolverine.

In this season, we meet Helen Black aka Black Widow in NYC- but is she Natasha Romanoff or Yelena Belova? Two young agents are on her tail, but double-crosses and long cons are part of this series, and we don't know who is playing for what team in Red Skull's domain. This third story didn't seem to connect with the previous two, so I wasn't as satisfied with it, but I still look forward to the next two and discovering how these older scattered heroes are able to find one another and rise up against the villains who took over the world!

For a longer review, episode by episode, read my blog review at: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2022/03/1...

[Bernard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting choice, to make the story more about a new character, a newbie surveillance employee, than about Black Widow. The surprise reveals were interesting and mostly out of left field, and the ecological disaster was just… odd. I’m curious how this will tie into the overall Wastelanders end game, but for the most part just seemed out of place.

I did find interesting the focus on more of the civilian life of a country divided up into zones owned or ruled by villains, much like Hawkeye showed us. But I think much of the compelling nature of this setting isn’t the lives and drama of the random civilians of the Wastelands, but rather the “old man/woman” hero/heroine storylines as was pioneered by the initial Old Man Logan arc of the Wolverine comic.

I’m looking forward to how the characters who survived this installment end up in the final group drama.

[Mayuri Raulji · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comic has a lot of potential and some strong points, but it also has its flaws. The narrative non-linear, which adds depth but can also be confusing at times. Past and present scenes is a nice touch, adding to the overall mood of the comic. However, the storytelling can feel rushed, and cutaways sometimes disrupt the flow, making it hard to stay fully engaged. While the comic does a good job of portraying a darker, more sinister world, it doesn't bring anything particularly new or groundbreaking to the table. The characterization of Yelena is solid, but the story itself feels like it's missing that extra spark to make it truly memorable. Overall, it is a decent read with some compelling moments but it falls short of being a must read.

[Algert · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the Marvel fans out there that like Natasha, this story is a banger! The choice of the location is quite fitting the characters, and using a writer as one of the main characters was very interesting. The final chapters are loaded with plot twists, which make the story very captivating.

I dare say that so far, this is the one with less superhero stuff in it, but nevertheless, a well-rounded story with beautiful moments.

looking forward to the next chapter already!

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an excellent podcast! The voice acting - led by the legend Susan Surandon - is so good and the writing is excellent. I got a bit lost in the final episode, but the high stakes, action, and intrigue were all there throughout. I think this is definitely one of the top Wastelanders series.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, simply fantastic. Burned through all of these.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wieder ein cooler Podcast

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Interessante.