Black Widow #2

Part of Marvel Knights' grittier, more espionage-driven corner of the Marvel Universe, this 1999 issue of Black Widow continues "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" with writer Devin Grayson and cover artist J. G. Jones. The cover puts two women in black tactical suits back-to-back on high ground — a red-haired Natasha Romanoff and a blonde companion, both battle-ready amid a chaotic desert battlefield strewn with soldiers and military vehicles. Jones's linework gives the scene real kinetic energy, capturing the tension of two skilled operatives caught in the middle of something much larger than themselves.