“The Widow” concludes in Daredevil #64, and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if one of the closing sequences left readers scratching their heads.
To summarize the arc, the Black Widow is in trouble. The Bulgarian government wants to trade her for Madame Hydra, who has been captured by the Avengers and taken into Bulgarian custody. The Widow’s SHIELD supervisor Nick Fury tipped her off, and she opted to hide in plain sight with former lover Matt Murdock, Daredevil. A former SHIELD operative is sent to kill her, but he’s apprehended, neutralizing American bureaucrats’ attempts to turn her over to Bulgaria.
In a brief epilogue, Natasha is shown apprehending the architect behind the proposed trade. It’s her husband, Alexi, formerly the Soviet super-soldier known as the Red Guardian. Alexi, who was presumed dead (for the second time) has apparently been building a power base in Bulgaria and used his newfound influence to punish his former wife. He tips his hand when he orders the release of Madame Hydra, allowing Natasha, SHIELD, and the Avengers to track him.
Quick Black Widow back story: Back in the days of the USSR, Natasha Romanov was informed that her husband, Alexi, had died. She had believed him to be a cosmonaut, but the KGB informed her that her “late” husband had actually been the Soviet equivalent of Captain America, a super-soldier government agent. Natasha vowed to pick up where he left off and joined her homeland’s espionage effort as the Black Widow.
This brought her into conflict with American heroes such as Iron Man and his industrialist alter-ego Tony Stark. She acquired a henchman, Hawkeye, who abandoned crime to become an Avenger. Inspired by his example, she reformed as well. Unfortunately, she was brainwashed and kidnapped by her former superiors. During this incident, she learned that her husband, the Red Guardian, wasn’t dead after all. He would be soon, sacrificing his life to save the Black Widow from her Soviet captors.
After recovering from injuries sustained in that incident, Natasha made some failed bids for Avengers membership, then retired, then threw in her lot with SHIELD, using her skills in the service of the American government. She eventually joined the Avengers, even serving a fairly lengthy term as that group’s leader. Her service to SHIELD has been ongoing, either as an active agent or as an ally.
Very little of this is referenced in “The Widow,” at least until the epilogue with Alexi. In fact, Natasha’s history as a Soviet agent only briefly mentioned in a throwaway line buried in her monologue to Matt in #63. In lengthy discussions with Matt about his crumbling marriage, Natasha never brings up her own history with the institution. In dense narration, Matt describes her heartbeat and her hair dye but says nothing detailed about her history. There’s even less on Alexi, aside from the fact that everyone believed him to be dead and he was once called the Red Guardian, mentioned after the character appears on-panel.
And this is too bad, because the outline of this arc is perfectly sound. (It’s perfectly sound without the Alexi reveal, too, actually.) This is the kind of story that works very well for someone with Natasha’s background, but I think it could have worked better with some additional detail. (It’s odd that Brian Michael Bendis, who never skimps on narration or dialogue, would omit such potentially useful factoids.)
My best guess is that the Alexi bit was included to try and create some thematic resonance. As Matt’s marriage crumbles, Natasha faces the ghost of her own failed relationship, built as it was on false pretenses and damaged by circumstances. But since that relationship crops up virtually out of nowhere, without any context or clarity, it just seems like an artificial twist.
It didn’t really need to be. There were ample opportunities in the four-issue arc to introduce these events to give them narrative power later. (Each issue has a page-long summary of what’s gone before, beyond the story itself.) I don’t think such references would have sacrificed any of the surprise of the ending, either. (Alexi’s been fairly unequivocally dead since somewhere around Avengers Vol. 1 #33.)
This is a strange case to me, where continuity plays a role in a story and isn’t actually detrimental, but it isn’t adequately integrated to the story to make it really effective. And, talky as Daredevil can be, it isn’t as though the information couldn’t have been organically introduced.