Netflix's Daredevil And Born Again Both Ignored A Major Marvel Comics Relationship

In Marvel comics and television, Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is a womanizer. Daredevil, like lots of Catholics, has vices that guilt him, yet he doesn't actually keep them in check — for Matt, specifically, it's violence and women. His longtime love interests include Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung), plus too many short-term ones to list here. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe has left out one of Matt's longest-lasting comic book relationships: Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johannsson).

It's not for Cox's lack of trying. In 2022, speaking with ComicBook.com, he was asked which Marvel characters he'd like to see his Daredevil team up with, and he answered Black Widow: 

"That relationship is really funny to me, I don't know why. I find it really funny and sexy at the same time." 

But the MCU's Black Widow never paid any visit to Hell's Kitchen. This isn't an isolated case, either. The MCU cut out Natasha's romantic past with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) from when he was the Winter Soldier, even if those two did appear in movies together. Given Natasha's death in "Avengers: Endgame," it's exceedingly unlikely we'll see her ever hook up with Bucky or Matt.

For non-comic readers, it's worth underlining just how far back Daredevil and Black Widow go. She debuted in "Daredevil" in issue #81, published in 1971, and well over 80 issues before Elektra was even conceived. Widow stuck around as Daredevil's romantic and crimefighting partner until issue #124. For a stretch (issue #92-107), the series was even retitled "Daredevil and the Black Widow." 

The late Gerry Conway was the writer who made Black Widow the co-star of "Daredevil." While Conway is mostly remembered for his contributions to Spider-Man and Batman, bringing in Black Widow is his most enduring legacy on "Daredevil."

Speaking to Back Issue magazine for its 26th issue (cover date February 2008), Gerry Conway explained, "I was looking for a way to re-energize ['Daredevil'], and starting up a romantic and professional relationship between DD and the Widow seemed like a natural — particularly given my fondness for Natasha."

Widow's first appearance in "Daredevil" #81 literally features her saving Daredevil from drowning, which reads as an apt mission statement for her introduction. That wasn't the only way Conway shook up the book's status quo, either. He even had Matt and Natasha briefly move to San Francisco since "New York seemed to be getting pretty crowded," as he told "Back Issue."

(Note that Conway would soon after upend "The Amazing Spider-Man" as well when he killed off Gwen Stacy as Peter Parker's love interest in favor of Mary Jane Watson. Between MJ and Widow, it appears he had a thing for strong, independent redheads.)

It's worth noting that "Daredevil" didn't really take off until the 1980s, when Frank Miller, who'd penciled some previous issues, started writing the book. Partnering Daredevil with Black Widow was an earlier attempt to give the title a more unique hook, one that Miller finally found by turning "Daredevil" into a gritty crime comic.

The first "Daredevil" issue Miller drew, #158, features Black Widow in a supporting role. He then brought her back for the climactic tail end of his original run, issues #187-190 (all drawn by Klaus Janson), where she helped Daredevil and the ninja Chaste fight the Hand. "Daredevil" #188, "The Widow's Bite," is even told mostly from Natasha's perspective, not Matt's.

Over the decades, Black Widow has continued to dip in and out of "Daredevil," appearing in stories like Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada's "Guardian Devil."

In Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's arc "The Widow" ("Daredevil" issues #61-64), Natasha is marked after a Bulgarian official with a grudge demands her extradition in exchange for his country handing over the terrorist Madame Hydra to the U.S. She decides to hide in plain sight by Daredevil's side. 

"Widow" does a strong job reconciling Natasha and Daredevil's past with her also being an espionage agent/assassin and, by definition, a student in the art of manipulation. We even hear Matt describe what he hears when he listens to Natasha's heartbeat with his enhanced hearing:

"That thick, rhythmic pounding that never varies. That never skips or jumps or accelerates. The heartbeat that never tells me when she is excited or lying. It's the heart of a woman whose entire body is a self-crafted instrument of deception. [...] And truth be told — it's one of my favorite sounds in the entire world."

As a super-spy, Black Widow fits neatly into James Bond-esque spy thrillers and flat-out superhero stories. It's why she's worked as both Daredevil's partner and a core Avenger. But the MCU started her off as an Avenger in a world of gods and monsters above Daredevil's street-level crimefighting in Hell's Kitchen.

Netflix's "Daredevil" would've never been able to afford Scarlett Johansson for a guest appearance, let alone a recurring role. What's more, Jeph Loeb's regime at Marvel Television maintained a strict border with Marvel Studios during the original "Daredevil" run. In the comics, Daredevil and Black Widow's paths can cross, but they exist on different planes of the MCU. Even with the series being produced by Marvel Studios, don't hold your breath for any Avengers to show up on "Daredevil: Born Again," especially not the late Black Widow.