If Batman's No Kill Rule Is A Lie, Then Black Widow's Is Too
Warning: spoilers ahead for Black Widow #6 and The Other History of the DC Universe #3!
Recently, DC's The Other History of the DC Universe #3 raised the possibility that Batman either lies or is in denial about sometimes killing his criminal victims, and it seems like Black Widow may be following suit. Black Widow #6 features the titular heroine trying to track down a new foe. As she does, she takes down her enemies in a way that suggests she may be taking a few notes from DC Comics' Dark Knight.
Batman has a well-known 'no kill' policy where he refuses to knowingly kill anyone. This is an oft-discussed characteristic among fans for one major reason: his tactics often come across as being deadly despite the precautions he puts in place, especially in those cases where enemies are taken down in brutal fashion and never seen again. Beyond his own word, there's no reason to believe the injuries the Dark Knight inflicts aren't sometimes lethal, and as Marvel's Daredevil series is currently exploring, even the greatest fighter in the world can cause injuries that have unintended consequences.
Created by Kelly Thompson and Rafael de Latorre, Black Widow #6 shows Natasha Romanoff doing what Batman does best: removing foes from her path without seeing where they land. Having relocated to LA on a new mission, she is working her way up to a new foe that goes by the name of 'the Apogee.' Her approach aligns with Batman's as she refrains from directly killing any of her foes... or so she claims. To start with, she breaks the arms of one henchman with a hammer, then blasts him in the back of the head with her gauntlets. As he falls head-first towards the concrete floor, Natasha assures the reader, "He'll live."
It's this kind of move that brings things into question. Even though he doesn't directly kill henchmen and villains, Batman likewise hands out plenty of broken bones, shots to the head, and razor sharp batarangs. In this context, Katana's theory that Bruce's "no kill" policy is more useful myth than practical fact feels like a reasonable assumption, and one that seems like it may also describe Black Widow's attitude to her new mission. The most suspicious moment is when, after using a grappling hook to get to her enemy's penthouse base, she ties two henchmen together and lets them fall. Natasha reflects, "They hit a lower floor... they'll live, but they're out of this fight," though the reader noticeably doesn't see any evidence that the two survive what certainly looks like a straight fall down.
Black Widow has been willing to kill in the past, but she usually saves it for those in charge, not their underlings. This issue underlines how, if these heroes do their best to avoid being immediately fatal to foes and just don't look too closely later on, they can assume they're in the clear. Batman and Black Widow test the limits of society by appointing themselves to take down the bad guys, but it's possible they're too quick to absolve themselves of the unseen consequences of their actions.
With The Other History of the DC Universe #3 having raised the possibility that comic heroes like Batman are lying about the outcomes of their adventures, Black Widow #6 reads particularly suspiciously, as bad guys are dispatched with extreme violence and an airy assurance that they survived. Having moved to LA to begin a new project on her own terms, is Black Widow showing herself to be so skilled that her enemies never sustain a single scratch she doesn't intend, or so callous that as long as they don't die in the moment, anything else is an afterthought?