WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Black Widow #7 by Kelly Thompson, Elena Casagrande, Elisabetta D'Amico, Jordie Bellaire and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
Following the loss of the only real family she's ever had, Black Widow has set out to become the kind of hero they would be proud of, and her first step is stopping the new villain named Apogee. In the process of hunting down her new nemesis, Natasha has even saved one of Apogee's victims, a young woman named Lucy. Apogee may have given Lucy some incredible powers, but it turns out that they have some nasty side effects.
It wasn't that long ago that Lucy tried to swipe Natasha's wallet out of her purse only to be let go by the super spy extraordinaire. Even more recently, Natasha rescued Lucy from Apogee's operation and brought her back to her own headquarters to recover. The rage that Lucy has burning inside of her from all of the lies and frustration explodes with literal electric frenzy as a result of the powers that Apogee has been granting his followers through some sort of serum. When Natasha and Yelena drop in on one of Apogee's meetings, they are confronted by multiple superpowered assailants, all displaying various abilities and mutations.
Though they're unable to apprehend Apogee himself, they do manage to bring back one of his followers, a young man who has been made super pliable by the serum. As the three women interrogate the man back at their headquarters, he begins to melt away uncontrollably, crying out for help as his body drips away into a pool of blood and flesh. Lucy is understandably concerned that the same thing might happen to her, though this isn't the first time that Marvel fans have seen out-of-control powers be the downfall of the person imbued with them.
In 2000, the first X-Men movie saw the near rise of the Mutant Registration Act spearheaded by Senator Robert Kelly, portrayed by Bruce Davison. Kelly, keen on ensuring that all mutants are registered with the government under the guise of safety, is kidnapped by Mystique and Toad during the film and brought to an eagerly awaiting Magneto. Powering his Mutant Conversion Machine with his own abilities, Magneto used the device to grant the unwilling Senator Kelly his own mutant powers, specifically those nearly identical to the ones seen in the latest issue of Black Widow.
And, much like the poor victim in the comic, Senator Kelly's body would completely break down, causing him to melt away into little more than water at the feet of Storm herself. Both of these fates are without question horrific, and even without knowing the specifics of Apogee's process, the cause seems to be genuinely the same. Then again, Apogee's followers are joining him of their own volition for the most part, and their devotion could be even more dangerous than their powers.
Presumably, there is an explanation as to just how Apogee has been empowering his followers that is soon to be found, and with it, a cure. Lucy hasn't shown any signs of losing control of herself or her powers. With any luck, the Widows will be able to put an end to Apogee's organization before anyone else gets hurt, especially when their newest sidekick's life depends on it.
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