Black Widow (Claire Voyant)

Black Widow
Claire Voyant, the original Black Widow. Art by Chris Weston
Publication information
Publisher	Timely Comics
First appearance	Mystic Comics #4 (August 1940)
Created by	George Kapitan (writer) Harry Sahle (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Claire Voyant
Team affiliations	The Twelve
Abilities	Superhuman strength Enhanced endurance Flight Teleportation Mental suggestion Invisibility Appearance alteration Death touch Immortality Ability to communicate with the dead and mystically regenerate or heal others

Black Widow (Claire Voyant) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. An antiheroine who kills evildoers in order to deliver their souls to Satan, her master, she first appears in Mystic Comics #4 (cover dated Aug. 1940), published by Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. Created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sahle, she is unrelated to Marvel's later superspy character called Black Widow.

The Black Widow makes five appearances during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, all five written by George Kapitan. These short comics stories (the longest is eight pages, the shortest five) are spread among three different Timely anthology titles over a three-year period from 1940 to 1943.

Madame Claire Voyant is introduced in Mystic Comics #4 as "the strangest, most terrifying character in action picture magazines — the Black Widow. You've heard of the black widow spider — that evil creature whose bite spells doom. Now start the adventures of another black widow — a human tool of Satan whose very touch means death." Both Mystic Comics #4 and #5 (Aug. 1940, Mar. 1941) feature artwork by Harry Sahle (the stories are "Introducing the Black Widow", 7 pages, and "Garvey Lang", 8 pages, respectively). Another Mystic Comics appearance in issue #7 (Dec. 1941) has art by Stan Drake ("Lewis & Sykes", 5 pages).USA Comics #5 (Summer 1942) is penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by George Klein ("Murder Unlimited", 5 pages). Her final Golden Age appearance in All Select Comics #1 (Fall 1943) has art tentatively attributed to Drake ("Blood Money", 5 pages); this story is reprinted in 1974, along with the rest of the issue, by publisher Alan L. Light's company Flashback as Special Edition Reprints #14.