Last Week in Pop Culture #23

Around the Web

This week, I've got a slightly revised and updated version of my To Better Know a Hero post on Black Widow up on Sound on Sight. Check it out before you see Captain America: Winter Solider.

The Simpsons: The Winter of His Discontent

This felt like the warmed up leftovers of two plots (Homer embraces the lifestyle of the elderly, Bart is befriend by Nelson after helping him out) from two previous episodes ("The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" and "The Haw-Hawed Couple"), with an extended parody of The Warriors tagged onto the end.

To Better Know a Team: The Avengers

Unless you've been living under a pop culture rock lately, it's no secret that tomorrow marks the debut of Marvel's much-hyped, years-in-the-making blockbuster feature film starring the Avengers. In an effort to piggy back on that hype and to enable our readers to nod approvingly at whatever winks to the fans are included in the movie, here's a look at Earth's Mightiest Heroes (and here are links to past "To Better Know a Hero" profiles on the various Avengers appearing in the film: Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk, and Iron Man).  

First Appearance
The Avengers #1, Sept. 1963

To Better Know A Hero: Black Widow

Real Name: Natalia Alianovna Romanova

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 52

Nicknames and Aliases: Natasha Romanoff (Anglicized name).

Powers and Abilities: Heightened (but not superhuman) physical abilities, stamina and longevity thanks to an offshoot of Captain America's super solider serum; Black Widow is also an accomplished hand-to-hand combatant, marksman, linguist, acrobat and espionage agent.