Black Widow (Claire Voyant) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sahle, she first appeared in Mystic Comics #4 (August 1940), published by Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. Claire Voyant is a medium who has been murdered and became the demonic "ambassador" of Satan on Earth. She kills evildoers in order to deliver their souls to her master. Publication history 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. According to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "The Black Widow can kill with a touch and has other, Satan-derived, plot device powers. The wrongdoers she goes after are ordinary humans, although one group of them call themselves Murder, Unlimited and another is the Cult of the Black Widow Spiders." Her next appearance occurs 51 years later, in a flashback cameo in one panel of issue #1 (Jan. 1994) of the mini-series Marvels ("A Time of Marvels", written by Kurt Busiek with art by Alex Ross), and again eleven years later (Feb. 2005), also in brief flashback, in Marvel Knights Spider-Man #9