Since it was announced that Scarlett Johansson would be appearing in Iron Man 2 as the beautiful Russian spy known as the Black Widow, I’ve been interested in seeing a picture of her in costume.

Not so much as I am a fan of the character, but as a fan of Johansson herself. Yes, the prospect of seeing the curvaceous actress in form-fitting leather does quicken the pulse. But beyond that, I’ve always felt that actress looked her best when attired in an outfit that recalled the styles of the 1930s and 40s Golden Age of Hollywood.

I must say, this first picture looks pretty good- both true to the character (Fanboys, please note the Black Widow’s wrist stingers) and in making the actress look good. (Thus avoiding the whole “I can’t believe that Halle Berry agreed to that costume in Catwoman” thing.) Johansson is also under option to appear in Marvel Studio’s superhero team up film, The Avengers, in 2012.

The pic is from Entertainment Weekly‘s upcoming issue that will feature a cover story on this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Johansson is joined on the cover with her Iron Man 2 stars Robert Downey Jr and Mickey Rourke as the villain Whiplash.

As it is EW, rest assured that their Comic Con preview will very probably be peppered with the usual condescending “biff,” “pows” and “It’s nerd Prom!” that we can expect from them.

Iron Man 2 will be blasting its way into cinemas next May.