Black Cat and Spider-Man _ CLOSER THAN SAFE / Bazal. 8,3x11,7 in.

"First look, then we'll see if I want to or not."

Spider-Man doesn’t step inside. He stays pressed against the glass, suspended like an insect caught by instinct, believing himself unseen as he watches what he shouldn’t. Black Cat knows. She knew before he even stopped at the window.

Naked, with her back to the glass, she makes no effort to cover herself or hurry. Her body is not accidental—it’s staged. Every curve is offered with surgical intent, not as surrender but as calculated provocation. She isn’t exposed—she displays herself because she chooses to.

The cruelty lies in restraint. In the ease of her posture, slow and intimate. In the way she makes it clear that Spider-Man’s gaze is not an intrusion, but a privilege she allows. He thinks he is spying; she placed him there. The glass doesn’t protect her—it elevates her.

Her smile—slight, tilted, almost bored—is not meant for him. It’s for us. She breaks the scene and pulls the viewer into her confidence. Black Cat delights in moral contradiction: the heroine who condemns desire while feeding it with elegant contempt. She knows he won’t touch. She knows he won’t leave. And she knows that’s exactly what ruins him.

Spider-Man remains frozen, reduced to witness. She rules from within, naked not out of vulnerability, but supremacy. Power doesn’t reside in the exposed body—it lies in who controls the act of looking.

This artwork was created by Angel Bazal directly in graphite and black ballpoint pen, without prior sketching, as a tribute to the sensual, dominant, and provocative linework of Ed Benes. The line doesn’t seek innocence—it seeks tension, control, and an unsettling beauty.

This is not naïve erotica. It is intent. And she never loses. There is no action here. Only the gaze. And she decides who wins.

#SpiderMan #BlackCat #FeliciaHardy #Marvel #BallpointPen #Ballpoint #graphite