By Darby Good | Page One Editor
*NO ENDGAME SPOILERS HERE*
Black Widow has been an essential part of the Avengers team since first appearing in the 2010 film Iron Man 2, and Disney has reportedly hired a writer for her solo movie. Of the original six members of the Avengers, Scarlett Johansson’s character and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye are the only two without their own titles. Since the two’s backstories go hand in hand, a Black Widow origin story is just the thing the Marvel cinematic universe needs.
Before Black Widow, there was no female representation in the most recent slew superhero movies, and in her aftermath, we now have characters like Gamora, Shuri and Nebula. I remember seeing her for the first time as an 11-year-old girl in the movie theater just mesmerized by the fact that a woman could fight just as well, if not better than a man.
Black Widow only continued to show just how strong she really was in the first Avengers film in 2012. That was also the first time we saw a snippet into the Black Widow’s past. While interrogating Loki, we see that our favorite crime fighting woman wasn’t always a good guy. Since then, every time we see Black Widow in a Marvel movie, we get a sprinkling of what her past looks like, but it always stops before any real questions are answered. An origin story can better show us just who she is, and what experiences made her into the hero we’ve come to know.
One major plot point that is never answered about Black Widow is Budapest and her relationship with Hawkeye. While fighting in the first Avengers movie, Hawkeye mentions that fighting Loki’s army of aliens is “just like” an experience the two shared in Budapest. It is also revealed that when Hawkeye first met Black Widow it was because he was sent to kill her. A Black Widow movie could give viewers a chance to see what changed turned her from a name on his hit list to his kids ‘Aunty Nat.’
Shows like SNL have also commented on the need for a Black Widow movie with a skit featuring Scarlett Johansson talking to Thor about boys, eating ice cream with the Hulk and dating the Avengers 2 villain Ultron. While the skit was meant for comedic purposes, it also posed the question, “Does Marvel not know how to make a female superhero movie?” All signs pointed to yes until March when Marvel released “Captain Marvel” starring Brie Larson. While “Captain Marvel” is a good movie and a solid addition to the Avengers force, it shouldn’t have come before a solo Black Widow movie.
Black Widow has been killing the game, literally, since 2010, and it’s taken Marvel nine years just to consider her solo movie. Meanwhile, they had no problem just dropping in a new female edition and introducing her with her own movie. At the end of the SNL skit, it mocks Marvel with the slogan “Marvel, we know women.” Now Marvel just needs to know which leading ladies to invest in. A Black Widow movie is just what viewers need to understand her personal growth and how it’s helped the Avengers team from “Iron Man” to “Endgame.”
