Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR..Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018
Black Widow is one of the first women characters in the MCU. While she hasn’t had the most screentime (unfortunately), she’s accumulated many memorable moments across the MCU.
WARNING: This slideshow contains moments from Avengers: Endgame, so click out to avoid any heavy spoilers about Black Widow or any of the other characters in the MCU.
As one of the first women of the MCU, Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson) has many titles. Her spy training, courtesy of the Red Room and numerous organizations thereafter, landed her a spot with the Avengers. Her long transition from her days as a KGB agent to a hero was mostly done somewhere in the vast and vague world off-screen, but we love her all the same.
We wish Black Widow had more iconic scenes in the MCU and that writers had developed her characterization as much as the men in the cinematic universe, especially since she sacrificed herself in a Russian roulette to help build the Infinity Gauntlet. While we deserved many more scenes and her own trilogy, we’re commemorating 10 of Nat’s most memorable moments in the MCU. (After all, it’s what she deserves).
You can probably agree that Natasha’s fight scenes have the best combat choreography in the history of the MCU. However, we’re not focusing our list on just her fight scenes (even though all of them make us wish Nat would teach us to fight and simultaneously punch us in the face). She always needs more screen time to delve into her mythos both during and after her fighting sequences, but nonetheless, she has a softer side. Even fighters have lives outside of the battle.
As a result, our slideshow of memorable moments will focus on every aspect of her journey throughout the MCU. This is a tough task, considering the MCU has yet to write any fully thought out Black Widow content, despite the fact that she has at least a trilogy of stories left to tell and a decade of subtext to clarify. One movie is not enough.
Natasha is many things. She’s a proficient intelligence operative and trained killer with evenly-matched empathy and restraint to show villains mercy. She’s a friend and a fighter. Above all else, she’s a kick-butt Avenger, and we wish she was still alive.
She deserves to have her reign throughout the MCU commemorated properly. If Tony Stark is the heart of the MCU, Natasha Romanoff is its soul.
Flipping Happy in Iron Man 2
Nat might not have any official superpowers, but her confidence can kill. Watching her take Happy down and flip him in a single fluid motion is the only scene in the MCU as far as we’re concerned. No, we won’t take constructive criticism on that.
In the middle of Happy’s boxing lesson that we all know “Natalie Rushman” never needed, Nat manages to multi-task while putting him in his place. Seriously, she eavesdrops on Tony and Pepper’s conversation, stops Happy’s feeble attempt at a punch, and just as swiftly flips him on his back and restrains him between her knees. Happy might be Iron Man’s bodyguard (and friend), but he never stood a chance against Nat.
Also, can we appreciate that she did all this in business casual attire? We can barely match our buttons to the proper corresponding buttonhole, let alone do half of what Nat does in the boxing ring. She accomplishes more than just showcasing a glimmer of her combat skills if you consider that she was also acting undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time.
There isn’t much that Black Widow can’t accomplish, and she proves that in her first ever scene in the MCU, which is why it’s one of our favorite moments.
Interrogating Loki in The Avengers
Tricking a trickster isn’t easy. So far, only Nat and Thor have managed to best Loki at his trickery, which he’s been working on for a little over a thousand years (you know, before the Loki in the current reality died). As a veteran interrogator and stealthy agent, we couldn’t think of a better way to introduce more of her powerhouse of knowledge.
Watching her play Loki for the fool we know he is will forever be an iconic scene in comic book movie history. For our fellow Loki stans: we love that Asgardian bridge troll just as much as you, so we only call him a fool as a term of endearment. (Though given his questionable fighting tactics and complete disregard for his powers in Infinity War, we’ve earned the right to joke a bit.) We’re not ready to use humor to cope through Nat’s death just yet, but this is a start. Leave us be.
Regardless, Nat’s transition between her faux tears to her the second she realizes Loki’s plot is satisfying, to say the least. Loki’s befuddled expressed at the end of Nat’s interrogation only bolsters the scenes. Nat can make anyone cooperate with her interview techniques.
The moment also sets up some critical personal development for her, too, seeing as Nat reveals some of her opinions about love in the same scene. We’re glad that Nat started to grow past her “love is for children” ideology in later Avengers films. Granted, that’s also at the cost of watching Bruce and Nat flirt awkwardly. Was it really worth it?
Switching sides in Civil War
Originally, Nat is on Tony’s side at the start of Captain America: Civil War. However, as the conflict progresses, breaking Tony and Cap’s friendship up for an extended period in the process, Nat switches over to Steve’s side. On a subtle level, her shift shows how pivotal her role on the Avengers team truly is.
Helping Steve and Bucky escape through the airport is a changing point for the fight. More importantly, Nat illustrates how important friendship is. While she sees how much Bucky meant to Steve, she doesn’t become an accessory in their escape just to help them. She does it to protect the entire team. She knew Steve wouldn’t stop, nor would Tony.
If she were to stop Bucky and Steve from escaping from the airport, then the fight would have continued, and more Avengers would have gotten hurt or much worse. Beyond her roles as an agent and as an intelligence officer, Nat has always added damage control to her lengthy list of duties on the team.
She sees how heated the fight was becoming, so she lets the duo get away to prevent further harm from afflicting the team — both on a physical and personal level. After all, it’s hard to remain a cohesive team when too many punches mix with feelings. Speaking of feelings, we wish Civil War expanded on the implied past relationship Bucky and Nat had (either professionally, romantically, or both) hinted at in the first half of Civil War.
However, Nat is a mediator because she’s a neutral force that holds the Avengers together.
Besting Bucky in The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a lot to handle. There’s a reunion between Bucky and Steve. We finally meet Sam Wilson in the MCU. Plus, there are a lot of notable fight sequences. As the resident Black Widows stans that we are, we might be biased in saying the bridge scene between Nat and Bucky is our fave moment in the movie.
Nat lures Bucky out into shooting distance by coaxing him into thinking she is aiming at him from her original position. In reality, she’s moved directly under the bridge for cover and a better shot. The highway scene in Winter Soldier, where Sam and Steve square off against Bucky, might be a fan favorite. However, seeing Nat use her strategic skills in battle is a highlight in her lengthy reel of memorable scenes.
Granted, the high ground vs. low ground fight scene between Bucky and Black Widow isn’t the first time Nat bests Bucky in the film. She also baits him toward an explosive. Thanks to a pre-recorded message and a playback feature, Nat lures him away from her and into a trap.
Clearly, Nat is winning at the game of advanced (and lethal) hide and seek.
Auntie Natasha in Age of Ultron
We’ve actively blocked Natasha’s regressive lines in Age of Ultron about not being able to have biological kids (which actively frames her value onto being able to get pregnant… seeing as she demonizes it in practically the same breath). That dialogue isn’t Nat’s fault; that’s on the writers and director. However, we are glad that a scene in Age of Ultron showcased her extended family: the Barton family.
Clint’s family shows Nat that there’s more than one way to be a parent, even if you aren’t a parent in a conventional or even an unconventional scenario. Seeing Barton’s kids look up to her not for her heroic gigs, her weapons, or her fighting prowess is a relieving stepping stone in her character arc.
Did you catch Nat’s quick look of shock-turned-slight-smile when Laura told her they’re naming their newest addition Nathaniel? Good, because we did, too. He’s lucky to be named after the bravest Avenger, who singlehandedly ensured that the remaining heroes even had a chance to defeat Thanos and resurrect half of the universe.
We wish we could just go back to the sparse scenes of Nat being a precious aunt. We might not deserve to bask in those moments, but she definitely does.
Agent 13 and Black Widow team up in Civil War
Like any fan, we love iconic team-ups. We’re still investigating why the MCU has neglected Sharon Carter (i.e. Agent 13, portrayed by Emily VanCamp) since Captain America: Civil War. Our ongoing and very bitter sleuthing aside, Black Widow’s team-up with Sharon in Civil War is a beyond memorable fight scene.
Albeit short-lived, Agent 13 and Black Widow’s combat tactics are highlights in the film. All of the MCU’s fight scenes are uniquely noteworthy. What makes their fight scenes so memorable is the delivery of their blows and how their fighting styles complement one another.
As Sharon drops back after two high kicks to Bucky’s sides, Nat literally runs in to fill the time in Sharon’s recovering. Going low on her attack, Sharon covers her with another high kick — this time to Bucky’s face. After Bucky flips and throws Agent 13 out of the way, Nat comes in and tries to take him down.
Not to sound cliché, but this scene is art. Two highly skilled agents fight together and instantly sync their battle styles to help and protect one another. What’s not to love?
Okay, we would’ve liked some more clarifications from Nat’s comments to Bucky. Based on the comics, we gather that Bucky probably trained Nat when he wasn’t being locked away in a freezer (and they might have had a relationship like in the comics, as well).
Her opening scene in The Avengers
A lot went down in Black Widow’s opening scene in the first Avengers film. She displays her linguistic skills, her stern demeanor, and her deceptive skills. Of course, she also demonstrates her strong interrogation skills (which obviously foreshadowed her later scene with Loki).
Her opening scene in the first Avengers film sets the tone for Black Widow effectively. We still wish the film franchise upheld that tone to expand her character development respectfully. (Can you tell we’re still bitter that Black Widow still hasn’t gotten a chance to have her own arcs in the filmverse?)
Nevertheless, Nat knows how to take down a room full of men using few to no weapons at all. We can and do respect that. What makes her first scene in the movie even more impressive is how it transitions into Black Widow and Bruce Banner’s first interaction.
Shortly after subduing multiple men who think they’re interrogating her (oh, how wrong they were), she intercepts Bruce. At the time, he’s fabled as almost exclusively the green and angry side of himself. When vaguely threatened with the Hulk, Nat doesn’t even stutter, let alone flinch. Sure, she had a squadron of agents outside, but Natasha has championed her emotional tells.
Finding her family
“I used to be alone, but then I found this family,” – Natasha Romanoff, 2019.
Avengers: Endgame officially confirms that the Avengers are Natasha’s family through her dialogue. However, forming her family bonds has been progress in the making for the last decade. She’s grown from a secluded S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to a part of the team, who would and actually did die for them.
Even amid the reeling grief after Infinity War, Nat became more and more comfortable with her unconventional family, and she embraces herself in the process. In one of her dialogue-heavy scenes with Steve in Endgame, you can see a pair of ballet pointe shoes on a chair next to her desk. It’s a brief clip, but it’s still there, and it illustrates a new sense of agency in her characterization.
Although vague, her memories from Age of Ultron indicate she has some much less than pleasant memories associated with dancing. Using it as a way to cope following the snap means she’s taking agency over her latent grief as well as her new grief following Thanos’ destruction. She’s processed a certain trigger from her former trauma and reframed it as a way to heal. That’s powerful in ways that her spy and combat training never taught her.
It’s a powerful point of character development on its own, even if the film doesn’t fully elaborate on it. We’d like to think her family’s presence helped her reclaim those parts of her trauma.
Well before finding her family in the Avengers, Nat found her family with Clint Barton and the entire Barton family. He’s always been like a brotherly figure to her, which makes her sacrifice in Endgame even more lamentable.
“But she’s not alone”
Natasha consistently supports her family in battle. Years of training might have taught her to protect herself and to complete a mission, but her love and devotion to her found family is the Avengers’ best armament.
As a result, Nat isn’t going to let Proxima Midnight kill Wanda in Infinity War without a fight. Joined by Okoye, Black Widow helps distract Proxima and throws in some sturdy punches. Honestly, Proxima deserves it just by helping that overgrown grape.
Similar to her team-up with Agent 13 in Civil War, Black Widow’s team-up with Okoye is one of our favorite movie events. We’re well aware of the events that follow shortly after this scene, but it helps deter us from the overwhelming sadness in Infinity War. We know. The Avengers, thanks to Nat and Tony, reverse the snappening in Endgame, but it doesn’t change the tone of Infinity War.
Nobody is ever alone whenever Natasha is around. It’s one of the many reasons we admire her. We want to emulate Nat’s kindhearted nature solely based on her consistent desire to fearlessly protect her loved ones, even at the risk of her own life. Fictional or not, that mentality is a rarity.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019
Sacrificing herself to bring back half the universe
Nat is so excited to time travel, but she never comes back from her visit to Vormir. She isn’t back in a minute. She doesn’t make it to the final battle of Endgame. However, the final battle is made possible because of her.
There are seemingly endless qualms with Black Widow’s treatment in Endgame (as well as the depictions of other women characters in the film), and we share many of those sentiments. However, Nat has finally proved to the entire fanbase that she is a selfless hero and that she has never let her past define her.
What kills us the most is how hard she fights to keep her brotherly figure, Clint, safe and to stop him from using his life to create the Soul Stone. What she wants most is to save everyone, and she loses so much doing so — even though we know she would never see it that way. There would be no saving the universe without Nat.
At the cost of saving the universe, we’ve lost so much of her future characterization. We’re clinging to the ambiguous hope that Nat could come back. After all, Adam Warlock did save himself and a few others from Soul World in the comics, so a Black Widow revival isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, especially considering the MCU inherently stretches what’s possible. Her impending titular film is sustaining us with even more hope.
With such a short list, we know that we’ve missed a few iconic scenes that gave us new reasons to love Nat for the fighter and role model that she is and always will be. Nat is a one-woman team. On numerous occasions, she’s taken down hordes of similarly trained fighters on her own.
For a character who claims she “has no place in the world,” Natasha Romanoff has certainly made an impact across the MCU mythos. She is the reason the heroes can continue to protect the universe in the future. She’s heightened our expectations for future heroes because we know how much we lost in Avengers: Endgame. We didn’t just lose the current timeline’s version of Black Widow; we lost the soul of the Avengers, because Natasha is irrefutably the soul of the team, now so more than ever.