For years, both Marvel fans and producers have considered the possibility of a Black Widow standalone film. Superhero enthusiasts have speculated about the former Russian spy-turned-Avenger’s solo film since the early days of Marvel when Black Widow first appeared in “Iron Man 2.”
Now as an official Avenger, and reoccurring Marvel character, the demand for a Black Widow film has only heightened. Recent news has emerged claiming that Marvel has met with over 50 potential directorial candidates for the movie, stating they will be “very thorough” for this project. Other outlets report screenwriter Jac Schaffer has been assigned to write the first-ever Black Widow solo film. Although, as of now, nothing has been declared official.
No matter who’s directing or writing, it’s no question that Marvel fans are ready for this film and have been anticipating it for years. Here are some of Black Widow’s best moments that made fans around the world hungry for her solo debut.
1. “Iron Man 2” Debut
In 2010 in “Iron Man 2,” Marvel revealed the Russian spy Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. It wasn’t long after her onscreen debut that fans became captivated by her agility and fierce combat skills. After effortlessly taking down Happy, Iron Man’s bodyguard, the two joined forces to infiltrate Justin Hammer’s factory.
When they are met by henchmen, Black Widow quickly overcomes 5+ of the men, with an intense display of her mastery of martial arts and tactical expertise. Happy eventually, yet far too proudly, overpowers one of the Hammers’ men.
2. The Chair Fight
In “Avengers,” it had been two years since Marvel fans had seen Black Widow’s magnetizing character. But they had not forgotten Romanoff, now an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and were ecstatic to see the continuation of her character.
At the start of the film, she is seen tied to a chair and being questioned by a Russian antagonist. Viewers assume Black Widow to be in trouble of some sort until she receives a phone call from Phil Coulson prompting her to reveal, as she does many times in the films, “that not all is as it seems.”
The Russians attempt to gain intel from Romanoff but instead as she tells Coulson, she is doing the real interrogating, “this moron is giving me everything.”
Black Widow then begins her operative escape, all whilst bound to a chair. Reassuring fans of her elite fighting skills and reoccurring theme of her being in complete control. This scene is now famously referred to as “the chair fight.”
3. Black Widow vs. Hawkeye
Early on fans learned that Black Widow and Hawkeye had some undisclosed past (more on this later) that merged into their current friendship. However, the amiability between the two was put on hold when Hawkeye, aka Clint, became possessed by the Mind Stone all thanks to Loki.
Loki taunts Black Widow about her past asking, “can you wipe out that much red?” Referencing her years of violence and indiscretions that have mostly remained a mystery to Marvel fans.
Loki, the god of mischief, continues and tells Black Widow that he is going to make Hawkeye kill her, “slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear!”
This creates an intense scene full of insightful hints to Black Widow’s character, leaving fans desperate for more on her days before the Avengers.
4. The Winter Soldier
When S.H.I.E.L.D. is compromised in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Nick Fury finds himself a target of a mysterious assassin. In Captain America’s attempts to pursue the assailant called the Winter Solider, he discovers the mystery man’s identity to be his supposedly dead childhood friend, Bucky Barnes.
Black Widow tells Cap about her own experience with the Winter Soldier five years prior on a mission in Iran. She says someone shot her tires and her and the nuclear engineer she was escorting, went over a cliff.
As Romanoff covered the engineer, the Winter Soldier shot him straight through her. She tells Captain America “Most of the intelligence community doesn’t believe he exists. [..] Going after him is a dead end. I know, I’ve tried. He’s a ghost story.”
This made many fans curious to not only Romanoff’s missions outside of the Avengers but her own tangles with the Winter Soldier.
5. The KGB Flashbacks
In “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Black Widow has a couple of flashbacks to her training days at the KGB, the primary security agency of the Soviet Union. Here, Romanoff was trained in the “Red Room,” alongside many other highly specialized spies.
Before becoming an Avenger herself, Scarlet Witch worked with Ultron and nearly took Black Widow down, by mentally placing her back in the “Red Room.” In this flashback, Marvel fans saw some of Romanoff’s intense training that even, as implied, included killing unidentified and defenseless victims bound to a chair.
Black Widow also confided in Bruce Banner, better known as Hulk, that she cannot have children. She explains that to make her a more effective killer, the KGB sterilized her on the day of her graduation from the “Red Room.”
With tears, she tells Banner, “It’s effective.” Here Marvel fans see a rare-vulnerable side of Romanoff where she seems to possess a sense of shame for not being able to have kids, and maybe even regret.
6. Exposing Hydra
In “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Black Widow goes undercover as a member of the World Security Council. When it is revealed to the council members that S.H.I.E.L.D has been compromised by Hydra, the councilwoman throws a stun object at a Hydra soldier, disarms Piece (Hydra’s leader and former S.H.I.E.L.D council member), and removes a digital mask, revealing it is, in fact, Romanoff in disguise.
Black Widow and Fury then force Pierce to unlock S.H.I.E.L.D.’s database so that she can leak classified information and expose Hydra, and all of its members, to the public.
7. Budapest
Black Widow and Hawkeye have a close friendship and an apparent work-related past. In “Avengers,” in the midst of the fighting the Loki-induced threat to Earth, Black Widow says to Clint “It’s like Budapest all over again.” He responds, “You and I remember Budapest very differently.”
Leaving fans wondering for years, WTF happened in Budapest? And how would it be reminiscent of their defense of New York, the location of the wormhole?
8. Hulk’s Lullaby
Unlike her friendship with Hawkeye, Black Widow has a more intimate relationship with Bruce Banner. This bond allows Romanoff to soothe the Hulk from his green and aggressive state, reverting him back to the timid scientist.
Black Widow gives Hulk a lullaby, as the team calls it, which entails a caress of his palm and the words, “the sun’s getting real low.” Many find it poetic to give her this role, as her character is a trained killer.
