Ever since Black Widow made her MCU debut in 2010, fans have been itching to know more about how exactly Natasha Romanoff came to join the Avengers. Scarlett Johansson and the Marvel team have both expressed interest in creating a Black Widow solo film for many years, but now the time has finally come to learn more about Natasha’s past and see what created the former Russian-spy-turned-hero. However, the hype for this film has been building for a very long time, so Marvel needs to avoid one crucial mistake if they want Black Widow to live up to fan expectations.
In both the comics and previous Marvel films, Black Widow has a long history of complicated love interests and being sexualized for the purpose of beating the bad guys. So far in the MCU, Natasha briefly dated Bruce Banner in Avengers: Age of Ultron, kissed Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and attempted to seduce Tony Stark in Iron Man 2. While this trope might have worked for a little while, Natasha has proven herself to be selfless, fearless, and incredibly strong over the course of her time in the MCU. Fans are no longer interested in seeing Black Widow be portrayed as the woman every man desires, because they know that her character has developed far beyond that. Giving her a love interest, or over-sexualizing her character, in Black Widow will be catastrophic to the film's popularity.
RELATED: Every MCU Movie Featuring Black Widow, Ranked By Her Importance To The Plot
People love Natasha as a hero with a troubled past, not a damsel in distress having a difficult time making her romantic fantasies play out. Natasha is very capable of love, and fans love to see her bond with others, but only when it's channeled in the right direction. There's a reason why her relationship with Bruce didn't play out very long in Avengers: Age of Ultron and why he ended up going to space without her.
Fans didn't really like their relationship, there wasn't too much explanation as to how they managed to form a connection and quite frankly, that plotline was totally irrelevant in the grand scheme of the rest of the Avengers franchise. Natasha’s motives are primarily family-driven, not romantic, which has been well-established throughout the MCU films fans have seen so far. As viewers witnessed in Avengers: Endgame, Natasha claims to have found a family amongst her fellow superheroes, and everything she did after the snap was driven by her desire to keep the people she cares about close to her. She stayed in the Avengers headquarters after the blip to try and keep the rest of the world up and running, because she felt like it was the only way to hold on to her home and her loved ones.
Additionally, Natasha's sacrifice for the soul stone was for the sake of saving Clint’s life, whom she cared about like a brother, and she was even known as “Aunt Natasha” to Clint's kids. She even initially signed the Sokovia Accords in Captain America: Civil War, because she thought the most important thing was to keep her new family together.
Natasha’s past has always remained a bit of a gray area in the MCU, so there's plenty of backstory for the movie to explore. Getting to see more of Natasha’s childhood, learning about her relationship with her parents, or revealing just how traumatic her spy training as a young woman actually was are all things that are far more interesting than giving Natasha a love interest. Making her lock lips with another hero that she sees as family, like Bruce or Steve, would be a waste of precious screen time that Natasha so rightfully deserves.
Black Widow is only the second Marvel movie to cast a woman as the major protagonist, although it arguably should have been the first, so giving her a romantic subplot isn't what fans want to see. Instead, the MCU should take a page from the Captain Marvel handbook and focus on Natasha’s complicated relationship with herself and her past, not her relationship with some temporary fling.
Obviously, the movie will take place before her death in Avengers: Endgame, and the trailer has revealed the main premise of Black Widow is for Natasha to come to terms with her troubled past and supposedly repair the relationships she had during her time as a Russian spy before she left to join the Avengers. There is very little room for Natasha to pursue romance, so hopefully, Marvel won’t try to force her into a relationship that doesn’t make sense. There is only one character (Bucky Barnes) that fans would actually like to see Natasha end up with, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's happening any time soon. Therefore, the MCU’s best bet would be to avoid romance all together in the new Black Widow film and allow Natasha to be entirely herself, without the presence of a man.
Black Widow premieres July 9, 2021.
MORE: Why Do Some People Think Brie Larson Got A 'Demotion' From Marvel?