With Avengers: Endgame now less than a week away, it’s almost impossible to ignore the flood of Avengers-related content. So, we wanted to do something a little different here at Def Pen to break through the noise. Every day leading up to the premiere, we’ll be breaking down exactly why each of the original Avengers is going to keep fighting Thanos in Endgame, even though he already beat them once. Today, it’s the MCU’s deadliest woman, Natasha Romanoff.
Black Widow’s story-line has been developing since Iron Man 2. We were introduced to her as a SHIELD operative lurking in the shadows for Tony Stark and then in ‘Avengers’ we got her to join the team as her superhero persona ‘Black Widow’. While she’s been here for the whole ride, there’s little-to-no information regarding Natasha Romanoff, so let’s get into her history first.
A revised origin story establishes her as being raised from very early childhood by the U.S.S.R.’s “Black Widow Ops” program. There she was brainwashed, and trained in combat and espionage at the covert “Red Room” facility, where she was biotechnologically and psycho-technologically enhanced—an accounting that provides a rationale for her unusually long and youthful lifespan.
Essentially, she was manipulated, brainwashed and tortured into becoming a weapon. That is why we see her fighting for freedom throughout her entire character arc in the cinematic universe.
For a woman who fights so much for freedom, Thanos eliminating half of the population and essentially not giving the people any ‘freedom’ of choice won’t sit well with Natasha. A trusted friend of Captain Steve Rogers and a companion of Hawkeye…she can’t stand losing. She’s a soldier and soldier’s don’t like to lose.
In a lot of ways, Natasha is willing to do whatever it takes, whenever it takes as well. With a ‘Black Widow’ spin-off prequel in the works, her character won’t necessarily be in danger of dying in Avengers: Endgame, but she won’t be afraid to risk it all in order to Avenge the people she has lost.
Avengers: Endgame hits theaters worldwide on April 26th.
