Natasha Romanoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Natalia Alianovna Romanoff, more commonly known as Natasha Romanoff, is a fictional character primarily portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—sometimes known by her alias, Black Widow. Romanoff is depicted as an expert spy and hand-to-hand combatant, trained in the Red Room from childhood to be a KGB assassin. This brought her under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, and Clint Barton is sent to kill her but instead spared her life and recruited her into the organization.
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Alianovna and the family name is Romanoff.Natasha Romanoff
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Black Widow (2021)
Natalia Alianovna Romanoff
- Black Widow
- Natalie Rushman
Nat
- Avengers
- Stark Industries
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- S.T.R.I.K.E.[3]
- KGB
- Red Room
- Various firearms
- Dual Glock 26 handguns
- Dual batons
- "Widow's Bite" electrified bracelets[4]
- Ivan Romanov (father)
- Alexei Shostakov (adoptive father)
- Melina Vostokoff (adoptive mother)
- Yelena Belova (adoptive sister)
When Nick Fury activates the Avengers Initiative, she becomes a founding member. Following the fallout related to the Sokovia Accords, Romanoff became a fugitive and eventually reunites with her adopted family, including sister Yelena Belova, and they work together to destroy General Dreykov's Black Widow program. After Thanos erases half of all life, Romanoff leads the Avengers for five years until sacrificing herself to obtain the Soul Stone, successfully helping the Avengers restore trillions of lives across the universe.
Romanoff was introduced in Iron Man 2 (2010), and became a central MCU character, appearing in nine films, including her final live-action appearance in Black Widow (2021).[5] Johansson's portrayal of Romanoff was met with positive reception.
Alternate versions of the character appear in the animated series What If...? (2021), voiced by Lake Bell. These versions include an incarnation of Romanoff who sees her world decimated by an alternate version of Ultron, eventually resulting in her being recruited into the Guardians of the Multiverse by the Watcher.[6]
Concept, creation, and casting[edit]
Black Widow was originally created as a comic book character named Natasha Romanova, first appearing as a recurring, non-costumed, Russian-spy antagonist in the feature "Iron Man", beginning in Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964). Five issues later, she recruits the besotted costumed archer and later superhero Hawkeye to her cause. Her government later supplies her with her first Black Widow costume and high-tech weaponry, but she eventually defects to the United States after appearing, temporarily brainwashed against the U.S., in the superhero-team series The Avengers #29 (July 1966). The Widow later becomes a recurring ally of the team before officially becoming its sixteenth member many years later. Her look was substantially revised in The Amazing Spider-Man #86 (July 1970), with shoulder-length red hair (instead of her former short black hair), a skintight black costume, and wristbands which fired spider threads.[11]
In 2004, Lionsgate acquired the film rights for Black Widow,[12] and in April announced that a Black Widow motion picture, featuring the Natasha Romanova version, was in the script stage by screenwriter-director David Hayter, with Avi Arad producing.[13][14] By June 2006, Lionsgate had dropped the project, and the rights to the character reverted to Marvel.[15] Hayter and Marvel tried getting another financier to develop the project, but Hayter "never felt comfortable that we had found a place that was willing to take the movie, and the character, seriously." This left Hayter "heartbroken", but he hoped the film would be made "some day".[16]
In January 2009, Marvel entered early talks with Emily Blunt to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2,[17] though she was unable to take the role due to a previous commitment to star in Gulliver's Travels.[18] According to co-star Emily Blunt, Blunt was originally cast as Black Widow in Iron Man 2, but had to drop out due to her commitment to do this film. During her interview on The Howard Stern Show on May 11, 2021, Blunt revealed to Howard Stern that she was forced by contractual obligation to appear, because of a two-picture deal with Fox when she starred in The Devil Wears Prada.[18][19] In March 2009, Scarlett Johansson signed on to play Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, with her deal including options for multiple films.[20] Johansson then reprised the role in The Avengers (2012),[21][22] Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014),[23] Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015),[24] Captain America: Civil War (2016),[25][26][27][28] Avengers: Infinity War (2018)[29][30] Captain Marvel (in a brief mid-credits appearance),[31] and in a leading role in Avengers: Endgame (2019).[32][33] After the release of Age of Ultron, Johansson revealed that the number of films on her contract had been adjusted since she first signed to match the "demand of the character", as Marvel had not anticipated the audience's "great reaction" to the character and her performance.[34]
In September 2010, while promoting the home media release of Iron Man 2, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige indicated interest in producing a solo Black Widow film,[35] and stated that discussions with Johansson had already taken place regarding a Black Widow standalone film, but that Marvel's focus was on 2012's The Avengers.[36]
In February 2014, Feige stated that, after exploring Black Widow's past in Age of Ultron, he would like to see it explored further in a solo film, which already had development work done for it,[37][38] including a "pretty in depth" treatment by Nicole Perlman, who co-wrote Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).[39] The following April, Johansson expressed interest in starring in a Black Widow film, and said that it would be driven by demand from the audience.[40] That July, Hayter expressed interest in reviving the project for Marvel,[41] and the following month, director Neil Marshall stated that he "would love to do a Black Widow film," saying he felt the character was "really interesting [given] she doesn't have any superpowers, she just has extraordinary skills, and the world that she comes from, being this ex-K.G.B. assassin, I find that really fascinating."[42] In April 2015, Johansson spoke more on the possibility of a solo Black Widow film, seeing the potential to explore the different "layers" of her depicted in the different films so far, but also stating that "right now I think this character is used well in this part of the universe".[34] While promoting Captain America: Civil War the next April, Feige noted that due to the announced schedule of films, any potential Black Widow film would be four or five years away.[43] He added that Marvel was "creatively and emotionally" committed to making a Black Widow film eventually.[44]
In July 2016, Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, stated that he was open to directing a Black Widow film, feeling he could make "a spy thriller. Like really do a good, paranoid, 'John le Carré on crack' sort of thing."[45] In October, Johansson discussed the potential film being a prequel, saying, "you can bring it back to Russia. You could explore the Widow program. There's all kinds of stuff that you could do with it." She did caution she may not want to "wear a skin-tight catsuit" for much longer.[46] The next February, Johansson said that she would dedicate herself to making any potential Black Widow film "amazing. It would have to be the best version that movie could possibly be. Otherwise, I would never do it ... [it would] have to be its own standalone and its own style and its own story."[47] Following the development work done and the public support for a Black Widow film to be made, Marvel ultimately decided that the "best time to move forward with the project" would be at the beginning of the "latest phase" of the MCU in 2020.[48]
In January 2018, Jac Schaeffer was hired to write the script.[49] Marvel sought a female director for the project, part of a priority push by major film studios to hire female directors for franchises.[50][51] Cate Shortland had the backing of Johansson, a fan of the director's previous female-starring film Lore (2012), and was hired in July to direct Black Widow.[51] The Hollywood Reporter reported in October 2018 that Johansson would earn $15 million to appear in the film, an increase from the "low-seven figure salary" she earned for starring in The Avengers. The $15 million was equal to what Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth each earned in Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Despite The Hollywood Reporter confirming the amount from "multiple knowledgable sources", Marvel Studios disputed the accuracy of the numbers while stating that they "never publicly disclose salaries or deal terms."[52] The film was expected to be released in May 2020, but was delayed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[53] with the new release date being July 9, 2021.[54] On July 29, 2021, Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney claiming the company's release of the film simultaneously on Disney+ and in theaters was a breach of contract, as her pay was tied into the box office performance of the film, which was allegedly impacted by its release on Disney+.[55]
Differences from the comics[edit]
Natasha Romanoff in the MCU is a member of the Avengers founded by Nick Fury since the start, while in the comics she is a much later addition, and initially a villain (named Romanova, rather than Romanoff) who is specifically antagonistic to the team. In fact, the first female Avenger in the original Avengers created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby was the Wasp. The MCU version also showed a brief romance with Bruce Banner in Age of Ultron, also hinted at in later films. No such relationship occurs in the comic books, although the character is shown in the comic books involved with several other characters, including Clint Barton, Bucky Barnes and Hercules. In the films, her relationship with Barton is a close but platonic friendship.[82] The character has also been involved with Matt Murdock in the comics, while the two have never had any interactions during the course of their appearances in the MCU.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
In the character's first appearance in the MCU, David Edelstein of New York Magazine crudely described the presence of the female leads in Iron Man 2 as "a gam-off between Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson in which Paltrow wins on length and then disappears in the glare of her opponent's headlights".[83] Vanity Fair notes that her entrance in that film "famously chose to focus on her desirability rather than her staggering combat skills".[84]
A Daily Beast review of the character's role in Age of Ultron lamented that the character had been made to "function as a cog that services the storylines" of the male characters.[7] Vanity Fair described the development of the character across the films as "a trajectory that's been as all over the map as Black Widow's varying hairstyles", stating that she "spent her years in the MCU as an accessory to narratives foregrounding other heroes".[84]
Vox notes that in Avengers: Endgame, "Johansson takes Romanoff — usually the dependable, no-frills assassin — into quiet, stoic suffering",[85] while Vanity Fair laments that the film "never gives her or her death room to breathe".[84]
Romanoff's final film appearance in the MCU garnered mixed reviews. David Rooney, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, called Black Widow "a stellar vehicle" for Johansson.[86] Eric Kohn of IndieWire praised the action, "notably during a brawl between Black Widow and the robotic killer known as Taskmaster who mirrors her every move. If this is the last time we get to see Johansson mete out justice to her assailants with gymnastic velocity, it's an apt send-off."[87]
Writing for BBC Culture, Caryn James felt that Romanoff was "the least interesting character" in her family, being "an odd fit for the sly family movie unfolding around her"."[88] However, Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood wrote that Johansson "goes out with all guns blazing", and felt that the opening sequence revealing Romanoff's family construct are actually Russian spies was reminiscent of The Americans, while praising the chemistry between Johansson and Florence Pugh, "with Natasha's awkward shyness counterpunched by the lively and cynical Yelena". Of the performances, Hammond said: "Johansson is again a great presence in the role, showing expert action and acting chops throughout".[89]