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How Wonder Woman helps the case for a standalone Black Widow film

By Sarabeth Pollock

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With the overwhelming success of Wonder Woman, it’s time to start building the case for a standalone Black Widow movie in the MCU.

Wonder Woman has opened the floodgates for female superhero (and supervillain) movies. As a character, Wonder Woman proves that there is enough interest for a more standalone films featuring female superheroes, and that there is an audience to support the blossoming genre. With that in mind, it’s time to see a standalone movie developed for Black Widow.

Face Time

Fans might be more familiar with Black Widow than some of the other members of the Avengers only because she has made more appearances in Marvel movies than many of the other members of the Avengers team. She’s tied in appearances with Captain America, and she’s approaching the Avenger with the most appearances: Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man.

Some fans like the fact that Natasha Romanoff hasn’t been featured in a standalone film and has instead been developing as a character throughout her appearances in other films. On the one hand it’s understandable to think that if a standalone movie isn’t possible, having Natasha Romanoff develop as a side story in other films is a good solution. That argument is also a convenient excuse not to make a movie out of her story, to put it bluntly. It’s a lot like the old expression “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and it’s that mindset that will keep the genre from advancing.

Over the years Black Widow’s story has been growing on screen to the point that she has perhaps surpassed her character as it is portrayed in the comics. And that’s what makes the timing so right for her own story.

A Look At The Past And A Possible Future

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, more of Romanoff’s background was revealed. We see a glimpse inside her world as a young girl while she trained to become the assassin we know today. We also learn that part of her training involved sterilization to keep her from having children (and presumably to keep those pesky female emotions at bay), making her an even deadlier assassin. This helps to explain why she has such a close relationship with Hawkeye and his children, because she cannot have children of her own.

Age of Ultron received a lot of flack for pairing Black Widow with Hulk in a romantic relationship. Black Widow has enjoyed a sarcastic flirtation with her Avengers colleagues over the years, but this budding relationship with Bruce Banner is intriguing because both characters have so much weight on their shoulders. They’re very similar, and it would be fun to see how this plays out. Of course, Hulk disappeared at the end of Age of Ultron and we won’t see him again until Thor: Ragnarok in November.

With glimpses of her past, and a possible relationship with Bruce Banner, there is plenty of material to build into a feature-length story featuring Black Widow.

Summer of Heroes

Black Widow features prominently in Disney’s Summer of Heroes experience at the Disney California Adventure theme park in Anaheim. For the first time, Black Widow appears for photo ops at her very own Heroic Encounter, making her way to the photo area several times a day with a procession through Hollywood Land. She joins Captain America and Spider-Man, who have already been appearing in the park for quite some time.

HEROIC ENCOUNTERS The heroine Black Widow canvasses Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure Park in a black armored vehicle known as the Avengers Armored Transport. Guests will find excitement throughout Hollywood Land during Summer of Heroes with the Avengers Training Initiative featuring Black Widow and Hawkeye, and heroic encounters with Black Widow, Captain America and Spider-Man. (Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

The Summer of Heroes event at the park is interesting because it’s a precursor of the Marvel expansion yet to come in the park. Black Widow is part of the face of this event, so why not give her the standalone movie to capitalize on her popularity?

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MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding, with origin stories like Doctor Strange setting up plot lines in other movies yet to come. Instead of an origin story, why not take all of the pieces and parts of Black Widow’s story and make a compelling feature film about her? Perhaps that standalone film could pair her with some of her fellow Avengers, but allow her to take center stage.

Unlike Wonder Woman, who made her cinematic debut in 2016’s Batman v Superman, Black Widow has been making appearances dating back to 2010’s Iron Man 2. Gal Gadot has paved the way for Black Widow, and if Marvel can secure a director like Patty Jenkins there is no doubt that a suitable script will come along to do Natasha Romanoff’s story proud.

Black Widow has been there for so many of her superhero colleagues over the years. It’s time for her to get the support she needs for her a movie of her own.

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