Black Widow and Arya Stark: Hero Swap

The following contains Spoilers for Game of Thrones Seasons 6 and 7, as well as, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. How would Black Widow and Arya Stark look if their roles were swapped?

This is Hero Swap, where two heroes from TV shows swap places in almost every part of their respective character. Let’s look at the rules:

1. Only one character can be swapped out per movie.
2. The main character from each movie can’t be swapped with supporting characters.
3. The only aspects of the characters being swapped that are under consideration are those of the specific versions being swapped.

The idea behind Hero Swaps is simple. Take the main character of one movie, television show or comic book, and swap he or she out with a character from another movie, television show, or comic book. I then talk about various aspects of what would change after the swaps take place.

Character Summaries

Image Courtesy HBO for Game of Thrones Season 7

Arya Stark is the daughter of Eddard (Ned) Stark and Catelyn Stark. During the course of the 7 seasons of Game of Thrones, she has experienced a great deal of loss, hardships, and misfortune.

From an early age, she yearned to be a great warrior and has in fact developed into one of great skill and cunning. She learned the art of the Water Dance, a style of fencing, as well as the ways of The Many Faced God.

She is fearsome, smart, brave, loyal and vicious.

Image Courtesy Marvel Studios for Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Black Widow is a highly trained spy/master assassin who was most recently employed as an Avenger.

She is a highly skilled martial artist, proficient with a wide variety of weapons, incredibly cunning and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish her mission.

Which versions are being swapped?

Arya and Black Widow are pretty similar characters. Both are women who excel in areas typically dominated by men. Both have experienced their share of hardships during their lives. Both are also ruthlessly effective in taking out their enemies and fiercely loyal to their friends.

For this swap, I want to have the most fully realized versions of each of these characters. So we’ll take season 7 Arya Stark and have her switch places with Black Widow from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

Summaries

Arya Stark in season 7 of Game of Thrones is an incredible character. Her arc starts with her wearing the face of Walder Frey (after feeding him his sons and killing him in season 6) and poisoning his entire family in revenge for the infamous Red Wedding.

She then decides to assassinate Queen Cersei, but changes her mind after learning Jon Snow has been crowned the King in the North and decides to head home to Winterfell instead.

The journey home is largely uneventful, save her encounter with a pack of wolves led by her now feral direwolf Nymeria.

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Once in Winterfell, Arya spars with the mighty Brienne of Tarth and more than holds her own against the fearsome warrior. She also navigates the schemes of master schemer Littlefinger.

After revealing his treachery to the Northern Lords, Arya kills Littlefinger at the behest of her sister Sansa.

In The Winter Soldier, Black Widow is forced to go on the run with Captain America after S.H.I.E.L.D.’s infiltration and subsequent destruction by Hydra.

The pair fights Hydra with the help of Sam Wilson and ultimately prevent them from enacting their plan of using S.H.I.E.L.D’s helicarriers to take over the world.

Throughout the movie, Black Widow employs her wide-ranging skill-set fully. In the beginning, she performs a solo op to retrieve Intel for Nick Fury, while in the middle of another operation as part of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s S.T.R.I.K.E. team.

She then is forced to go to ground with a fugitive Captain America, perhaps one of the most famous people in the world.

Then she infiltrates the inner sanctum of S.H.I.E.L.D. and leaks all of Hydra’s files to the public, revealing their evil deeds for all to see.

Which is changed more?

This question hinges chiefly on two things.

One, would Arya Stark be able to successfully go on the run with Captain America?

And two, would Black Widow be able to out-scheme Littlefinger?

I’m going to say that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is changed more than season 7 of Game of Thrones is after the swap.

Simply put, I don’t think that Arya would be able to hide Captain America and successfully go on the run with him. She’d have to use other, bloodier methods, to accomplish her needs.

It is likely that she would kill Rumlow and wear his face. Then as Rumlow, she’d bring the “captured” Captain America into Hydra, where they’d be able to take them down from the inside. Likely by subsequently killing Director Pierce, wearing his face and exposing Hydra’s evil plans.

Meanwhile, in Westeros, I think it is likely that Black Widow would be able to follow along in Arya’s footsteps for much of the season.

Her main issue would be dealing with the nefarious plans of Littlefinger. However, she has a ton of experience dealing with nefarious and schemy men so I think she would be able to see through his plots.

Besides, even if she couldn’t she’d be put to death at the very tail end of season 7. Now, that’d be a huge change, but it wouldn’t necessarily impact Game of Thrones season 7, as much as it would impact season 8.

Basically what I’m saying is that even if Black Widow as a surrogate Arya were to die at the end of season 7, the overall plot of season 7 would not have been impacted as much, because it was already almost over.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is changed more.

Who fares better after the swap?

In this instance, both characters fare about the same.

Arya’s primary goals in Game of Thrones are to protect her family and destroy those who have harmed them. Black Widow would be able to accomplish those about as well as Arya.

Black Widow’s primary goals in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, are to take down Hydra and save the world. Arya Stark would be able to accomplish those goals, perhaps even better than Black Widow.

You may think Arya is only able to murder Lord Frey and subsequently his entire family, because she can wear faces. Well, Black Widow obviously cannot use that magic, so how would she be able to accomplish this goal?

Lord Frey is a disgusting, vile man; Black Widow would be able to kill him fairly easily. Poisoning his family would be slightly trickier, but again, she is a spy and assassin of considerable skill, so I imagine she’d get the job done.

Which is better after the swap?

This is a tricky question.

Unchanged, I probably enjoyed Game of Thrones season 7 more than Captain America: The Winter Soldier. However, Arya’s storyline in season 7 is kind of dull excepting it’s start and finish.

So, just judging Black Widow, as the surrogate Arya’s storyline in season 7, The Winter Soldier, with Arya in Black Widow’s place, would be the more enjoyable movie after the swap.

It isn’t necessarily the fairest argument since any individual characters storyline in a T.V. series as huge as Game of Thrones isn’t going to be as rewarding without the context of the entire show.

That said, seeing Arya’s trickery, viciousness and awesomeness paired with the goody two shoes Captain America would be awesome.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier with Arya would be filled with moral debates, action, and wicked plots. (So basically, like the original thematically, but different in execution).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is better.

Next: Hero Swap: Batman and Iron Man

Did you like that swap? What heroes should be swapped next?