Why is Black Widow is the best Avenger? Here are some examples why she should be looked at as such.
Black Widow will officially debut in theaters (and on Disney Plus Premier Access) on July 9 as Natasha Romanoff returns to the big screen. Like Captain Marvel, this will be a prequel of sorts, taking place outside of the current Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. It’s also the second female-led movie in the MCU. And after Black Widow’s inevitable success, there will undoubtedly be even more to come.
Natasha has gone through a lot over the years. She’s been tortured by the people who made her a killer in The Red Room, she has done things she regrets and she died so the rest of the universe could be rebuilt.
Despite everything she’s done, however, Black Widow is sometimes looked at as the weakest of the Avengers. This writer is here to not only nullify that statement but to give you reasons why she may be the best Avenger.
6. Black Widow doesn’t have super powers but she’s still a hero
In the comic books, Natasha is enhanced like Captain America. While it hasn’t been explicitly stated whether or not she has abilities in the MCU, it seems that she does not. Either way, she’s not nearly as powerful or enhanced as the rest of the Avengers. She’s not as strong as Hulk or Thor, as durable as Cap and she also doesn’t have the incredible marksmanship that Hawkeye does. Nonetheless, she’s always been pivotal in helping the Avengers save the Earth.
She doesn’t need a fancy suit of armor or a magic hammer to be a factor. Natasha uses her wit, training and superb intelligence to make things happen and get the job done. A perfect example is when she tricked Loki in The Avengers, preying on his ego and duping him into telling her his plan – not even Nick Fury could get information out of him.
Black Widow is every bit as efficient – if not more – as the rest of the team and she does it all without superpowers.
5. Clearing her ledger
When Loki mentioned that Black Widow has red in her ledger in The Avengers, it let the audience know that she wasn’t always a good person. She’s done a lot of things she isn’t proud of. Instead of continuing the cycle of working for evil, however, she decided to do and be better.
It’s not just the adventures with the Avengers though. She does a lot of dirty work. For example, when Cap catches her on a computer saving S.H.I.E.L.D. intel in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, she had her mission and she made certain to complete it. Granted, the things she sometimes did for S.H.I.E.L.D. probably weren’t always on the up and up, but she embraced it because she knows that she’s the only one who can get the job done; doing bad things in the hopes of creating a better world.
Things like that go a long way to making up for what she did in her past.
4. She’s quick-thinking
Black Widow thinks on her feet better than anyone. Again, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a perfect example. Throughout the movie, she had to keep Steve Rogers safe and hidden from the Hydra S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Steve didn’t have the savviness to think on his feet in this new era simply because he didn’t know how to live in it. Natasha, on the other hand, did and it was her decision to making them act like a couple, kissing him when they were almost caught, that helped save their lives.
Moreover, let’s not forget how she tricked Steve into not physically taking the hard drive from her in the hospital, making a scene because she knew that he would back off. She’s just incredible in moments like this and it’s a skill she is definitively better at than anyone else on her team.
3. Her willingness to sacrifice her own life
There’s a difference between Clint’s willingness to die and Natasha’s. Hawkeye (as Ronin) didn’t have anything to live for. He wasn’t sure that his family would return from the Blip. Natasha, however, had a life to go back to. In fact, she actually seemed to be coming into her own (more on that in the next section).
Natasha understood the situation when presented with it in Avengers: Endgame. She knew that it had to be her. Clint had the opportunity to raise his kids and continue being a great husband. She wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she let him die.
Natasha could have let him be the offering for the Soul Stone. Instead, she looked at the bigger picture and made an executive decision that saved her best friend’s life.
2. She coordinated the heroes across the galaxy
When things were at their worst (see: Avengers: Endgame), someone had to step up and coordinate the heroes. It wasn’t just on Earth as that person would have to communicate with heroes all over the galaxy like Rocket and Captain Marvel. Natasha became that person as she made a constant effort to keep everyone involved and apprised of what was going on.
While Steve Rogers was helping in other ways, Tony Stark was retired and Thor was dealing with his depression, Black Widow remained on the frontline. Nick Fury was gone, Carol Danvers had more than just Earth to worry about and it looked like Okoye had a nation to run. That left Natasha to pick up the slack at Avengers HQ.
It would have been nice to see more of Black Widow in this role, as the leader in the MCU. In fact, a Black Widow sequel could always tell us a story about what she did during those five years.
1. Black Widow was always dependable
Lastly, Black Widow was the most reliable Avenger. Tony Stark had a tendency to do whatever he wanted (like helping to create Ultron). Captain America didn’t understand the world, meaning that there were certain decisions he couldn’t make. And Bruce Banner is, well, he’s the Hulk. You can’t depend on a guy who could stub his toe and go on an Olympic-level rampage. Meanwhile, you have Black Widow who always managed to be the one you could rely on.
Every team needs someone like this. Black Widow was the Avengers’ rock. The stages of grief that each Avenger went through when she died proved that. Natasha was more than just their teammate. She was their big sister. The one you went to for whatever you needed.
The Avengers won’t be the same without her.
In conclusion…
Black Widow may not be the first person that everyone thinks of when they think of the Avengers. However, as this writer has shown, maybe she should be. Natasha doesn’t get the respect she deserves. This is despite showing moviegoers how she can hold her own against overwhelming odds like genocidal robots and alien races bent on destroying the world.
Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor may be the trinity of Avengers, but let’s not forget Black Widow. The glue that held it all together.
Black Widow hits movie theaters and Disney Plus Premier Access on Friday, July 9.
What do you think? Could Black Widow be the best Avenger? Are there other examples you’d use to support this theory? Let us know in the comments below.