Marvel Studios' Multiverse Saga has been full of ups and downs as the Marvel Cinematic Universe dealt with its own expansion via the Disney Plus streaming service, overexposure, and a mid-storyline central villain change. But, throughout all of the highs and lows, there has been one character who has remained a beacon of hope. That character is none other than Yelena Belova.
Originally introduced in 2021's Black Widow, Yelena is portrayed by Florence Pugh - who has become one of Hollywood's most reliable movie stars in the past five years. Her role as Yelena is at least partially responsible for that, as fans all over the world have fallen in love with Natasha Romanoff's younger sister, her odd father-daughter relationship with Red Guardian, and her nuanced character development in the critically-acclaimed Thunderbolts*. Now, Marvel has officially confirmed a major change for the character moving forward.
Yelena officially replaces Natasha as the MCU's new Black Widow
Florence Pugh is set to bring Yelena Belova back to the big screen in this December's Avengers: Doomsday but she made an unexpected earlier appearance in this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The leader of the New Avengers (formerly known as the Thunderbolts) provided some help to Spider-Man in regards to Damage Control and what the new threat he was investigating was actually after. It was a fun, unexpected cameo for viewers who weren't watching the internet for MCU rumors in the weeks ahead of the film's release but it also featured a major change for the MCU's new core hero.
Yelena is officially referred to as "Black Widow" for the first time by Ned Leeds and MJ, who see Spider-Man having a video call with her. This is a pretty significant moment as it marks the first real acknowledgement of the fact that Yelena has now taken over her sister's role as the MCU's official Black Widow. And considering the character's former aversion to anything superhero, that's a huge deal - especially because of everything that Natasha stood for, too.
While both are former Red Room assassins - which were known as "Widows" - Natasha left that life of crime behind to join SHIELD and, eventually, the Avengers. Out of the darkness that birthed her Widow persona came hope, as she was able to use her expert killing skills for good, saving the world from threats like Loki, the Chituari, Hydra, Ultron, and Thanos. She also, in the midst of all of that, managed to bring down the man who turned her into a killing machine, Dreykov himself, ending the Widow program once and for all.
When Yelena reunited with Natasha ahead of the Blip, she judged her for leaving her behind all those years ago in order to become a superhero. She never believed in life as a superhero and turned to a life of covert operations instead, working for Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine after Natasha died during the events of Avengers: Endgame. However, she eventually longed for a more front-facing position, done with the life of questionable assignments. Although this almost led to her death (when Valentina planned on having all of her soldiers take each other out), it presented her with a new opportunity: As the leader of the New Avengers.
Thunderbolts*' conclusion set the stage for Yelena's new chapter and she now officially has the opportunity to carry on Natasha's legacy as the new Black Widow. The last step that Marvel had to make was in making it official: Now they have done that in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
It couldn't have come at a more crucial time.
Why now is the right time for Yelena to officially become Black Widow
While we all knew that Yelena was carrying on Natasha's legacy, using her Widow skills for good, she was also such a force to be reckoned with in and of herself that we just knew her as Yelena. She was a Widow in a former life leading a new version of the team that her sister helped build, but she was also just "Yelena": Badass and unstoppable in her own way. If she hadn't bothered with a codename, we really wouldn't have minded.
That being said, the Multiverse Saga has been all about classic MCU heroes having their legacies passed on to the next generation. Sam Wilson has taken over from Steve Rogers as the new Captain America, Kate Bishop is the MCU's new Hawkeye, and Riri Williams was set up to succeed Tony Stark as the franchise's next Iron hero (Ironheart). Even Kamala Khan was considered something of a successor to Captain Marvel (despite the fact that Carol Danvers is still very much a part of the MCU) and the children of Wanda Maximoff and Vision are continuing their stories (again, despite their parents' stories clearly still being alive and well).
Yelena's succession as Black Widow was more subtle than any of those. We knew that she was paying homage to Natasha in everything that she did (becoming the hero that she never thought she could be) but she was built up strongly in her own right that she didn't need that mantle officially. Now that she has it, it feels incredibly earned. All of the other heroes earned their mantles as well, but as Marvel Studios has taken much more care with getting Yelena to this point - and simply featured her far more regularly - it feels like the most example of this.
And that brings us to Avengers: Doomsday. The upcoming movie will see multiple factions of Marvel heroes together to battle Doctor Doom. Sam Wilson's original rebuilt Avengers will join forces with Yelena's New Avengers - and considering how close the original Captain American and Black Widow were, this feels very earned, too. They will also unite with the Fantastic Four and the X-Men as the Multiverse Saga begins to prepare for a battle that will take us into the MCU's next era. And it's incredibly fitting that our new Black Widow will be at the forefront of that new era.
Marvel fans always accepted Yelena as Natasha's successor. The fact that Marvel simply made it official ahead of Avengers: Doomsday - the Avengers' biggest battle to date - is really quite fitting. Just as Natasha led a massive team of heroes in their intergalactic battle against Thanos, Yelena will do the same across the multiverse against Doctor Doom. And, just like that, Black Widow - and everything that she stands for - is alive and well.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has arrived in movie theaters. Avengers: Doomsday will arrive in movie theaters on December 18, 2026.
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