Black Widow: Where The Other Avengers Are During The Movie

In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, here's what the other Avengers are doing during the events of Black Widow. Marvel Studios will kick off Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Scarlett Johansson's long-overdue solo film as Natasha Romanoff. Directed by Cate Shortland, the movie will also introduce new MCU players such as David Harbour's Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, and O.T. Fagbenle as Mason. These characters are all connected to Nat's previous life as a Russian spy.

Black Widow will see Nat on a personal mission fighting off the mysterious villain Taskmaster. It's expected to fully wrap up her journey in the MCU following her tragic death in Avengers: Endgame. In order for the heroes to get hold of the Soul Stone, Black Widow sacrificed herself on Vormir, leading to a final battle with Thanos (Josh Brolin) without her. The upcoming standalone film works around this by setting its narrative in the two years between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

Given where Black Widow fits in the MCU timeline, the other five original Avengers are still around. The film's marketing is selling the idea that the story is mostly contained, with no confirmed cameos from other Marvel heroes. However, with rumors that some of them might make an appearance in the movie, here is what they're doing during the events of Black Widow:

Iron Man

Spider-Man Homecoming - Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark

Tony Stark's final conversation with Natasha in Civil War follows her betrayal in Germany after she let Captain America (Chris Evans) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) getaway. Regardless of when exactly Black Widow is set or how much time its events take place, Stark spends the next two years after his fall out with Captain America continuously preparing for the imminent unknown threat, which he eventually learns is Thanos in Infinity War. This is despite the fact that he's essentially doing this all by himself having given up on the Avengers Initiative,

As revealed in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony also reluctantly takes Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as his mentee on the heels of Civil War. Around this time, he sells Avengers Tower and moves upstate to Avengers HQ as he becomes more engrossed in preparing for the threat he first sensed in The Avengers. Finally, on a lighter note, he gets back with and eventually gets engaged with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Captain America

Labelled a vigilante for his refusal to sign the Sokovia Accords, Captain America secretly jailbroke his captured team at the end of Civil War before embarking on adventures below the radar, essentially assuming his "Nomad" identity from the comics. The Super Soldier first leaves Bucky at the hands of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) in Wakanda, where Shuri (Letitia Wright) helps with the HYDRA-brainwashed assassin's rehabilitation program. Steve then fully goes underground with Sam Wilson. In the Infinity War Prelude #1 comic, it's revealed that Steve spends the next two years before Infinity War traveling the globe with Black Widow and Falcon, the tie-in narrative showed the trio fighting a terrorist group in Syria.

It's unknown when exactly Natasha joins Steve and Sam, but based on her hair in the Black Widow trailers (long and red) and the prequel comic (short and blonde), it appears that the events of her standalone film take place before she becomes one of the Secret Avengers. Perhaps the upcoming film even leads to her reaching out to Steve following how everything goes down with her match-up against Taskmaster.

Hawkeye

As part of Team Captain America in Civil War, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is captured by the government. However, unlike other heroes who refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, Clint Barton decides to stay behind and strike a deal with the authorities instead of going into hiding. Along with fellow family man, Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Clint signs an agreement that commits him to house arrest, allowing him to be with his family. This hinders him from partaking in the events of Infinity War, only re-emerging in Endgame after his family has been "snapped." The means that while Natasha is reconciling with her past and dealing with Taskmaster in the Black Widow standalone, her best pal is stuck at home.

All that being said, with teases regarding what happened in Budapest, coupled with the clues that Black Widow would also tackle events predating Natasha's official MCU introduction in the MCU via Iron Man 2, it's possible that a Hawkeye cameo is in the cards. It's worth noting that that Black Widow's first trailer opens with an aerial shot of Budapest backing up this idea.

Hulk

Since his disappearance at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Hulk was nowhere to be found in the MCU until his return in Thor: Ragnarok. The green rage-monster had yet to transform back to Bruce Banner for two years, as he enjoyed the perks of being the Grand Master's (Jeff Goldblum) battle champion in Sakaar. This explains why he had the ability to speak, not to mention the temperament of a toddler. So, while Iron Man and Captain America were dealing with the Sokovia Accords leading to infighting among the Avengers in Civil War, followed by Natasha's solo adventure in Black Widow, the Hulk was out in space the whole time, oblivious to what was happening in his home planet.

It's only when Thor (Chris Hemsworth) accidentally meets him in gladiator battle that the Hulk's forced to leave the waste planet, and let his human alter ego back in the driver's seat. By the time the Hulk returns home at the beginning of Infinity War, the events of Black Widow are done.

Thor

The God of Thunder spends two years after Age of Ultron seeking answers about his vision that prominently featured the Infinity Stones, and doesn't return to Asgard until after Civil War is done on Earth. This means that Thor is still busy off-world making sense of his premonition about the elemental crystals while Natasha is dealing with her original family and threat of Taskmaster in Black Widow. Based on the timeline of events hinted by the Infinity War Prelude #1, by the time of Odin's (Anthony Hopkins) death that unleashed Hela (Cate Blanchett) in Ragnarok, Nat is already with Steve and Sam as they operated as the Secret Avengers.

From there, the God of Thunder goes on a trippy adventure that includes him crashing on Sakaar, where he meets the Hulk, and then back to Asgard where he defeats the Goddess of Death by instigating Ragnarok. Not too long after Asgard's destruction, Infinity War begins with Thanos hijacking their refugee ship on the way to Earth.

Given what the other five original Avengers are doing around the time that the events of Black Widow are happening, it's clear which characters have a chance of making a surprise appearance in the film (if any). Iron Man, Captain America, and Hawkeye can all factor in the narrative considering their whereabouts, not to mention their involvement in Civil War. However, Hulk and Thor will most probably be a no-show since both are off-world.

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