Black Widow: Where Yelena & Red Guardian Are During Infinity War & Endgame

Warning: This post contains Black Widow spoilers.

Black Widow suggests why Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) didn't appear alongside Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. After appearing in eight MCU movies, including cameos, Nat finally got a chance to shine in a solo movie. The installment, directed by Cate Shortland, detailed Nat's whereabouts following the events of Captain America: Civil War and how she teamed up with her Russian "family" to take down the Red Room once and for all.

Before Nat's reunion with her former family was presented in the MCU through Black Widow, it was revealed she went on the run as a fugitive after violating the Sokovia Accords. Infinity War picked up Nat's arc by explaining how she met up with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) to assist some of the Avengers in need, like Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). Along with the others, Black Widow fought Thanos and his army during the battle for the Infinity Stones in Wakanda. When the Mad Titan used the Gauntlet to destroy half of life throughout the universe, Nat wound up being one of the few who survived. Upon grieving for five years, Nat agreed to join the time heist with the surviving Avengers, leading to her heroic sacrifice on Vormir to obtain the Soul Stone for her friends.

Aside from Nat's grim fate, there were many unknowns in the titular character's life leading up to Black Widow. By detailing the events between Civil War and Infinity War, the solo movie was able to fill in some key gaps while also introducing pivotal figures to the franchise. The relationship between Nat, Milena, Red Guardian (aka Alexei Shostakov), and Yelena might have been rocky at the onset of their reunion, but the chapter ended with the group on good terms. Still, the trio wasn't involved in Nat's adventures during Infinity War nor Endgame. While it's possible they weren't aware of the conflict, there's also a chance they felt they shouldn't get involved with Nat's Avengers family. Granted, Black Widow provided other explanations.

Natasha, Yelena, and their parents in Black Widow

Milena and Alexei left with the freed Black Widows following the destruction of the Red Room. Though it's unclear what was next for the pair, it's important to remember that they weren't working superheroes. Despite what Red Guardian believed, he and Milena didn't serve roles like Nat and her fellow Avengers. Milena likely got to work on replicating the vial of Red Dust so other Black Widows throughout the world could be saved. It's possible Alexei tried to rekindle their previous romantic relationship or at least stayed in the company of allies. Either way, neither one probably would have felt they could make a major difference in Wakanda.

Black Widow also hinted that Yelena attempted to save her fellow "sisters," but at some point, she agreed to work for Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). She was probably busy with her own missions and either wasn't clued into Nat's conflict with Thanos or wasn't notified. Based on the Black Widow credits scene with Yelena and Valentina, the family was clearly made aware of Nat's death. Yelena would have certainly arrived at the battle against Thanos in Endgame, but she didn't have the connections to arrive at the location in time.

Would Milena, Red Guardian, and Yelena have agreed to help Nat if she had asked? Most likely. That said, the timing of Black Widow's release in connection to the MCU timeline prevented the trio from naturally appearing. The focus will now shift to what the franchise has in store for the trio now that Natasha is dead. Yelena will appear in Hawkeye, especially now that she's targeting Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), and viewers probably haven't seen the last of Milena and Alexei. The group could potentially fill in more gaps regarding their Infinity War and Endgame whereabouts, including whether or not they were victims of Thanos' Snap. Still, Nat's status in the franchise makes the Russian family's future bittersweet.

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