Black Widow Continues MCU’s Worst Gag From Avengers: Endgame

Warning! This post contains spoilers for Black Widow.

Black Widow continues Marvel Cinematic Universe’s worst gag from Avengers: Endgame. For decades now, superheroes have looked a specific way onscreen and those who don’t meet those same body standards are made the butt of a joke and/or shamed about the way they look. Fat Thor became a running joke in Endgame simply because the God of Thunder no longer looked the same physically. It was the most uncomfortable and unnecessary aspect of the film, and it carries over now into Black Widow with Red Guardian’s introduction.

Five years after Thanos’ actions in Avengers: Infinity War eradicated half of the world’s population, Thor became a recluse. He started drinking a lot and gained weight. It was rather easy to see, however, how emotionally affected he was by the loss of life, but the state of his mental health wasn’t much of a concern for his teammates so much his size. And so Fat Thor became the butt of everyone’s jokes in Avengers: Endgame, something others just had to comment on instead of asking him if he was okay when he clearly wasn’t. Even his crying made others uncomfortable, utilized for laughs throughout the film.

In the same vein, Black Widow remarks on Red Guardian’s weight in an insensitive manner as well. Meanwhile, the film completely glosses over the fact Red Guardian was in prison for the better part of two decades. That his body size has to be commented on at all is an issue because it suggests any kind of superhero can’t look the way he does without it being brought up as a part of a gag. Regardless of whether or not Melina still thinks he’s attractive at all is besides the point. No one makes pointed comments when MCU characters have a predictable body type — usually thin, tall, and muscular. However, the focus, as brief as it is, on Red Guardian’s weight gain suggests that it is abnormal and therefore needs to be highlighted for the audience.

That Melina also compares Alexei to a pig makes it worse because, while she named the pig before she reunited with Red Guardian, the filmmakers knew what he would look like in the scene for the joke to be worked in at all. Rather than learning from the mistakes made in Endgame, the MCU repeats them in Black Widow. It unnecessarily calls attention to the fact that both of these characters have gained weight over the course of time. In both instances, being fat is played for laughs even though it isn’t funny. Considering non-fat characters have not had comments made about their bodies just goes to show the way the MCU (and society at large) views fatness as something to be joked about and shamed, with the person being made into a punchline.

It’s all rather disconcerting and the MCU needs to do better moving forward. Both films could have treated Red Guardian and Thor with more empathy, but the scripts took a more juvenile approach to humor. Black Widow could have certainly worked without the fat jokes and uncomfortable humiliation at Red Guardian’s expense. The same goes for Thor, who was treated horribly by others in Avengers: Endgame. Fat jokes aren’t funny and it’s about time writers stopped pointing to the size of someone’s body as a source of comedy.

Next: Black Widow: All Easter Eggs, MCU Connections & Hidden Details