After a long wait, Natasha Romanoff finally got her own solo movie in the MCU with Black Widow. It is an intense, dark, and somewhat mournful tale of Natasha confronting her past and reuniting with her first surrogate family. But despite the intensity of the movie, Black Widow still manages to include a lot of that trademark MCU humor.
From the interactions with her family that feel very relatable to the fantastic new characters, there are some great moments of levity to balance the movie's darker moments. These big laughs only help to make Black Widow yet another entertaining entry in the MCU.
Melina's Pig Experiments
Since the movie deals with such dark themes, it's not surprising that some of the humor skews a little darker as well. This is particularly true of the scene where Melina explains her work for the Red Room that involved creating mind-controlled soldiers.
Melina demonstrates the work she has been doing by ordering one of her beloved pet pigs to stop breathing. Natasha, Yelena, and Alexei watch in horror as the pig collapses on the floor. Melina finally orders the pig to breathe again, casually saying it could have survived several more seconds.
Yelena's Stylish Vest
Though Yelena was never mentioned by Natasha prior to Black Widow, the movie did include a nice retcon acknowledging their sisterly bond. Many fans noticed that the vest Yelena wears in this movie is the same one Natasha wore in Avengers: Endgame.
Black Widow emphasizes the importance of the vest as Yelena excitedly talks about how much she loves the utilitarian nature of the garment. Natasha begrudgingly admits she's a fan of the vest, agreeing with her surrogate sister that the vest's many pockets are useful in combat. Yelena gives the vest to Natasha at the end of the movie as a farewell gift. It's a funny running joke that leads to a very touching moment.
Red Guardian's Need For Captain America's Approval
In the comics, the Red Guardian is a humorless villain and Russian counterpart of Captain America. Black Widow largely abandons the character's serious nature and introduces Red Guardian into the MCU in a hilarious and entertaining way.
It is another running joke that Alexei endlessly talks about his glory days battling Captain America. When he reunites with Natasha decades later, one of his first questions is whether or not her fellow Star-Spangled Avenger ever asked about him. "Did he mention me?" he asks Natasha, hopeful that his onetime adversary remembers who he is. Alexei's childlike need for Steve Rogers to remember him is not only funny but reveals Red Guardian's hidden vulnerability.
Yelena's "A Cool Way To Die" Running Joke
Florence Pugh makes a great debut in the MCU as Yelena, proving herself to be as effective of a super spy as Natasha. But she also has a fun and wild side to her that will be really exciting to explore in Phase 4.
During the thrilling sequence when Natasha and Yelena break Alexei out of prison, Yelena accidentally triggers an avalanche. As she watches the snow falling down the mountain towards them, Yelena says to herself, "This would be a cool way to die." This joke is repeated throughout the film and reaches its crescendo in the Red Room, where Yelena is about to get her head sliced open. "This is not a cool way to die," she sighs.
Alexei's Proud Dad Moment With Natasha & Yelena
Ever since her early days in the MCU, Natasha has always carried the darker aspects of her past with her. She famously talked about having "red in my ledger" which fueled her quest to atone for the violence and bloodshed her time as a Russian spy had caused. This guilt is clearly not something that Alexei shares.
Once Alexei is out of prison and reunites with the girls, he takes a moment to tell them how proud he is of the women they have become. Specifically, he enthusiastically compliments them by saying, "You both have killed so many people." Both Natasha and Yelena are horrified by Alexei's attempted compliment and walk away, leaving their confused surrogate father wondering what he did wrong.
Yelena Teases Natasha About The Avengers
After Natasha and Yelena find each other again after many years, it doesn't take long for their sibling rivalry to reignite. Yelena seems especially annoyed that Natasha seems to have found a new family with the Avengers and wastes no opportunity to tease Natasha about her super friends.
When the two are recovering from a battle and patching up their wounds, Yelena makes mention of the superpowered "big ones" on the Avengers team. Natasha seems insulted and questions what she means, so Yelena points out the "the god from space" probably doesn't need aspirin after a fight.
Alexei's Big Speech
Another great running gag in the movie is Alexei's poor timing with bearing his heart to his long-lost family. Though he can be a self-centered and clueless man at times, he eventually feels guilty over what he did to Natasha and Yelena.
While in a Red Room prison cell, he begins apologizing to Natasha in the next cell for being a neglectful father. He gives a very sincere speech only for it to be revealed that it is Melina wearing a Natasha mask. He then tries to give another heartfelt speech to his surrogate daughters through their earpieces, but Melina tells him they didn't have enough earpieces for him. Alexei's apology was only heard by Melina, who simply rolls her eyes and carries on with the mission.
Natasha's Family Dinner
The movie begins with this pseudo-family sitting down for an all-American dinner together before they flee to Cuba. Later in the film, they all reunite at Melina's farm and once again sit down for a meal together.
Despite the pain they all went through in the years they were apart, Natasha's makeshift family falls back into typical family dynamics. Hilarity thus ensues as Melina scolds Natasha for slouching, Yelena refuses to eat, and Alexei flirts with Melina. This scene is funny because even though all of them are hardened killers, they fall prey to the same petty arguments that occur in an "ordinary" family.
Yelena Mocks Natasha For Posing
Natasha has always been one of the more intense members of the Avengers, so it's nice to see a new, softer side of her in Black Widow. This more humane side comes from her interactions with Yelena, who calls her out on her tendency to pose during battle.
In a great meta-commentary moment, Yelena questions Natasha on the pose that she always does which fans immediately recognize. It becomes a running joke as Yelena calls Natasha "a poser." Yelena even tries it for herself at one point, further cementing that she is ready to take over as Black Widow in the MCU.
Alexei's Fatherly Story To Yelena
There are a lot of questionable fathers in the MCU, but Alexei is surely one of the most eccentric. Though he means well, he is always saying the wrong thing, no matter how much he tries to be profound.
In an attempt to cheer Yelena up, he begins telling her about a story of when he was ice fishing with his father and his hands went into the freezing water. Though Yelena isn't interested, Alexei insists there is a point. He goes on to explain that his father urinated on his hands to avoid frostbite. When Yelena questions what his point of the disgusting tale is, Alexei says, "You know… fathers."