Warning: This post contains spoilers for Black Widow.

Scarlett Johansson knew just where Natasha's grave should be in Black Widow. After several COVID-related delays and even more years of fans calling for it, Natasha Romanoff's first (and likely only) solo adventure in the MCU has arrived. Black Widow debuted this past weekend, over a year after it was first expected to premiere. The film, which scored the best opening weekend of the pandemic, doesn't focus on Natasha's origin story, but instead explores the adventure she went on in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, when she revisited her assassin roots.

Even before Black Widow premiered, it carried with it a sense of loss. Natasha sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame, thus shutting the door on any future story possibilities for the character. A common complaint leveled at Endgame is that it doesn't show any kind of memorial for Natasha. Black Widow attempts to rectify this by showing her grave, which is a simple headstone in an Ohio cemetery. Her sister Yelena (Florence Pugh) visits it during the Black Widow end-credits scene.

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It turns out that the idea to give Natasha a modest grave was Johansson's. In an interview with Variety, Black Widow director Cate Shortland responded to the decision to give Natasha a smaller memorial than the ones her fellow Avengers Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) received. "Scarlett talked to me about it: Her character would have hated a public funeral," Shortland said. "So I felt like the fact that she’s buried in a really private place, in the boondocks somewhere, is perfect." Natasha's grave hasn't gone unnoticed, though, as it is surrounded by gifts and flowers during the end-credits scene.

Black Widow Natasha Romanoff grave

Some fans might bristle at Natasha only receiving an understated marker in an unremarkable graveyard, but Johansson's reasoning is sound. Natasha has never sought attention, and she's made a life moving from one persona to the next. In the end, all she wanted was to save her friends and the world. She didn't want any recognition for it, so Black Widow's final tribute is rather fitting. Except, of course, for Contessa Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) blowing her nose.

Black Widow finally gave Natasha a solo adventure, but should a sequel get made, it won't include her. Johansson has made it clear she is finished with playing Black Widow and is now following in the footsteps of Downey and Evans by leaving the franchise. Of course, should a Black Widow 2 actually happen, one can assume her presence will be felt somehow. She will always live on through Yelena's continuing arc, and the people of the MCU will likely always remember what she did for them. The same can be said for the fans, who will surely miss her for a long time.

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Source: Variety

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