Every Returning MCU Character In Black Widow

Warning: This post contains Black Widow spoilers.

Black Widow features surprisingly few returning characters from the wider MCU — but a couple of cameos have a key background presence. Marvel's shared universe model has actually changed a lot over the years, and it's now commonplace to see major heroes crop up in another character's solo film. Tony Stark had a notable presence in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Hulk and Doctor Strange were in Thor: Ragnarok, and Nick Fury was (sort of) a key player in Spider-Man: Far From Home. For all that's the case, though, Black Widow was notably short of other major MCU cameos.

Director Cate Shortland has confirmed Marvel deliberately chose to avoid MCU cameos in Black Widow. "Initially, there was discussions about everything, about all of the different characters," she explained. "What we decided was, and I think Kevin was really great, he said, 'She doesn't need the boys.' We didn't want it to feel like she needs the support. We want her to stand alone. And she does." That's perhaps one reason why Marvel chose to set Black Widow immediately after Captain America: Civil War, at a time when Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff was on the run and lacked the support network of either SHIELD or the Avengers.

Still, two MCU characters do pop up in Black Widow — and though they aren't featured prominently, they play important roles in the overarching narrative. One, in particular, is significant because it helps set up a Disney+ show in MCU's Phase 4.

The Return of General "Thunderbolt" Ross

The most notable return is by Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, played by William Hurt. Ross was introduced in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, a decorated general in the U.S. military who had become involved with super-soldier experiments; one of these had gone badly wrong, creating the Hulk, and he had relentlessly pursued Bruce Banner for years. He returned in Captain America: Civil War, which revealed Ross had retired from the U.S. military after a heart attack and quickly signed up as Secretary of State. Ross was a major figure in establishing the Sokovia Accords, and he took an active role in managing the Avengers — which didn't exactly go well.

Although Black Widow signed up to the Sokovia Accords, she switched sides during the pivotal airport battle between the opposing Avengers, and Tony Stark warned her to go on the run; "T'Challa told Ross what you did, so . . . they're coming for you," he cautioned her. Black Widow picks up pretty much immediately afterwards, with Ross eagerly pursuing Natasha Romanoff — and proving unable to pin the super-spy down. In the end, Black Widow even used her wanted status to her advantage, using her reactivated homing beacon to call Ross into play so he could mop up the wreckage of the Red Room.

Hawkeye

Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye may not be seen in Black Widow, but he's a major part of Natasha Romanoff's backstory, persuading her to switch sides when he tracked her down in Budapest; his voice can be heard in the flashback where Black Widow targeted General Dreykov, the final step in her defection to SHIELD. Hawkeye crops up again in Black Widow's post-credits scene, which is set after Avengers: Endgame and sees the Contessa blame him for Black Widow's death. It's unclear exactly how much the Contessa knows about what happened to Black Widow on Vormir, but she's certainly right that Clint Barton was very much involved in it.

The Contessa identifies Barton to Yelena by showing her a picture of him in the Ronin identity he adopted during the Blip, when he lost his way and became a murderous vigilante. No doubt Barton earned a lot of enemies while operating as Ronin, and it's possible the Contessa is associated with them, explaining why she's manipulating Yelena Belova into hunting him down. The next Black Widow's next mission will actually be to hunt down her big sister's best friend.

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