Black Widow & Winter Soldier Is The MCU Romance We Deserve

With The Falcon & The Winter Soldier soon to release on Disney+, it's yet another reminder that Winter Soldier is the MCU romance Black Widow deserved but will now never get. There have been fleeting nods sprinkled throughout the MCU films that hinted at a potential past between the two of them, sparking hopes that their comic book romance would unfold on screen. Moments like her recounting her haunting run-ins with the Winter Soldier to Captain America in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and her indignant "You could at least recognize me!" line as she fought a brainwashed Bucky Barnes in Captain America: Civil War were all teasing glimpses of an unspoken history between them.

Despite that, Natasha's story arc in Avengers: Age Of Ultron more or less took the option of their relationship, known by the ship name of Bucknat, off the table. Though there's considerably more goodwill today for Age of Ultron than when it came out in 2015, certain plot developments still draw ire from fans, not least of which is the romantic relationship that suddenly sprang up between Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner in that movie. While some appreciated the arc, most felt the storyline was forced and that the rationale given for their inexplicable mutual attraction never fully made sense or seemed to fit either character, least of all Natasha.

The greatest frustration, however, stemmed from the sense of a huge missed opportunity by Marvel. The shoehorned-in romantic subplot between Nat and Bruce never felt fitting or sat easy with those familiar with the comics because they knew there was another, better romance just waiting to unfold in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one that has a long and storied comic book history: Black Widow and Winter Soldier. It's the MCU romance that should have unfolded rather than the one that did. Here's why.

Black Widow & Winter Soldier Have A Long History Together In The Comics

It may surprise those whose majority of knowledge of the characters comes solely from the movies, but the comic book relationship between Natasha Romanoff and James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes goes back for decades. The backstories of both have rarely been touched upon in the movies. The first Captain America movie showed Bucky Barnes when he was a young man from Brooklyn going off to fight in World War II, but before that movie ended, he had already seemingly perished after falling to his death and begun the Hydra brainwashing process. Natasha, of course, had her Black Widow training in the infamous Russian Red Room; flashbacks of her time there have cropped up in the MCU and it's expected the upcoming Black Widow will explore it further. Yet, the connection between Natasha and Bucky via the Red Room has never been touched upon in the movies though it's an integral part of the origin story of each in the comics.

As an orphan, the young Natasha accepted a deal to enter into the Soviet Government's top-secret Red Room facility, where she was trained as an assassin and spy for the KGB's Black Widow Ops Program. While there, one of her trainers was none other than Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, who by that time had already undergone the same brainwashing program and was working as a Soviet spy. The relationship eventually blossomed into a romantic one, and there was nothing shallow or forced about it. Even after the romance ended, the pair continued to have a deep and abiding mutual affection, often working together on covert missions.

Why Bucky And Natasha Are So Good Together

Winter soldier Black widow Avengers endgame

There is a scene in Age of Ultron where Natasha is all but arguing with Bruce Banner to accept her feelings for him and asks him, "You still think you're the only monster on the team?" Had she said it to Bucky Barnes, the lethal Winter Soldier, it would not only have made more sense but also been absolutely fitting. Natasha and Bucky are so good together in the comics because they understand one another like no one else can, better even than how Clint Barton understands Natasha or Steve Rogers understands Bucky. It stems from their shared past and the parallel circumstances that bound them together. They were both brainwashed against their will, both went through the same Russian spy program, both spent years as assassins.

Even more than those shared experiences, they're good together because they understand the aftermath of those experiences. Turns out, it's not easy to have brainwashing reversed yet still leave one intact, mentally. While they're now on the side of heroes, it's something they each continue to struggle with in their individual redemption arcs. They understand the deep self-loathing and overwhelming guilt that comes with a history of murder, forced or not. The psychological damage left by a traumatic past is different for every superhero, Bucky and Natasha are uniquely suited to heal each other as they experienced the exact same sort of trauma. That healing has occasionally come with very low moments; throughout their history they've saved each other as many times mentally and emotionally as they have from bodily harm. In the current Black Widow run by Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande, for example, Natasha went through arguably the worst experience of her life and Bucky was the only person in the world she trusted enough to help her - and then trusted enough to be vulnerable with afterward.

Winter Soldier Loved Black Widow So Much He Broke His Own Heart For Her

The Winter Soldier running from an explosion in the comics.

So unshakeable is their respect for one another in the comics that the great, abiding heartbreak of Bucky's life happened because he refused to hurt Natasha. Toward the end of Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier run, Natasha is taken and has her memories of Bucky — or, as she always called him, James — permanently wiped. When he rescues her, she breaks his heart, just as he did Steve's years ago, when she has no memory of him or their deep love for one another.

While painful, her memories of him and their life together could have been restored, just as Steve Rogers once did for him. Except Bucky refused to do that to the love of his life. The one reason they understood each other as no one else could have was their shared traumatic past of being brainwashed and having their minds tampered with over and over again. Out of respect for her and his unwillingness to ever put her through that sort of horror again, to violate her mind, even if it was for the best of reasons, he instead chose to let Natasha continue on without her memories of him, no matter how it broke him - and it did.

Bucky's arm stars have often changed colors and design to indicate his current status in the comics: Traditional red Russian star for brainwashed Winter Soldier; white during the events of the "Civil War" arc; red, white and blue during and after his Captain America stint. After losing Natasha, the star on his shoulder turned black with a red border. It was Bucky's equivalent of a mourning armband, a widower without his Widow. It's the star he currently wears in the comics to this day, albeit a slightly modified version.

Black Widow & Winter Soldier's Romance Is One Of The MCU's Worst Missed Opportunities

In the comics, Bucky and Natasha were separated for 50 years after their time together in the Red Room ended and they were forced apart. Years later, after Steve Rogers was assassinated and Bucky Barnes took up the mantle of Captain America, he struggled with the weight of responsibility, feeling that he wasn't a worthy successor due to his past as a killer. It was Natasha who helped Bucky find himself and repair the trauma in his psyche as they reconnected and a romance between the two once again blossomed.

The very next chapters about to unfold in the stories of each character are arcs that, in the comics, both were heavily involved in. Bucky is soon to struggle with his past and the weight of carrying on Steve's legacy in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier. Black Widow will find Natasha returning to Russia and putting the ghosts of her past in the Red Room to bed. However, with Natasha having been killed in Avengers: Endgame, it's extremely unlikely either one will show up in each other's projects, even in flashbacks, and their absences from each will be all the more glaring because of the stories they're telling. In the comics, it's those exact stories in which they were most necessary to one another and an integral part of each other's stories. No matter how good their MCU stories are, they will always lack something without their dynamic romance from the comics that would have elevated both characters.

Black Widow and Winter Soldier have always been stronger together than they ever are apart. The comics have shown that time and time again. It's just a shame the MCU has never allowed that relationship to blossom, and now it's too late. It's certainly possible their story might yet be told in snippets and flashbacks. But it will never be as powerful as it might have been had Marvel not ruined that chance years ago with the wrong romance.

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