Marvel Finally Realizes How Important Black Widow Is To The Avengers

Over a decade after Black Widow was introduced, Marvel finally realized in Marvel's What If…? season 1 just how important she is to the Avengers and to the MCU as a whole. First appearing in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) was a SHIELD agent who was sent undercover to infiltrate Stark Industries and assess the suitability of Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) for the Avengers Initiative. With her extensive mastery of martial arts and espionage skills, Natasha later became an invaluable member of the Avengers, although often overlooked.

In her succeeding appearances, Black Widow, as the sole female Avenger at the time, was seemingly present only to push the team’s narrative forward. In The Avengers, Natasha helped recruit Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and save Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) from the grasp of Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Meanwhile, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Widow discovered that Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD, forcing her to release the secrets of the organization, including her own sordid history. She was also involved in a brief and surprising relationship with Bruce in Avengers: Age of Ultron that proved highly controversial due to the way it was framed. Finally, in Captain America: Civil War, she allowed the fugitives Steve Rogers/Captain America and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier to go free, making her a wanted criminal.

However, as depicted in the last two episodes of What If…? season 1, Black Widow (Lake Bell) finally earned the respect she deserves. In the season’s penultimate episode, she and Clint were the only ones remaining after Ultron (Ross Marquand) destroyed their world. Her persistence in finding Arnim Zola’s code that could defeat Ultron eventually led to their multiverse victory in the What If…? season 1 finale. When the Guardians of the Multiverse went home to their own timelines, she even challenged The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) to make her world habitable again. Although her request was denied, she was transported to the reality from What If...? episode 3 that had lost its Black Widow. Within a few minutes of arriving at her new timeline, Black Widow already managed to defeat Loki and lead the team to triumph.

Seeing What If…? situate Black Widow as a crucial player of the team is refreshing, considering how she was sidelined for most of her superhero tenure in favor of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. Her efforts at holding down the fort and managing the remaining Avengers in the aftermath of Thanos’ Infinity War Snap, for example, remained unappreciated. Moreover, Black Widow’s desire to do “whatever it takes” to complete their mission in Avengers: Endgame also went uncelebrated while Tony Stark's sacrifice was met with a large funeral procession. Surely, it was never Black Widow's style to do heroic things for recognition, but movie's handling of her death revealed how much the MCU actually values her. Even in her death, she simply served as a plot point, a force pushing the male Avengers to save the world. Black Widow was barely acknowledged after, especially as her fate was overshadowed by Tony’s sacrifice. Granted, her own solo movie rectified much of this and highlighted how incredibly skilled she is, but not in the context of her being one of the Avengers.

Fortunately, as shown in What If…? season 1, Marvel finally recognized the significant role Black Widow plays and has always played in the Avengers. It may have taken a decade, but her ending up in a reality where she was needed the most is exactly how she should have been treated from the start. Hopefully, this will be fleshed out more in Marvel's What If…? season 2, giving more respect and importance to Black Widow’s journey in the Marvel multiverse.

NEXT: What If...? Season 2 News & Updates: Everything Marvel Has Revealed