Yelena As The New MCU Black Widow? Hawkeye Makes It Her Perfect Future

Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Hawkeye.

Hawkeye has placed Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in the perfect position to become the new Black Widow in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After the release of Natasha Romanoff’s (Scarlett Johansson) Black Widow, Marvel president Kevin Feige has notably said that Yelena will not become the next Black Widow. Rather, Feige explained that Yelena will be carrying on her sister Natasha’s legacy – but in her own way, as her own character. That being said, as the book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe reveals, Feige’s plans for the MCU are highly flexible, and none of Marvel’s current plans are set in stone. This means that there’s a very real possibility that Yelena could take on the Black Widow mantle at some point within MCU Phase 4.

In Hawkeye, Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga) hires the Black Widow assassin and former Red Room operative Yelena to kill Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). Yelena accepts the assignment because she believed that Clint killed Natasha, a theory that’s supported by Clint’s murderous actions as the vigilante Ronin. However, as Yelena was about to finish the job, Clint used Natasha’s secret whistle – known only to those whom she trusted dearly – to convince Yelena of the truth about how Black Widow sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame, leading her to spare Clint’s life.

Hawkeye’s finale not only gave Yelena a clearer picture of what it means to be an Avenger, it might’ve also inspired her to continue Natasha’s heroic legacy as the Black Widow. Despite what Kevin Feige has said, Yelena taking on Natasha’s title in her honor – and standing for the same things Natasha did during her time as an Avenger – would be perfect for both Phase 4 and Phase 5 of the MCU. Apart from giving the MCU a new Black Widow who’s worthy of the title, this is also congruent with Yelena’s sternly upright moral compass – as revealed by her quests to free other Red Room assassins and to kill an Avenger in pursuit of justice for Natasha’s death. Moreover, it would be a great tribute to the Marvel comic books, in which Yelena became the new Black Widow after Natasha. And as Feige has famously retconned his own MCU plans in order to make ways for better ideas to blossom, the Marvel president’s announcement about Yelena not becoming the next Black Widow could just be a way of throwing off long-time Marvel fans who know too much about Yelena’s comic book history.

Clint looks at Avengers plaque in Hawkeye

In fact, Feige’s reveal about Yelena carrying on Natasha’s legacy – but in her own way – could just mean that she won’t be an Avenger. Rather, Yelena’s version of Black Widow could be more of an independent hero, assisting the new Avengers in their next battles, but never becoming an official member of the team. This is further evidenced by the conversation in Hawkeye between Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Yelena, in which the latter discusses how the Avengers are glorified villains who shouldn’t be exempt from justice. Although Yelena now knows that Clint didn’t kill Natasha, Yelena’s points about the dangers of superhero worship remain valid, which means that she might not choose to become an Avenger when she finally dons the Black Widow mantle.

Hawkeye has indeed set up the perfect foundations for Yelena to become the next Black Widow. It would certainly be consistent with what the fans want for Yelena’s future. More importantly, Feige knows that it’s the perfect next step for further developing Yelena’s character in the MCU.

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