Natasha Romanov: Black Widow Appreciation 2019

[JimRaynor55]

ENDGAME thoughts:

spoilers:

Really liked the movie overall, but also really disappointed that they basically fridged Nat in the same place they fridged Gamora. Both of them stayed dead at the end. I was really looking forward to seeing Nat in this movie given her emphasis in the trailers and the Russos’ promise that she’d have more to do than in Infinity War. I have to say that the writers, and Scarlett, delivered in the first act. I liked how Nat was shown as the most resilient Avenger, basically leading the remnants of the team while Tony quit, Thor got fat, and Clint deteriorated into a murderous vigilante. Dramatically, she was well handled there. But then Vormir happened, again. Nat had come so far to redeem herself, to clear the red in her ledger on her way to finally getting that solo movie that fans have been clamoring for, only to sacrifice herself in a rather permanent way. Heroic? Yes. Disappointing and wasteful? Definitely IMO. I would’ve rather seen Nat and Clint go all the way to the edge only to find some way out that didn’t involve one of them taking a dive. And while I like Clint too, I would’ve preferred that Nat live instead of him. Imagine if Nat was going to make the sacrifice play, only for Clint (whose brutal murder spree and mental deterioration was downplayed past it’s introductory scene) to do it instead. He’d acknowledge what he’d become and that he and Nat had gone in opposite directions in how they’ve dealt with loss. He’d tell her, despite her disbelief and protests, that she was indeed worth it. That he couldn’t go back and neither should she. Then Natasha could take this additional loss as fuel for a vengeful comeback in the climax, leading the other MCU ladies and kicking ass as the first female Avenger. It just felt wrong in the actual movie when they did that triumphant all-female team up, comprised of multiple supporting characters (including Mantis who I’m not sure can even fight), without Natasha who was the most prominent female MCU character for almost a decade. Did she even fight anyone in this movie aside from her brief tussle with Clint for the right to die? Tony got an emotional and fitting end, fighting and dying like a hero. He deservedly received everyone’s acknowledgment during an extended funeral scene. On the other hand, Natasha made a quiet sacrifice, with nothing but brief mourning by her team before the final battle. It just felt symptomatic of the under appreciation Natasha has received in real life with how people regard her importance and depth of character. Really don’t know why they chose to go this direction, when the solo Black Widow Movie is coming up and Scarlett is one of the MCU’s biggest names who’s still more than willing to stay on. A prequel solo movie, creatively confined by her Endgame death, seems so much less appealing to me than a straight BW movie set in the present. Sure, show the origin. In flashbacks the way that Black Panther and Captain Marvel did it. It just seems like a massive waste of a good character who was finally about to receive her time in the spotlight.

end of spoilers