Black Widow's Pre-Avengers Relationships Explained By New Story Details
New character descriptions for Black Widow reveal more story details and tease the complex relationships Scarlett Johansson's solo movie has.
New character descriptions for Black Widow reveal more plot details and the complex relationships at the heart of the film. Scarlett Johansson has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a decade, but Black Widow will be the first time that she is the lead of a movie. Prior to the coronavirus, Marvel Studios planned for the solo movie to be released in theaters in May and there is now a belief that Black Widow could be delayed again instead of being released in November.
Whenever Black Widow does arrive, the film will explore the untold stories of Natasha Romanoff's past. The film is set primarily between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, but there will be flashbacks to other parts of Natasha's life. By diving deep into Nat's story, Black Widow is scheduled to introduce a number of new characters to the MCU. This is where fans will meet fellow Red Room trainees Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), Russia's version of Captain America in Red Guardian (David Harbour), and the mysterious villain Taskmaster. The trailers have shown them to be somewhat of a makeshift family, but new details for Black Widow reveal just how complex these relationships will be.
Disney Latino has revealed new, updated official character descriptions for the four main characters in Black Widow. The profiles for Black Widow, Yelena, Red Guardian, and Melina provide some new plot and character details for the movie. These descriptions were originally published in Spanish, so the following English descriptions have been translated by Google.
- Black Widow: Separated from the now fractured Avengers, she is faced with the dark path that led to her becoming a spy and assassin and the events that followed. A bit reluctantly, she reunites with an unlikely group of spies who are part of her past and share a fundamental part of their history with her, as well as the desire to prevent a lethal force from being unleashed. However, her efforts are threatened by a deadly assassin whose exceptional skill set is unlike anything Natasha has ever faced.
- Yelena: A product of the ruthless Red Room training program, she holds a secret history with Black Widow and is determined to solve. When Yelena finds herself trapped in a world full of dangerous threats around every corner, her only chance for survival may be through a fragile truce with the person she blames for a lifetime of torment: Natasha Romanoff.
- Red Guardian: The Red Room's answer to Captain America is a super soldier and spy who lived a life of triumph during the Cold War. Alexei's years of espionage are behind him, but he still considers himself the ultimate hero. He loves sharing his greatness with those around him, which these days include the other inmates of the Russian prison where he resides. Deep down, he feels guilty about his life as a spy, especially towards Natasha Romanoff, whom he met long before she became Black Widow.
- Melina: She is a highly specialized spy agent who has been through the Red Room training program four times. After various covert missions, one of which involved the young Natasha Romanoff, the Red Room recognized Melina's intelligence, making her one of its leading scientists. After decades of service, Melina has managed to distance herself from the Red Room, but when Natasha appears, Melina must decide which side her loyalty lies on.
There are a number of intriguing details to come from these character descriptions, but the big takeaway is that Black Widow teaming up with Yelena, Alexei, and Melina isn't an easy decision. We know from the Black Widow trailers that Yelena and Nat will fight when they first reconnect, but now it has been revealed that Yelena blames Nat for the life she's experienced. Perhaps Natasha is the one who recruited Yelena to join the Red Room in the first place.
Another important piece of confirmation comes with Red Guardian, as it confirms he is a super soldier who was extremely active during the Cold War. Since the Cold War spans over 40 years, it isn't entirely clear if Alexei was around for the whole war (and thus has slowed aging) or if he was created near the end of it. There is also the tease that both he and Melina encountered a young Natasha when they were some of Russia's top spies. It is possible that they are the ones who saw the potential for Nat to be a great spy and ultimately set her on a path to become the Black Widow.
These specific character details also provided a tease of the threat that the four characters will face in Black Widow. The idea that they reunite to stop a "lethal force" from being released lines up well with the theory that Nat's mission is tied to Captain America: Civil War. At the beginning of the movie, she and the Avengers stop Crossbones from obtaining a deadly biological agent. The trailers have shown Nat holding vials with red liquid in them, so perhaps this is the lethal force she's trying to keep Taskmaster and the Red Room from letting out.
Source: Disney Latino