HERO OF THE WEEK: BLACK WIDOW (Marvel)Real Name: Natasha Romanova
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #52 (April, 1964)
Fight Club Ranking: #76
Featured Fights:
- vs TITANIUM MAN: Iron Man #316 (May 1995)
- vs SECRET AVENGERS: Civil War #3 (Sep 2006)
- vs SECRET AVENGERS: New Avengers #36 (Jan 2008)
Today's Hero of the Week has been a long time coming! Variety reported mid-last week that Disney and Marvel Studios are finally moving forward on a Black Widow spin-off film!
It's a development many fans have been talking about since 2010, when Scarlett Johansson first debuted the role in Iron Man 2. She's been a staple of the ensemble Avengers movies ever since, also appearing in Captain America: Winter Soldier -- a featured role reminiscent of the character's co-starring habits in various comic books.
Black Widow's staying power as a title character has wavered over the years, but with a smaller line-up of established film properties, and Johannson's noted star-power, it only makes sense to leverage the role into a broader box office.
Political intrigue and espionage were facets of the Captain America sequels, but that's where Black Widow can really provide a point of difference in the Marvel portfolio. Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron alluded to Russia's notorious "Red Room" and her origins as an elite spy. Audiences have been given an abundance of reasons to want to see more!
The unfortunate aspect of delaying the character's breakout is that we're on the verge of Jennifer Lawrence starring in Red Sparrow -- another Cold War-tinged spy thriller about a Russian ballerina cum super spy. The overlap is probably coincidence given the tropes of the genre, but it puts the pressure on Black Widow to find ways to be original. Of course, with a gamut of Marvel characters to draw upon -- including the Winter Soldier -- there's plenty to differentiate.
The strength of the Marvel property will also likely help mitigate another drawback of timing - the fact that Johansson starred in the clustermuck of Hollywood's adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. There are vague similarities, but honestly, but the time Black Widow is ready to take centerstage, most of the world will probably have forgotten the missed opportunities of the live-action misfire.
Will Marvel and Disney have the teeth to make the most of a Russian spy thriller? It would be nice to at least see the tropes of the genre push them to a Bourne Identity style film. It may not exploit the material to its fullest, or most original extent, but at least that could provide a satisfying trek away from the repeating formula of most Marvel movies. Emphasis on could. We shall see!
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