3) Black Widow – The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier
You knew from the moment that “Natalie Rushman” appeared on screen in Iron Man 2 and flipped Happy Hogan feet over head that she was no mere paralegal/office drone. It was hardly a spoiler for comic book fans when it turned out that Natalie was really Natasha Romanoff, aka The Black Widow, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top operatives. As realized by Scarlett Johansson, it didn’t take much time for the butt-kicking assassin to make an impact in the male-dominated realm of superheroes, and become one of the most in-demand utility players in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After making an impression in Iron Man 2, Black Widow made the cut and joined a super-team in The Avengers, where in spite of having no super-powers, she managed to hold her own in the midst of an alien invasion of New York. In fact, an argument can be made that Widow won the battle for The Avengers by finding the key to closing the wormhole and using it.
Later, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, she’s invaluable in Cap’s battle against the resurrected HYDRA, helping to destroy the corrupted S.H.I.E.L.D. even though it would force her to answer difficult questions about her past.
So she may not have a metal suit, a super-soldier serum or a god-like heritage, but Black Widow’s definitely made a name for herself. Look to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where her name is constantly dropped as the agent everybody wants to be, and everybody wants to be better than. How does she do it? Pure skill and talent. A bad ass reputation help,s too, but you only after you’ve built that with the first two things, which is a hell of a lot harder that building Iron Man suits in the basement of your palatial, cutting edge estate on the California coast.
It’s easy to wallop the bad guys when you can Hulk out, or have a magical hammer, or a suit of armor full of gadgets, but Widow’s old school and gets the job done with her own two hands. And sometimes feet.
– Adam Donaldson
