Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame Director Explains Why Black Widow’s Death Got Overlooked

Avengers: Endgame saw fans saying goodbye to a lot of heroes, most notably Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow. The three were central pillars of the MCU, as well as the oldest statesmen of the Marvel franchise. While Tony and Steve got appropriately meaty scenes dealing with their end and how the rest of the heroes reacted to their passing, Nat was not so lucky.
This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information

Avengers: Endgame saw fans saying goodbye to a lot of heroes, most notably Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow. The three were central pillars of the MCU, as well as the oldest statesmen of the Marvel franchise. While Tony and Steve got appropriately meaty scenes dealing with their end and how the rest of the heroes reacted to their passing, Nat was not so lucky.

Recommended Videos

Natasha Romanoff sacrificed her life in order to retrieve the Soul Stone. But aside from a brief scene showing the other Avengers’ shock at her demise and Hulk flinging a chair across a lake in his grief, we never got to see a truly emotional reaction from the others. Black Widow didn’t get a funeral like Tony Stark, neither did she get to have a last chat with her closest work friend, Hawkeye, unlike what Steve Rogers got with Sam Wilson.

On the Avengers: Endgame home video commentary, director Joe Russo offered an explanation for this, explaining the following:

Now people have asked why Natasha didn’t get the same about of screen time post-death as Tony did. Well, Tony does not have another movie. Tony is done. And Natasha has another film. And Marvel Universe obviously does not have to move forward linearly anymore. But that character still has more screen time coming.

This explanation might sound reasonable, but doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny. After all, Tony and Steve have appeared in more Marvel movies than any other characters, but they still got a fitting farewell in their final film. Just because Black Widow is getting a standalone flick doesn’t mean her importance to the other heroes and to the MCU, in general, should have been sidelined in her final team-up adventure.

The truth is, Steve and Tony’s extended screen time probably came at the expense of Natasha’s scenes. Iron Man and Captain America are considered to be more popular than Black Widow among audiences, and their respective screen time in the movie that bids farewell to the characters reflects this idea. It remains to be seen whether Widow’s standalone feature will serve to bring some of the closure to the character that fans didn’t get in Avengers: Endgame, but we remain hopeful that it does.


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author