Age of Ultron The Black Widow Thread

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I REALLY hated the romance route they took with her and Banner. It felt forced and did nothing to add to her character arc. If anything, something with Hawkeye would have made more sense. Scarlet and Ruffalo lacked chemistry and the pairing didnt work. That cliche nonsense was a turnoff for her

I agree with everything in this post besides the Hawkeye part. I just wish that boring character would go away.

 

[craigdbfan]

Her telling Banner and the audience that [blackout]she had her tubes tied[/blackout] felt like TMI to be honest. It was an attempt at depth and I think it just came across as "Yeah....I didn't need to know that" kind of moment. Scarlett played it well and I did feel for her character so in that sense I guess it worked but it still felt a little out of place to be honest.

 

[Iceman]

I really wanted Clint to be with Bobbi, like in the comics, but the revelation that he has a family now put a huge damper on this possibility in the MCU. It's too bad, because I wanted to see a movie based on the Hawkeye/Mockingbird miniseries in the comics.

Yep that's obviously off the cards now. Wouldn't have minded seeing him with Mockingbird if that hadn't happened. And they could have appeared in the same film as Widow as partners too, even if everyone stays single (or otherwise).

 

[Da-Scribe]

Her telling Banner and the audience that [blackout]she had her tubes tied[/blackout] felt like TMI to be honest. It was an attempt at depth and I think it just came across as "Yeah....I didn't need to know that" kind of moment. Scarlett played it well and I did feel for her character so in that sense I guess it worked but it still felt a little out of place to be honest.

I mean, Banner basically says the same thing a second before. Not sure how either could feel outta place when it's two romantically involved people talking about their future together.

Edit: Actually, I just went back to read how the scene fully played out. I definitely missed some aspects. I can't say it felt like TMI, because it didn't. And I think that's an unfair criticism when Banner had just revealed the same thing. But, given how that scene fits within the larger context of the MCU, I can certainly see why it's problematic. My overall feeling is that the scene makes sense, but is still a hindrance to her characterization. It was lazy, basically.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I am really baffled a bit by this talk of Widow being ruined or even of the "forced" "romance" of Tasha and Bruce. I saw Widow being a kickass heroine doing amazing stuff all through the movie and her capture allowed the team to find Ultron cuz even held prisoner Widow found a way to help the team, and even though it is kinda ridiculous her, Hawkeye and Cap were all one shotting drones. As for the "romance"? What romance? They weren't in a relationship. This was two adults with an attraction that was all for naught, as it was explained in the film, at least that's what I got. This happens to people in life. Widow explained her attraction to Banner and even why his fears of what being in love with someone and the possibility of family could mean and why it would not matter because of what was done to her in The Red Room. And Banner didn't "betray" Betty. He wasn't romancing Tasha, he in fact thinks his whole romantic life is an impossibility, and that includes Betty, and he states why. In the end we see that he for the time being doesn't want to share his heavy burden with anyone. This seems very tempest in a tea cup to me.

 

[Lorus]

I am really baffled a bit by this talk of Widow being ruined or even of the "forced" "romance" of Tasha and Bruce. I saw Widow being a kickass heroine doing amazing stuff all through the movie and her capture allowed the team to find Ultron cuz even held prisoner Widow found a way to help the team, and even though it is kinda ridiculous her, Hawkeye and Cap were all one shotting drones. As for the "romance"? What romance? They weren't in a relationship. This was two adults with an attraction that was all for naught, as it was explained in the film, at least that's what I got. This happens to people in life. Widow explained her attraction to Banner and even why his fears of what being in love with someone and the possibility of family could mean and why it would not matter because of what was done to her in The Red Room. And Banner didn't "betray" Betty. He wasn't romancing Tasha, he in fact thinks his whole romantic life is an impossibility, and that includes Betty, and he states why. In the end we see that he for the time being doesn't want to share his heavy burden with anyone. This seems very tempest in a tea cup to me.

Agreed 100%. I know that some people don't like the pairing, but it seems that some of the criticism stems from just refusing to understand what's happening on screen.

I also thought that the revelation regarding Natasha's graduation was rather poignant and a great thematic parallel for the Stark/Ultron/Vision drama. Johansson also killed so many aspects of the character in this that it was impressive. She got to be strong, sexy, snarky, vulnerable, skilled and easygoing and it all blends so well together. She really has become one of the standout MCU characters.

 

[Bim]

I am really baffled a bit by this talk of Widow being ruined or even of the "forced" "romance" of Tasha and Bruce. I saw Widow being a kickass heroine doing amazing stuff all through the movie and her capture allowed the team to find Ultron cuz even held prisoner Widow found a way to help the team, and even though it is kinda ridiculous her, Hawkeye and Cap were all one shotting drones. As for the "romance"? What romance? They weren't in a relationship. This was two adults with an attraction that was all for naught, as it was explained in the film, at least that's what I got. This happens to people in life. Widow explained her attraction to Banner and even why his fears of what being in love with someone and the possibility of family could mean and why it would not matter because of what was done to her in The Red Room. And Banner didn't "betray" Betty. He wasn't romancing Tasha, he in fact thinks his whole romantic life is an impossibility, and that includes Betty, and he states why. In the end we see that he for the time being doesn't want to share his heavy burden with anyone. This seems very tempest in a tea cup to me.

Love your post. I'm kinda baffled too but i accepted a while ago that people often interpret things differently lol. I liked it, so i'm happy with the way this played out t:

I'm becoming a bigger Black Widow fan as each movie rolls on.

 

[SuperT]

I thought the sterilization thing was handled in a very cliche way - it was taken away from her. How many times have we seen something like that before? Thought it would have had far more of an impact and be more in line with the character had she chosen to do it voluntarily. That way we could avoid the terrible "I'm a woman who can't have kids, so I'm a monster/defect/broken" angle that was brought up in that scene. Oy.

Just thought it could have been handled way better than it was.

 

[The Guard]

I don't understand why people think she's referring to not being able to have kids when she talks about being a monster. She's clearly referring to her dark, violent past.

Her capture would have worked better if she had ALLOWED herself to be captured or something along those lines. You know, part of her plan and all that.

 

[Lencho01]

The strong feminism behind Black Widow, and why the critiques don’t stand up

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

That's a great article.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

The problem I had with Widow getting kidnapped by Ultron wasn't that it was sexist or weakened her so much as it seemed completely pointless other than as a lazy convenient way for Joss to have Ultron reveal his beefed up form to someone and for the Avengers to learn Ultron's location.

I agree with Guard that it would've worked better if she used herself as bait for a larger plan and her capture played out differently than how it did.

 

[haephestus]

To those who have seen the film:

How did you find Black Widow, and how much screen time does she have?

I thought Black Widow was good, but I didn't like the character as much as I did in The Avengers or Winter Soldier.

This article, which also touches upon other issues related to the character, pretty much captures my thoughts:

http://io9.com/black-widow-this-is-why-we-can-t-have-nice-things-1702333037

But, I also agree with Mark Ruffalo's recent comments:

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/black-widow-avengers-joss-whedon

Especially the fact that, as pretty much the sole major female superhero in the MCU, the character of Black Widow is expected to live up to impossibly high expectations from a huge audience who all want to see Black Widow represent separate and distinct (and even contrary) aspects of the character on-screen.

Hopefully, with the introduction and development of Scarlet Witch, the continued development of Gamora (and the second female member of the Guardians who is meant to be included in the sequel from memory) and the introduction of Captain Marvel, there will be a range of female superheroes to idolise and they can each represent different aspects of the "human" experience, whether it's falling in love with the unattainable guy, juggling various responsibilities, overcoming personal struggles or just kicking Thanos' azz.