I hate to be “that guy,” but this is an instance where the (comic) book is better than the movie. Black Widow (E-199999) doesn’t deserve a solo flick. Black Widow (E-616) does.
Okay, some of you may read that and not understand what I mean, so let’s take a step back. If you’ve seen Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, you kind of already have the idea here (if you haven’t seen it, stop reading and go. I’ll still be here. Promise). Marvel properties take place in specific universes. The main comic universe/timeline is referred to as Earth-616, while the MCU is Earth-199999. With that primer out of the way, let’s get to my issue.
With the news that Black Widow would be lensing next month, I spent a fair amount of time trying to imagine what kind of movie I’d want, based on what I’d seen thus far in the MCU. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing a solo outing for this version of the character.
If the rumors, repeated twice this month by different outlets, turn out to be true, this movie will be the first R-rated film for an MCU character. In my opinion, that speaks volumes about how interesting Marvel thinks this incarnation of the character is.
RELATED – RUMOR: Black Widow Film Could Be R-Rated
It’s been 11 years since Iron Man and faith in the brand over the years has yielded “in Marvel we trust,” which has become the battle cry of many a fan. That slogan felt a bit of strain with the official announcement of the Black Widow movie, indeed, even before that, when the Red Sparrow trailer dropped, the hew and cry that Marvel had been out marveled by Jennifer Lawrence and Co. was loud. Then that movie stunk up the joint and reset the clock.
With regard to Black Widow and female lead movies generally, the elephant in the room must be acknowledged that the advent of the internet has allowed horrible people to find other horrible people and thus normalize their points of view. How wonderful for them. This article isn’t for them.
When Black Widow (E-616) was introduced in the comics in 1964, she was a creation of her time. In the proud tradition of Omega Red, Red Son, and Crimson Dynamo, Black Widow was a Soviet counterpart to a popular (North) American hero. As such, her set of powers was very similar to Steve Rogers. This character has great strength, stamina, slowed aging and Olympic level agility. Essentially, anything Cap could do, she could do better, on account of being an inhuman ginger (the red hair actually came later, but let’s not quibble).
Compare that to when the MCU (E-199999) Black Widow was introduced in Iron Man 2, she had no serum and no powers to speak of. Even in the rebooted Ultimates Universe (E-1610) Black Widow had enhancements. Over time, the MCU introduced her KGB ties, the Red Room and what it cost her. Still, it’s not quite as interesting as the femme fatale that could go toe-to-toe with the likes of Captain America and the character felt diminished for it.
Why do I think E-616 would be better? Mostly because I have a hard time being excited for a flick about a spy when people in this universe can fly, practice magic, command lightning, oh, and lose control and turn into enormous green rage monsters. James Bond and Ethan Hunt are the most exciting things in their movies because there aren’t literal gods on the other side of the planet or a Bifrost bridge away. Even Winter Soldier, oft called a spy or espionage thriller, had Captain America leaping out of Quinjets, over Quinjets and out of elevators, plummeting several stories in the process. Now imagine something less fantastical and you’ll see where I’m coming from.
Who knows? Maybe not having a super-powered individual at the center of the movie could present an avenue for a new kind of storytelling within the MCU. For me, it’s in a similar position as Solo: it’s a story I’ll have to be convinced to see, rather than being excited to see it simply based on the premise alone. I’m also not sure that slapping an R-rating on it will do it for me either.
Black Widow is being directed by Cate Shortland (Lore) and is based on a script by Jac Schaeffer (Olaf’s Frozen Adventure). No plot details, official title or release date for the film have been announced, though a 2020 release date is rumored.
What do you think? How do you feel about the comic version vs. the MCU version? Does an R-Rating make you more interested in this movie? Let us know your thoughts down below!
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