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Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow has been a fixture within the Marvel Cinematic Universe for over a decade now. With this, fans have come to know a lot about the character, from her personality to her fighting style. There’s one go-to move in particular that fans are sure to recognize, which sees the Avenger take down an opponent with her legs. As you can imagine, Johansson is well aware of how often the takedown is used, and she even has a funny name for it.
This year’s Black Widow is essentially a celebration of the character, as it explores her personal history and her motivation for doing what she does. And of course, the movie showcases her skills, including the aforementioned combat move. Scarlett Johansson recently chatted with CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell, during which she revealed the name she’s bestowed upon her signature attack:
Oh yeah, the crotch-throat grab. You know, the crotch-throat grab. … I think that’s what we lovingly refer to it as. A really unattractive name, yeah. That’s basically what it is [laughs]. You know, it’s a kind of spinny sort of… You’ve seen it, obviously, I’ve fought Winter Soldier with that. I’ve taken down so many guards. I do it on [Jon] Favreau in that [Iron Man 2] scene. Taskmaster, actually… There’s a moment, I don’t know if we end up seeing it in the final cut, where I take him down with that move … It’s got a very unattractive name, but it’s quite appealing to watch.
So that’s probably not the name you were expecting to hear for such an epic move. Still, you have to love the fact that Scarlett Johansson has done the “crotch-throat grab” for so long that she’s found a name for it. And of course, you can’t argue with its effectiveness. I can still remember seeing it for the first time during that boxing scene in Iron Man 2.
Looking at her history as a whole, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff is easily one of the most skilled fighters in the entire MCU. And as the actress alluded to in the interview, she’s had some pretty interesting battles as a result. This includes her fight with comrade Clint Barton in The Avengers and her battle with Proxima Midnight in Avengers: Infinity War. These MCU movies and more are available to stream on Disney+, which you can sign up for using this link.
Of course, Natasha is definitely going to need those skills when she returns in Black Widow. The film will see her go toe to toe with assassins from the Red Room, the same place where she received her own training. And as mentioned, she’ll face off with Taskmaster, who’s going to be mimicking a few notable Marvel heroes when he faces off with Romanoff.
But knowing what we know about Scarlett Johansson’s veteran character, she should be up for the task. And she’ll have some help in the form of her “found family.” See how it all goes down when Black Widow hits theaters and Disney+ (via Premier Access) on July 9th.
