Earlier this year we got what most assume is the final adventure for Marvel’s Black Widow. The comic book character had been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since almost the very beginning, appearing first in Iron Man 2, and while she did not get her own movie until the end, Black Widow became a fan favorite almost immediately. Scarlett Johansson recently thanked those fans because she says she had no idea if fans would like her version of the character when this all got started.
Last night at the E! People’s Choice Awards Scarlett Johansson took home the award for female movie star of the year for her performance in Black Widow. While she made a point to also thank all the “badass” women who appeared in the film with her, she mainly thanks those fans who voted for her, thus showing how much they loved her decade as Black Widow. Johansson said...
10+ years ago when I first started my journey with Marvel I really didn’t know whether or not audiences would like my portrayal of his beloved character. So I really owe this all to all of you guys. Thank you so, so much. I also have to mention the badass women that I worked with on this film. Our filmmaker Cate Shortland, our leader. My amazing co-stars Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz. And our producer Victoria Alonso.
Certainly, when Scarlett Johansson started her time in the MCU she had little idea what to expect. It was only the third movie in the entire franchise and while the first Iron Man had been a huge hit and everybody loved Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, it was far from certain that audiences would react the same way to every character being translated from the page to the screen.
In the end, of course, Black Widow would become one of the Avengers and a major part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And as the only significant female character in the MCU until Brie Larson came along, there were a lot of expectations put on Johansson’s character. Clearly, based on the fact that Black Widow did eventually get her own movie, fans did love Scarlett Johansson’s version of Black Widow. For a generation of fans the MCU Black Widow ill be the default version of the character.
Whether or not we’ve truly seen the end of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is impossible to know for sure. Anything can happen in comic books, and so anything is just as likely to happen in comic book movies. Still, if this is the end for her, it’s a strong way to go out, with Black Widow getting her own movie and Scarlett Johansson winning awards from the fans for that movie.
