For the longest time Natasha Romanoff was written in to give the impression that she’s a badass, that she’s mysterious, and that she’s a highly-trained assassin that can more than hold her own with anyone that’s not so overpowered that they’d squash her in an instant. In other words she can’t go against anyone in the Hulk or Thor’s power range. But she’s definitely been able to take on multiple armed security guards and her old friend Hawkeye and come out on top since she’s just that awesome. In the upcoming Black Widow movie though we can see in the trailer that while she’s still great she’s basically the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the level of training that produced her since the Red Room is still very much active and under the guidance of the Taskmaster, that intriguing villain from the comics that’s been given a definite upgrade and is still just as dangerous as ever. Imagine an enemy that has the tools and the martial skills of those he’s studied and watched from afar and you’ll understand just how deadly this character is. His ability to mimic and master any fighting style that he watches is amazing and it makes him a true threat that might be even tougher than Natasha can handle since he can fight from a distance or up close and personal.
Some might say that this is unfair for Black Widow since she was trained specifically while Taskmaster is an all-around tough character that has a massive skill set and the tools that can help him turn the fight in his favor no matter what. That however is likely part of the reason why Natasha’s family will be introduced since the Red Guardian and her mother and sister will be able to help take on the masked individual even though it might still be a tough fight. On top of that is Widow’s reason for returning home, to take care of unfinished business in the wake of the Age of Ultron when she was transported back to her place of origin by Wanda’s mental manipulation. So far the movie looks action-packed and capable of making people laugh as well between the thrills, so it might actually be a worthwhile movie to go see. In an era when bringing female superheroes into the foreground to highlight their stories this would appear to be one of those that might stand a chance of being something great without having to highlight the ‘girl power’ nature of it so boldly as Captain Marvel did. That would be very preferred really since while Captain Marvel was a great action movie the whole idea of female empowerment, despite being a positive note, took over the movie in a big way and didn’t release the stranglehold even during the post-credits scene.
So far with Black Widow the focus is definitely on the Red Room and the continued training and brainwashing of those who have been trained like Natasha, but it’s also looking as though it will be less about ‘I am woman hear me roar’ than it will about family and the need that Natasha will come to realize when reuniting with her sister and parents. That alone is a big upgrade from Captain Marvel since it shows far more unity than a need to strike out on her own and prove anything to anyone. Natasha is going home for her own reasons it would appear and reuniting with her family thus becomes a more positive and inclusive note than just needing to strike out on her own and prove to the world that she’s just that tough. That’s the hope at least. Obviously we’re going to see her tangle with Taskmaster, which will hopefully be a decent fight since if she ends up mopping the floor with him over a technicality then it might not sit well with the fans since TM is so highly skilled that it should by all means require a team effort, meaning that her family will get in on the action.
In a way Black Widow is a far more impressive hero than Captain Marvel, Gamorra, Wanda, or many of the other female heroes since while everyone has their own limitations she’s a regular human that has to work within her limitations to overcome just as much in her life as the others, but she has no cosmic powers, augmented body, magic, or any other over the top tech or abilities to help her. Natasha has her brains, her skills, and her willpower to help her out and that’s about it. Adding in her family and their considerable skills will help quite a bit, but it still won’t allow her to just bludgeon or blast her way through things, which means that she actually has to think about what she’s doing rather than just blowing holes in anything or anyone that she can’t take hand to hand. In reality, that kind of hero is a lot easier to relate to.
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