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With the release of Black Widow in 2021, it seems that the time of Natasha Romanoff as played by actress Scarlett Johansson is finished in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her adopted sister Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh, is the new Black Widow (or possibly White Widow). What exactly this means for the Avengers and the wider MCU remains to be seen.
Yelena Belova is different from Natasha Romanoff in a lot of ways. She has a different personality, a different backstory, and a different position to fill in the MCU going forward. She isn’t privy to the same inside information that comes with being an Avenger, so that means she has a very different perspective on the events that have taken place since Iron Man in 2008.
10 Yelena Is Incredibly Charming And Funny
The thing that stands out about Yelena the most is her charisma and sense of humor. While Natasha Romanoff wasn’t lacking in either quality, Yelena Belova stole just about every scene she was in throughout both Black Widow and the Disney+ Hawkeye series. She was genuinely funny in a sort of petulant yet threatening way.
Even as she was overtly threatening Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, it was hard not to enjoy her presence. Plus, her acknowledgment of Kate’s positive qualities showed that Yelena hadn’t become completely cold-hearted since the events of Black Widow.
9 Yelena’s History In The Comics Provides A Bit Of A Blank Slate To Work With
The odd thing about Yelena Belova in the comics is that, despite having the pedigree of the Black Widow name, little has been done with her as a character. She first popped up in Inhuman comics in 1999 and was created by Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones. She later ran afoul of Natasha Romanoff before being badly wounded during an encounter with the New Avengers in the Savage Land.
She later was augmented with the same technology that created the Super-Adaptoid and essentially brainwashed. She became a part of Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign-era Thunderbolts and later a part of the A.I.M. council. She was seemingly killed off-panel by Natasha Romanoff but later returned free from control and running from Russia’s premiere superhero team, the Winter Guard. In short, Yelena has a very short and confusing history, giving the creators at the MCU a lot of wiggle room to do what they want with the character.
8 Any Difference At This Stage Is An Automatic Improvement
The MCU has been running and pumping out content for almost 15 years at the time of writing. There is a vast web of interconnecting stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by now, and each new show or movie threatens to make the entire thing feel stale.
Consequently, it’s more important than ever for the people behind the MCU to keep things feeling fresh and exciting. These are largely popcorn movies after all, and the worst thing any piece of media can do is bore its audience. A new major character like Yelena Belova and a new up-and-coming actress like Florence Pugh could be the shot of adrenaline the MCU needs.
7 She Seems To Favor Slightly More Brutal Methods
Given that Yelena Belova hasn’t been domesticated by the Avengers and gotten used to a more easy life in the United States, she still seems to favor more brutal methods. While Natasha wasn’t averse to taking someone out as needed, Yelena seems to go for the lethal methods far more quickly.
She didn’t think twice about trying to kill Clint Barton after the death of Natasha. Clint was able to eventually talk Yelena out of it, but it required a lot of talking and taking punches to the face. It’s unclear where Yelena will go from here, but it’s doubtful that she has suddenly become a pacifist or a model superhero.
6 She Isn’t Beholden To S.H.I.E.L.D. And Nick Fury
Natasha Romanoff owed a lot to Nick Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. While the latter has collapsed, it’s clear that Nick Fury is still trying to influence things behind the scenes. He’s a far more benevolent actor than the likes of Baron Zemo, and the Contessa seems incredibly shady. However, he still has his own agenda and has taken some morally bankrupt actions in the past, such as keeping the existence of the Winter Soldier a secret from Captain America. Yelena doesn’t have such ties yet. While it seems that she is working with the Contessa to some degree, it seems unlikely that Yelena completely trusts her.
5 She Isn’t Completely Tied To Any Establishment Yet
Furthermore, Yelena isn’t tied to any organization. The Avengers became an arm of the United Nations after the passing of the Sokovia Accords in Captain America: Civil War. Even before that, the likes of Black Widow, Captain America, and Hawkeye were working with S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor may be apart from all of that, but he still has to concern himself with the affairs of Asgard.
Yelena isn’t tied to any such organization. Her experience with the Red Room has disillusioned her with her homeland, but that doesn’t mean she’s automatically loyal to any other government. She’s a free agent, and that gives her the room to do things the way she thinks is right.
4 She Brings An Outsider’s Perspective To The Avengers Operation
The state of the Avengers lineup is definitely up in the air after Avengers: Endgame. It seems likely that it will involve Sam Wilson’s Captain America, Doctor Strange, the Scarlet Witch, possibly Ant-Man and the Wasp, Shang-Chi, and a version of Thor.
It also seems very likely that Yelena Belova will be involved in some way, either as the Black Widow or the White Widow. She has had a very different life than most of these heroes, and she hasn’t been on the inside of a lot of the more questionable and risky decisions they’ve made. She can critique the team as someone who wasn’t involved in those actions, and that could do the team some good.
3 In Fact, She’s Not An Avenger…Yet
There’s also the possibility that Yelena Belova will not join the Avengers. It seems that the Contessa is building her own team of some sort, starting with Yelena and John Walker. Whether this is some manifestation of the Thunderbolts or a counter Dark Avengers team remains to be seen.
It’s also possible that Yelena will remain a free agent and not involve herself with any superteam. She could work as a balancing force for the Avengers in that way as well.
2 Florence Pugh Is An Incredible Acting Talent
Scarlett Johansson is undoubtedly an immense acting talent, and this isn’t to say that Florence Pugh is necessarily a better actor than her in any way. It’s only to say that Florence Pugh is a phenomenal actress with an impressive range of roles, especially given how young she is.
Pugh’s performance in the haunting Midsommar is absolutely unforgettable, and her part in Little Women is widely-celebrated. Moving from that to popcorn superhero films is no small transition, and she has taken it with impeccable stride.
1 The First Thing She Did After Being Freed From Control Was Try To Help Her Sister Black Widows
After being freed from the control of the Red Room, Natasha Romanoff seemed to immediately transition to a life working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and, later, the Avengers. She didn’t seem to look back to her former life, at least not on-screen at any point. It took the package of Red Dust from Yelena to bring Natasha back into the world of the Black Widows.
By comparison, the first thing that Yelena did was try to get the Red Dust into the hands of someone who could help the Black Widows. She is the one who brought Natasha back to this clandestine realm of assassins and mind control, and Yelena is the one who continued to try and cure the other Black Widows after the events of the Black Widow movie.
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