How ‘Black Widow’ came to be and why it is so special

Yes, we had seen Tony Stark in a post-credit scene of “The Incredible Hulk” — a Marvel film many forget — but Black Widow’s appearance in “Iron Man 2” showed us that any hero, at any time, can appear in another character’s movie.

She became a vital character of the entire MCU without ever having her own film — unlike her male counterparts.

Black Widow in her first solo film — a film about a female superhero to kick off the next phase of MCU projects.

For so long, fans wanted this film, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said at a press conference last week about “Black Widow.” And now the time has finally come.

But not all spin-off films, especially ones like “Black Widow,” have succeeded, according to Kendall Phillips, a pop culture professor at Syracuse University.

Black Widow entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a woman who could box in “Iron Man 2” — one of the earliest MCU films. She then showed she was a part of SHIELD — surprising even Tony Stark, who saw her as merely an attractive woman.

Black Widow was “talked about like she’s a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever,” Johansson said, per HelloBeautiful.com.

“Now people, young girls, are getting a much more positive message, but it’s been incredible to be a part of that shift and be able to come out the other side and be a part of that old story, but also progress,” she told reporters, according to Collider.

She said, at the “Black Widow” press conference I attended, that she is now “definitely more comfortable taking risks and more comfortable jumping into …

“Black Widow,” in a way, is Marvel saying, “my bad.” They’re honoring their biggest MCU female superhero with her own film as a way to kick off this new, diverse world of characters.

Johansson, though the star of the film, isn’t thinking about herself with “Black Widow.” She understands that it’s bridging the gap between two different eras — the original era of Iron Man, Captain America and Thanos.

One of those people is Weisz, who stars as Natasha’s mother Melina, said she loves stories about women, by women, with women.

“‘Black Widow’ is a chance to reconnect with one of the original core Avengers and, potentially, to move the universe forward,” he told me in an email.

Elizabeth Olsen is a popular star with “WandaVision.” Marvel is releasing “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” — a film about an Asian-American superhero.

“ And don’t forget about the upcoming “Eternals” movie, which will deal with cosmic forces.

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