Great Character: Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (“The Avengers”)
The Great Character theme for the month: Action Heroines. Today: Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow from the 2012 movie The Avengers.
Scarlett Johansson has been known for not just unanimous sex appeal, but for keeping her acting resume diverse and intriguing. She has already earned four Golden Globe nominations three years straight (2004–2006) before the age of 30: Lost in Translation, Girl With a Pearl Earring, A Love Song For Bobby Long and Match Point. Johansson has also been directed by a respected collection of “Action” and “Cut” callers such as: The Coen Brothers, Woody Allen, Christopher Nolan, Sofia Coppola, Spike Jonze and Cameron Crowe.
But with the cardiovascular requirements of playing the Marvel Comics kicker-of-butts Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow in Iron Man 2, Scarlett Johansson upped the ante straight through the ceiling as a highly believable action heroine. Most recently Johannson has made an appearance as the Black Widow in another blockbuster Marvel sequel: Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But it was Scarlett’s strong ensemble contribution as the Russian spy S.H.I.E.L.D. member Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in 2012’s biggest movie money machine The Avengers ($1,518,594,910) that helped blast her off into more “Mrs. Action” film possibilities outside of the Marvel vault: like the summer 2014 Mind-Over-Mankind Luc Besson hit Lucy.
The Avengers IMDB:
Heroes across Earth and the universe must assemble to stop a fierce demigod from taking over New York and the world, but they must assemble since the battle will not be won with just one.
The Avengers presented two huge tasks for Johansson to tackle, which she handled extremely well by the way. The first obstacle was to not get overshadowed by the collective radiant acting talent and stardom of Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans in the eyes of cinephiles. The second potentially harder challenge was for her lesser-known character to not turn invisible next to the likes of highly established heroes like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor by Comic-Con comic book customers. Done and Done. Scarlet’s Black Widow needs no heroic husband to make her relevant. Look no further than the highly memorable interrogation scene where Natasha reverses any idea of being some helpless damsel in distress while the big boys get to play rough.
http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=2kdPZ
Not only does the Black Widow sting on a physical level in The Avengers, but her “Snowcap Mountain-Cold” deadpan statements can also be categorized as comedic timing when necessary.
NATASHA ROMANOFF: Cognitive re-calibration. I hit you really hard in the head.
Along with her long-time associate Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow is the only other Avenger with zero cosmic, scientific or technologically enhanced abilities. She is kicking it old school with her killer combat strategy: two feet and two fists.
NATASHA ROMANOFF: This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for.
There is a dark side to the Black Widow, and Natasha Romanoff is still haunted by the nightmare-inducing drama that her drastically desensitized eyes have unfortunately been open to. It appears that the same poison-hearted training and assignments that have made her deadly have also sickened her enough to instigate a redemptive purging to purify her conscience.
NATASHA ROMANOFF: It’s really not that complicated. I’ve got red in my ledger; I’d like to wipe it out.
Before we get to see director/screenwriter Joss Whedon’s riveting Act III Good Guys Vs. Bad Guys extra large epic showdown, the heroes and their heroine have to get past some internal quarreling first. Black Widow finds herself in a situation that doesn’t exactly put the “T” in Teamwork — she has to defend herself from a ballistic bipolar Hulk spaz session and a mind-controlled good-turned-evil plot-twisted Hawkeye.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KBp9bw3iPw
She can kick, punch work her way around a weapon for two, negotiate with reluctant rage-mongers for the greater good and remain smart and crafty without ever appearing to be just some hot talking cat suit. Natasha Romanoff and her alter ego Black Widow are both brutal and brilliant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAjyjbb-Kfw
For her cunning, quick-thinking tactics, her complex character subtext and her heavy-duty conflict resolution talent that shines amongst A-List comic book legends — Natasha Romanoff the Black Widow is one marvelously GREAT CHARACTER in the gladiator gallery of action heroines.
I really enjoyed The Avengers and one reason why is because of a central theme: A dysfunctional family learning how to work together. At the beginning, a collection of individual superheroes and super-egos. By the end, they had worked through their differences to work together as a team. And then that post-credit scene:
What does a ‘family’ do, but eat together. And if they know each other well enough, they don’t need to talk. They understand the situation and their group dynamic, so they are comfortable enough to sit in silence… enjoying their shawarma.
Thank you, Jason, for this post. Please join us in comments to discuss The Avengers.
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