Marvel sent us a Scarlett Johansson Black Widow Q&A. We made sense of it. [?? exclusive]

19 movies in the franchise, still no Black Widow standalone movie.

Sulaiman Daud | Belmont Lay | April 26, 2018, 12:57 AM

Avengers: Infinity War opened in Singapore on April 25, 2018.

The movie, the 19th one in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is bound to sell out cinemas for several weeks to come.

It is a culmination of different story arcs emerging from previous movies that have been in production since 2007.

As part of the publicity for Singapore, Marvel sent Mothership.sg an exclusive interview with Scarlett Johansson, who plays Black Widow in the MCU franchise.

Super spy

The rare female superheroine who is the most human of them all as she lacks super powers in the male-dominated Avengers, Black Widow is super spy Natasha Romanoff.

She first appeared in Iron Man 2, and reprised her role in in The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War.

The last time Black Widow showed up, she was part of Iron Man's team in Civil War, but betrayed him to help Captain America.

She then joined up with Cap and the Falcon and went on the run, one step ahead of the law.

Infinity War is set two years after that.

Black Widow, the controversy

However, beyond the MCU, Black Widow has become embedded in popular culture critiques and the entry point into the discussion on the hows and whys of the lack of gender parity in the Marvel superhero realm.

We make sense of the Q&A sent our way, and write the context surrounding the highly-cryptic responses Johansson gave.

A lot of what she said can be traced to what was left unsaid.

Scarlett Johansson Q&A

1: Where are Steve Rogers and Natasha in their friendship?

A: I think Steve and Natasha have a very fluid communication between them. They’ve obviously been on hundreds of missions together, in life or death situations. They operate very much like teammates. It’s a kind of unspoken communication that they have at this point.

Friendship?

There is a lot to unpack for this relatively short but loaded question and answer.

Basically, there has been substantial criticisms with regards to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has treated Black Widow so far by giving her a demeaning history.

Throughout the franchise in the previous four movies that Black Widow has appeared in, she has been hinted to have been involved flirtatiously or romantically in some form or another with Captain America, Hawkeye and Hulk -- and some would even count Iron Man.

2: Where do we find your character at the start of Infinity War?

A: It’s hard to say because there is a two-year period between Civil War and the start of Infinity War. There’s a lot to explore there, but certainly I built a back story for my own character that really finds her in a place where she is more determined than ever to be as strategic as possible and to keep everything under control as much as she possibly can.

She’s kind of gone rogue. She and Cap are trying to monitor and take care of as much as they possibly can without having the structure that they had in the safety of the Avengers. They’re operating their own team so to speak. It’s kind of rough when we first find them. I imagine that Natasha is a little bit hardened from what she’s experienced and what she’s had to go through.

What did Black Widow have to go through?

The whole thing really boiled over for the MCU in Avengers: Age of Ultron, when Black Widow revealed that she is sterilised and barren, and her entire personhood was boiled down to that one trait. (She was telling Hulk why she is also a "monster".)

3: What does it mean to see this franchise through to this point?

A: It’s been really exciting to get to work with some of the actors from different franchises that I have just admired. I guess you would say we are sort of an extended family. And then, of course, there are new characters that are also being introduced to the family. That part of it is wonderful because certainly what Marvel has really championed for, I think, is hiring actors who are unexpected, are dedicated and are fresh.

They advocate for new, and that part of it is so exciting. Of course, it’s bittersweet for me because I look around and see the cast and crew that have really become very close friends of mine and like a movie family, and I know that perhaps this could be the last time that all of us are together in this kind of way. It’s a bittersweet feeling, but I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done. And I’m proud of what we’ve built. I really feel like I’ve taken this character as far as I can go within this context, and I’m proud of that.

19th movie in the MCU franchise and not enough female superheroes

These lines can be read as a triumph for both Johansson and Black Widow, but at the same time, a consolation. Female characters in the franchise are seen as getting sidelined despite the clamour among fans to see more female superheroes. For example, Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy is a worthy candidate for a standalone movie, but nope, no plans yet.

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4: How is it to see more female faces in the group?

A: I’ve been advocating for some more female energy just in the cast and crew as a whole for a better part of a decade. So it’s really great to see a more diverse group and certainly great to see that the audiences are embracing and even asking for really strong female super heroines. They’re hungry for those stories, and they also want to see a more diverse group that better represents the population. It’s wonderful to feel like you’ve witnessed and been a part of that growth.

A strange question to ask

This in no way implies a parity in terms of gender. Neither should it be taken as a message of enfranchising women in MCU. It is a fact that the Marvel superhero genre has been set up to lock in the male fan demographic and cater specifically to that audience. The lack of Black Widow merchandising is itself telling.

5: What is Natasha’s take on Thanos?

A: I think it’s very hard for her to access the exact threat of Thanos. It’s certainly a force like she's never seen or could possibly even comprehend. I think Natasha’s a very strategic fighter, and she’s going to come at Thanos with whatever she has and a lot of that is with her brainpower. She is really just trying to give whatever she can to fight and make whatever sacrifice she can in order to save as many people as possible.

Female saviour

There is a back story to Black Widow that has remained underdeveloped over the course of the all the movies she has appeared in so far: Why is she having a saviour complex and what is she atoning for?

6: Talk about coming face-to-face with Thanos.

A: The Avengers talk about him so much before they see him that we’re sort of fighting this faceless evil, so when they finally see him I think it’s just the likes of something that Natasha could not even possibly imagine. These are the highest stakes that the Avengers have ever faced, and with that she is willing to give it everything she has.

Giving everything she has

It comes back to this issue again: Why is Black Widow giving all she can?

Black Widow is the more grounded superheroine (because she is human) that deserves more than just having her role shaped by her inability to have children. Based on the MCU canon, she is doing everything she can to wipe the slate clean, because of whatever actions she committed in the past as a super assassin.

So, why is she giving everything she's got? That's worth at least two standalone movies.

7: What have these ten years meant to you?

A: It’s been an incredible opportunity for me to be able to continue to come back to a character that I love so much and be able to peel back the layers, so to speak, of a character that I think in many ways kind of reflects myself and reflects my own growth and my own challenges. I really feel it’s been an incredible gift as an actor to be able to have that experience.

It’s such an unusual one. I don’t think there are many other opportunities that you have like that in film, to be able to continuously come back to a character that’s as complex as Natasha. And I really feel that I’ve had an incredible opportunity to play this iconic character that means so much to people, and I really have to thank the audiences for that because they embraced my portrayal of her from the beginning and allowed me to walk in Natasha’s shoes and kick ass in them too. So it’s been great.

Standalone movie, no?

And the main gripe among Black Widow fans once again, is that Black Widow deserves a standalone movie of her own given how much depth her character already exudes. But there has not been any plans for a solo outing in the works, despite how complicated her back story is, and regardless of how developed her character has been.