Of all the Avengers, none has remained quite as shrouded in mystery as Natasha Romanoff. Of course, it makes sense that so little is known about her. After all, she spent her entire adult life operating from the shadows as the infamous spy and assassin, the Black Widow.
However, fans wanted to know more about her. And now, more than a decade after her initial appearance in Iron Man 2, Natasha has gotten a chance to star in her very own film. The Black Widow movie answered a lot of questions about her past, but then again, it raised just as many new questions for fans to ponder. It seems the MCU always has a bigger mystery waiting to be uncovered.
10 Answered: What Happened In Budapest?
One of the biggest mysteries about Black Widow’s history has been what happened in Budapest. She and Hawkeye referenced the mission to Budapest in the climax of 2012’s Avengers, claiming they remembered it very differently. What started as a simple funny line became a point that fans obsessed over.
At long last, what happened in Budapest has been explained. This was Natasha’s final mission before she defected to S.H.I.E.L.D. She and Hawkeye got into a shootout with Hungarian Special Forces, then had to hide in the subway’s ventilation shafts for days.
9 Raised: Why Does Madame Hydra Want Yelena To Attack Hawkeye?
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is one of several people in Marvel to become Madame Hydra over the years. In the end credits sequence to Black Widow, she interrupted Yelena in the middle of paying her respects at Natasha’s grave.
De Fontaine revealed that Hawkeye killed Natasha. This obviously is to prompt Yelena to attack Hawkeye, but de Fontaine’s motives remain a mystery. However, based on her behavior during The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, she isn't up to anything good.
8 Answered: Who Is Dreykov’s Daughter?
When Black Widow is interrogating Loki in the original Avengers movie, he lists a number of atrocities she was responsible for. Among the vague references he makes is "Dreykov's daughter."
Not only are Dreykov and his daughter finally identified, but they are the main villains of Black Widow. In many ways, the entire movie can feel like an excuse to answer questions about her past, but this is an overly detailed explanation for two words that Loki dropped while he was in a holding cell.
7 Raised: What Did Red Guardian Go To Jail For?
Red Guardian claims to have been sent to jail after he was set up by Dreykov. However, the exact circumstances of his arrest have not been revealed, so it is unclear why he was detained.
Maybe he was framed for a crime, but it seems likely he could have carried out a mission with a bit too much zeal and ended up committing a half dozen war crimes without even realizing it. He could also have been compromised while living in the US, been found guilty of corruption, or gotten just a little too close to Captain America, among other possible crimes.
6 Answered: How Was Natasha Trained In The Red Room?
Natasha is one of the deadliest assassins in the world. She is also among the greatest living spies. On top of that, she can fight alongside gods, androids, and supersoldiers, holding her own against them. All of these accomplishments are the result of her training in the Red Room.
That training—like so much of her past—was shrouded in mystery. However, some of her training has finally been revealed, as it was shown in the opening credits of Black Widow.
5 Raised: What Did The Black Widows Do During Infinity War?
There are hundreds of Black Widows positioned all over the world (and quite possibly thousands of them). They have been placed where they can keep an eye on world leaders, infiltrating major governments. After Dreykov’s facility is taken down, they are theoretically released from Dreykov’s influence (even if they still need to have the chemical agent to remove the full effects of their conditioning).
In other words, there are hundreds of trained killers who could have helped fight off Thanos’s armies, or helped in the aftermath of all the devastation caused by the blip. So, just what were all of these women up to? This question really should be answered soon.
4 Answered: What Was Natasha’s Life Like Before She Joined S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Prior to the release of the 2021 Black Widow film, Natasha Romanoff was the only Avenger whose life was shrouded in mystery. Everyone else had ties to family or some other group. Steve had Bucky and the army. Tony had his family. Rhodey was a life-long military man. Even Hawkeye and the Maximoff twin had fleshed out backstories.
However, now fans finally know just what Natasha Romanoff was running from, given the brutal nature of her training and the types of targeted killings she was forced to commit. The movie also shows the only family she ever knew.
3 Raised: What Groups Are The Other Black Widows Tied To?
The Black Widows are a secret organization separate from the rest of the Russian government. They are basically Dreykov’s personal army. But no group that is so well-funded with so many government resources can exist without ties to other organizations.
This raises questions of who the Widows and the Red Room were affiliated with. One possibility is the Russian superhero team the Winter Guard. Another would be the Wolf Spiders, the male equivalent of the Black Widows. Given how long the Widows have been operating, it is also worth investigating how they have changed as Russia passed from the Soviet Union into the modern capitalist state. What departments or specific government operatives helped the Black Widows through this transition when other groups like the KGB were disbanded.
2 Answered: What Is The Origin Of Natasha’s Weaponized Bracelets?
Natasha Romanoff’s signature weapon is the pair of bracelets she wears called the Black Widow’s Bite (also sometimes called the Widow’s Sting or Widow Gauntlets). These wrist-mounted weapons shoot electric blasts. In the comics, they also shoot poison darts, a retractable grappling line, explosives, and tiny pellets that release gas on impact.
As it turns out, the Black Widow’s Bite is a weapon used by different Black Widows. They are trained in its use by the Red Room, then sent out to kill whoever their targets are.
1 Raised: When Did Red Guardian Face Captain America?
Red Guardian boasts about his fight with Captain America. He thinks this happened some time in the early-to-mid 1980s. However, he is not entirely certain when it took place.
Steve Rogers was not unfrozen until the 2010s. Perhaps the two met while Steve Rogers was going back in time with the help of the Time Stone. Or perhaps Red Guardian never met Steve at all, and this is just some memory implanted into him by the Red Room.