The character Black Widow was one of the original six Avengers who helped pave the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While she may not be on the Godly level of Thor or Vision, she's been able to hold her own alongside them and the rest of Earth's mightiest heroes. Even without superpowers of her own, Black Widow has been a valued member of the team.
Despite being a crafty super spy and master interrogator, Black Widow has had some faults. At times, she's been a questionable choice when it comes to battling the likes of Thanos and Ultron. Her abilities as a spy and as a fighter have made her an invaluable member of the Avengers.
10 Overrated: An Unnecessary Romance
Avengers: Age of Ultron wasn't nearly as well received as the final two Avengers films, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. One of the many reason for this was the unexpected and unnecessary romantic subplot between Black Widow and Bruce Banner. While the two had exchanged some banter in the first Avengers film, there was nothing to suggest that they'd have a romance in the sequel.
The romance between the two was so unpopular, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely completely ignored it in Infinity War and Endgame. The writers told Empire "He was smart Hulk in this movie and it did seem a little odd, in the midst of everyone’s mourning and his change to a 2000-pound genius, to go, ‘and they’re dating!'"
9 Underrated: Her MCU Debut
Way back in the MCU's infancy, Black Widow was introduced during Iron Man 2 as Natalie Rushman, Tony Stark's new assistant.
She may have been new eye candy for a male heavy MCU at the time, but once Natalie Rushman was revealed to be Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow was introduced to the world as the hard hitting super spy that she is.
8 Overrated: Betraying Team Iron Man
Captain: America Civil War pitted hero against hero due to the Sokovia Accords. Despite being on Iron Man's pro-registration side, Black Widow seemed hesitant to fight her allies, especially Captain America and Hawkeye. Her betrayal of Team Iron Man ultimately was an obvious choice when she stopped Black Panther from catching up to Captain America and Bucky.
7 Underrated: A Calming Presence
The Hulk has always been a being of unimaginable power and rage. Once he gets going, there's simply no stopping him. Very few characters have been able to beat him in the comics and it wasn't any different on screen.
Calming The Hulk seemed to be an impossible task before Avengers: Age of Ultron. Yet, Black Widow managed to bring down the green goliath by a simple touch of the hand and the calming mantra: "sun's getting real low." Too bad it didn't work for Thor when he tried the same thing in Thor: Ragnarok.
6 Overrated: Black Widow's Bite
For the majority of her battles within the MCU, Black Widow relied on plenty of gadgets including her trusty widow's bite. The gauntlets she would wear would release a volt of electricity that would incapacitate her enemies. But what good was that against any of the MCU's hardest hitters? Her widow's bite may have worked against the average Hydra agent, but it proved worthless against the likes of Ultron and Thanos. Her signature move didn't even work against Crossbones in Captain America: Civil War.
5 Underrated: A Master Interrogator
She may not have been strong enough to fight Loki in The Avengers, but she was smart enough to outwit the God of Mischief. In one of the most memorable moments of the film, Black Widow manages to trick Loki into revealing his plan to manipulate The Hulk into fighting his fellow super heroes aboard the Shield helicarrier. Loki thought he had the upper hand by threatening to kill Hawkeye in a grizzly fashion, but Natasha's skills as a master spy were strong enough to force Loki into telling her all she needed to know.
4 Overrated: Being A Shield Agent
This essentially falls on any Shield Agent who wasn't on the Strike Team. How did she not know that Shield was Hydra all along? She worked both for Shield and the Russian Government. Surely she could have picked up on something that would lead to her finding out about the conspiracy. The super spy was just as surprised as everyone else when the villainous Arnim Zola revealed Shield's deepest secret.
3 Underrated: Cap's Other Sidekick
Captain America already had super sidekicks in Bucky and The Falcon. But his partnership with Black Widow was just as meaningful as those two. Cap didn't trust her at first during the events of Captain America: Winter Soldier, but she earned that trust by the end of the film. She helped Cap beat Hydra, going so far as exposing her own secrets to the world. Bucky may have been with Captain until the end of the line, but Black Widow was by his side for most of his adventures.
2 Overrated: Fighting The Black Order
The MCU's Black Widow is a lot of things, but super powered isn't one of them. While the comic book version of Black Widow does in fact have a few powers, her film counterpart is essentially just a very athletic spy.
So how exactly did she manage to defeat Thanos' Black Order members Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight? Even the overpowered Vision had trouble beating Corvus Glaive, yet Black Widow took care of him with ease during their first encounter. The MCU has been inconsistent with its heroes' power levels. In this instance, Black Widow was unusually overpowered against foes that should have outclassed her in terms of strength.
1 Underrated: Saving Her Family (And The Universe)
Tony Stark may have given Thanos the finishing blow, but he wouldn't have had the chance without Black Widow's ultimate sacrifice. The possibility of one of the original six Avengers dying loomed over Avengers: Endgame. Iron Man and Captain America seemed like the likeliest to give their life to beat Thanos but in the end, it was Black Widow who answered the call before Iron Man's universe saving snap. Natasha went from an Agent of Shield to the hero who gave her life to save her fellow Avengers and the whole universe.