Despite not having superpowers, Natasha Romanoff remains one of the most vicious and creative combatants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the Black Widow, she becomes an undercover agent and assassin trained first by the Red Room and then by SHIELD, willing to make moves her more conventionally-heroic teammates won't.
One of the more frequently-recurring characters in the MCU prior to her death, Romanoff seizes plenty of chances to show her mettle in fights against both regular foes and superhumans. Compensating for her lack of powers with firepower, technology, and her sheer wits, Natasha creates some of the best fight scenes in the entire MCU.
10 Taking Part In The Airport Fight
Even though she has close personal ties to members of Captain America's team in Captain America: Civil War, Natasha finds herself on Tony Stark's side. As such, she's one of the most-involved people in the airport fight, clashing first with Scott Lang and then Clint Barton, before making a last-minute switch to help Steve and Bucky Barnes escape.
The airport fight as a whole feels like a low-stakes affair. Even Romanoff and Barton openly acknowledge they're not fighting anywhere close to their full force. Nonetheless, the battles remains a centerpiece spectacle, and Natasha's actions within it serve to set up the film's beloved third act.
9 Defending Wanda Maximoff From Proxima Midnight
When Wanda Maximoff joins the Battle of Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity War, Proxima Midnight takes the opportunity to ambush her. Before Midnight can strike Wanda with a killing blow, Black Widow intervenes, joined by the Dora Milaje Okoye.
As Wanda recovers, Midnight proves herself capable enough to take on the two highly-skilled warriors at once, managing to overwhelm them both and pinning Natasha to the floor with intent to kill. However, Natasha and Okoye hold Proxima Midnight off long enough for Wanda to recover and mangle Midnight with one of her own weapons.
8 Holding Off A Horde Of Black Widows
The villain of Black Widow, General Dreykov isn't much of a combatant. Instead, he plays the part of a schemer, leaving the fighting to his army of Black Widows. In the film's climax, Dreykov has his Widows surround Romanoff and gives them the order to painfully kill her.
A brutal fight scene follows. Despite her best efforts, Natasha finds herself mobbed and overwhelmed, unable to stand against so many well-trained assassins. However, her plan isn't to outfight them, but to get them all close enough to use the antidote on them, turning a one-sided mobbing into a surprise victory.
7 Clashing With Clint Barton In The Shield Helicarrier
Due to Loki mind-controlling Clint Barton to fight for him, Natasha's stake when battling the villain in The Avengers proves a more personal one than most of her team. Barton leads the attack against the Helicarrier in the film's second act, and Natasha intercepts him after he disables its bridge.
Hawkeye and Black Widow engage in a brutal fight among the Helicarrier's bowels. Despite Clint's mental edge and physical size, Natasha proves his superior in hand-to-hand combat, outfighting him. Clint initially seems cured of his brainwashing, but Natasha knocks him out with one final punch, just in case.
6 Surviving Taskmaster's Ambush
Romanoff gets drawn into the events of Black Widow shortly after receiving a package from her sister, Yelena. Unbeknownst to her, it contains vials of Black Widow antidote Dreykov wants back at any cost, leading him to dispatches the lethal Taskmaster. Natasha's car is blasted by one of Taskmaster's rockets, and an epic battles ensues.
The fight is heavily weighted against Romanoff, who's unprepared and under-armed. She finds herself beaten back by Taskmaster's speed, strength, and the ability to copy the Avengers' fighting abilities — including her own. The battle opens the film on a dark note, and reveals a rare battle where Natasha doesn't come out on top.
5 Trying To Stop The Winter Soldier's Breakout
In the second act of Captain America: Civil War, Zemo reactivated Bucky Barnes' dormant Winter Soldier conditioning, forcing him to break out of his cell and go on a rampage. Among the many people present who try to stop him were T'Challa, Sharon Carter, Tony Stark, and Natasha herself.
Ultimately, Bucky is successful, and it's only Captain America's intervention that stops him. In the earlier brawl, however, Natasha acquits herself comparatively well against Barnes. Only T'Challa does better, with Romanoff landing several blows and manging to slow Bucky down before she's defeated.
4 Taking On A Hallway Of Hammer Security
For much of Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff operates undercover as Natalie Rushman, a receptionist who only gives a few hints of combat ability. In the film's third act, however, she receives her first chance to show the audience her prowess when she infiltrates Hammer Industries to interfere with Ivan Vanko's plans.
Stopped by security, Natasha takes on a number of guards. Through her superior martial arts and her gadgets, she incapacitates over ten of them without receiving a single scratch. After a movie of relative inaction, this scene proves Natasha deserves a spot on the Avengers.
3 Her Final Fight With Hawkeye
Natasha Romanoff's final moments alive in Avengers: Endgame see her in a truly emotional fight with Clint Barton. One of them must sacrifice the person most important to them to retrieve the Soul Stone, and they each rush to throw themselves to their death, attempting to stop the other as they do.
Natasha and Barton unleash their gadgets, martial arts, and emotional pleas against one another as they fight to keep the other alive. Ultimately, Natasha wins the fight, forcing Clint into a position where he must let her fall. This heart pounding and heartbreaking moment has since become one of the film's signature scenes.
2 Getting Reacquainted With Her Sister
After Taskmaster's attack early in Black Widow, Romanoff realizes the package of vials originated from Budapest. Following their trail, she finds fellow former Black Widow and her one-time adoptive sister, Yelena Belova. They don't trust each other enough to disarm, and a fight breaks out.
Natasha and Yelena prove evenly-matched, having received much of the same training and even using the same moves at times. Although Natasha has more experience, Yelena compensates with more viciousness — even using a knife on her sister at one point. While it ends in a draw, the fight remains tense throughout and serves as Yelena's perfect introduction to the MCU.
1 Her Running Battle With The Winter Soldier
When Natasha goes on the run with Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, HYDRA eventually escalates things. The Winter Soldier and a team of thugs attack the trio on a New York bridge and effectively separate them with grenades and firepower, leaving Natasha as the only person in the Winter Soldier's sights.
Outmatched in strength and firepower, Romanoff uses her wits and technology to stay ahead off Winter Soldier as she tries to both fight him off and escape. Shattering his goggles, disabling his arm, and fooling him with a vocal decoy all prove insufficient, and he shoots her through the shoulder after one final assault. It's one of the film's finest sequences, perfectly advertising both combatants' skills.