Avengers: Age of Ultron set many major moments in motion for the Avengers, ultimately setting them up to be torn down in Captain America: Civil War. By the end of Age of Ultron, the original team was almost completely disbanded, with only Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) staying on to lead the new members of the team. But one of the biggest surprises was the slow distancing of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) following his decision not to pursue Natasha romantically.

Throughout the course of the film, Natasha showed interest in Banner, and all of the Avengers knew it. However, after Banner lost control of the Hulk and rampaged South Africa, he began to be wary of his place on the team and saw himself as more of a danger than a hero. Ultimately, the assumed explanation for a Bruce and Natasha relationship not coming to fruition was that it would simply never work. Thankfully, a deleted scene on Disney+ gave a much clearer idea of why he chose not to let Natasha get too close.

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Bruce Banner The Hulk Natasha Romanoff The Black Widow reaching out to hold hands

In the deleted scene, "Bruce and Natasha Talk," the two shared a moment where they laid out how they felt for one another. In not so many words, Bruce confirmed that he did have feelings for Natasha, but his fear was too great, and he felt that she would be in danger if she stayed with him. Natasha wouldn't take no for an answer, and the conversation quickly devolved into an argument.

During the exchange, Bruce asked Natasha about all of the lives lost in his wake, and she responded by saying, "they're dead." At that moment, he told her, "Not to me. Not ever." and confirmed that he wasn't going to reciprocate her feelings. Natasha's cold logic to life and death didn't sit well with Bruce due to his natural inclination to dwell on the mistakes he has made and the lives he took or ruined.  He wore that pain on his face in the scene and made it evident that he didn't want Natasha to be another life he could destroy.

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What made the scene so tragic for the characters was that he decided to turn her away because he wanted to be with her, knowing that the best way to keep her safe was to push her away and stay on the run. Banner was no stranger to this tactic as he had done the same thing to his first love, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), following the end The Incredible Hulk.

While Bruce and Natasha wouldn't meet again until Avengers: Infinity War, the chemistry between them was almost immediate. Sadly, the two never tried to rekindle what they had, and the next time they met in Avengers: Endgame would be short-lived due to Natasha's sacrifice to retrieve the Soul Stone.

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