Black Widow Teaser Trailer, My Thoughts

Hello, everyone! In case you were wondering where I was the past week, I was on vacation, spending time with some family. It was a very nice time, I had a lot of fun. During that period, I saw that the teaser trailer for the upcoming Black Widow film (helmed by Australian director Cate Shortland) had come out, and I was eager to blog about it when I got home.

If you may have been a follower of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you may be familiar with the redheaded ravishing Russian espionage expert. In the comics, the Black Widow is a long legacy. The first Black Widow was Claire Voyant (Get it? Clairvoyant?), who first appeared in Mystic Comics #4 (August 1940). Created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sayle, this Black Widow was a dark mystical figure, delivering the souls of evildoers to what is presumably Satan. She made some appearances during the Golden Age of Comics, but generally stayed in the shadows afterwards, until she was revived by writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Chris Weston in their 2008 miniseries The Twelve.

Natasha Alianova Romanoff was the second Black Widow, and is easily the most famous holder of the mantle. Co-created by writer Stan Lee, writer/artist Don Rico, and artist Don Heck, she first appeared in Tales Of Suspense #52 (April 1964). In comics, she's the most well-known of the Black Widows, too. She's been a member of several super-teams, like the Champions, the Thunderbolts, and the Heroes for Hire. She's most notably an Avenger. She's also worked for periods of time with Daredevil, having romantic entanglements with the Man Without Fear. She has had solo adventures and her own series a couple of times. One such solo adventure I looked at in 2017 right here.

The third Black Widow was Yelena Belova. Created by writer Devin and artist J.G. Jones, she first appeared in Inhumans #5 (March 1999). She was an enemy of Natasha Romanoff, and fought the Avengers, but then she changed her ways.

So, with that primer out of the way, let's take a look at the Black Widow teaser trailer!

In case you're wondering, this film will be set after the events of Captain America: Civil War. This makes sense. Thanks to that movie, she's pretty much on her own. The Avengers are broken up, and also thanks to the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, she has to deal with her own secrets being exposed to the world. It's the perfect point to set in an adventure focused on her.

I wonder what that place is? Russia? Maybe Budapest? Some of the film was shot there.

Nice little showing of the ballet training there. In the comics, Nat is trained in ballet dancing.

The breaking up of the Avengers would hit Natasha hard. One can imagine the group was the first time she ever felt part of a family.

Nice detail of the Marvel Studios logo incorporating the Black Widow red hourglass insignia.

Hey, William Hurt! It can be assumed he's reprising the role of "Thunderbolt" Ross from Incredible Hulk and the Avengers movies. It also looks like he was given some of that digital de-aging we've been seeing in some MCU movies lately.

Hello, Florence Pugh! She's playing Yelena Belova, the third Black Widow.

Ooh, Nattie's got a white suit for the snow.

Yeah, Rachel Weisz is in this film. Her character's name is "Melina". Some fans, including myself, theorize that this Melina is the MCU version of Melina Vostokovna, aka Iron Maiden. It does fit. The MCU has utilized lesser-known characters from the comics in their movies, and Iron Maiden has crossed swords with Natasha in the comics. It was because Iron Maiden had a raging envy towards Natasha, seen as the best spy Russia had ever put out. I wonder if she'll get a suit of armor of her own in the film...

And it looks like the villain of this film is the Taskmaster. It can be hinted from his using the bow that he's crossed paths with Hawkeye, but he could have picked up his skill by just looking at footage of him, like in the comics. His costume is kind of "meh", if you ask me. Maybe he'll get one more loyal to the comics later on.

David Harbour's take on Red Guardian is going to so be a breakout character. In case you're wondering, the Red Guardian was basically Russia's answer to Captain America. Several characters have taken the mantle over the years. Harbour is playing the Alexei Shostakov incarnation. That fits, as in the comics, Alexei and Natasha were once married.

Also, I like the idea that the three Widows and the Red Guardian are sort of a family. I wonder if that means family will be a theme in the film. After all, Nat just lost her Avengers family...

Oh, I hope the Red Guardian/Taskmaster fight is a knockdown drag-out brawl. I want to see the jolly Russian fat man beat the bejesus out of the skill mimic.

Widow with one heck of a leap of faith there.

I love the music in this trailer.

I have to admit, I am really excited. There has been a demand for a Black Widow solo movie for years, and I'm happy it's finally happening. I like that this film looks like it will be more of a Jason Bourne-esque smaller-scale spy film and not the grand adventure that Infinity War and Endgame were. Variety is good. And I love that we'll get to explore Natasha's past a bit, and she gets one last hurrah. I can't wait for this movie.

Thanks for reading this blog entry. If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time!