Natasha Romanov, aka Black Widow, has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe almost since its very conception. She first appeared in Iron Man 2 and while she didn’t have a massive role in that film, her presence was definitely felt a lot more in Avengers Assembled. Natasha has been a mainstay of the MCU for 10 years now, and fans were devastated by her recent death.
Thankfully, though, Nat has her very own solo movie coming out later this year and judging by the reactions to the first trailer, it looks to be an amazing, kickass film. However, one of Black Widow’s other more overlooked qualities is her witty sense of humor.
Her Flirting With Bruce Banner
Natasha remained quite a serious and work-oriented person in her first couple of appearances in the MCU. She still had a great sense of humor but audiences didn’t really get a proper insight into her personal life and backstory until Age Of Ultron. The film received a mixed response from both fans and critics but allowed us glimpses into Natasha’s past.
It also gave Natasha a fledging romance with Bruce Banner. Many fans didn’t particularly warm to this relationship but I found it quite cute. It allowed Nat to open up in a way that we hadn’t properly seen her do before and her humorous side came out in her flirtation with Banner, especially during the beginning of the film.
Agreeing With Tony
Back in the first Avengers movie, there was definitely some tension between the core heroes, namely Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. Tony and Steve clashed because of the former’s cynicism and the latter’s naive optimism, and Thor clashed with both because of his kind of literal God complex.
Mostly, this tension would erupt during a fight, or for humor’s sake, but one of the best scenes of the film was just before Loki’s forces attacked their base. Cap asked Tony what he was without his suit and Tony’s response was “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist”. Black Widow’s reaction to this was small but hilarious, as she shrugged, acknowledging Tony was an ass but a useful one at that.
Her Whole Friendship With Hawkeye
Black Widow’s friendship with Clint Barton is one of the highlights of the MCU. It was established way before the MCU was set up, so they both share a history together. Their friendship also adds emotional depth to the superhero saga, most notably evidenced in the fourth Avengers flick.
However, Natasha and Clint’s seemingly unbreakable bond also results in a lot of comedy gold. From Nat accusing Clint’s unborn son of being a traitor for daring to be a boy, to Nat asking Hawkeye if they were still friends during the airport fight scene, as well as being funny, these moments prove just how close these two heroes really were.
Hopping On The Bad Language Bandwagon
As previously stated, Age Of Ultron received mixed reviews. The plot was slightly unbelievable, and some fans were unhappy with the treatment of Natasha in this film but Ultron still had its highlights. One of those standout moments was the running gag of Steve telling off Tony for his bad language.
Tony, sensing an opportunity for a major ribbing, wouldn’t let that go and even the Cap himself realized he had made a big mistake. It came up repeatedly throughout the film, breaking the ice during some tenser moments. When Natasha started teasing Steve, it showed that even the most hardcore of spies wasn’t immune to a little bit of childishness.
Kissing Captain America
Natasha and Steve didn’t really trust each other during the first Avengers movie. Sure, they worked together and acted as a team, but there was never really any sense of camaraderie between the two. Luckily, though, this was no longer the case in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
It was clear that Steve and Nat had worked with each other for a while then, and so when Steve had to go on the run, Natasha forced him to allow her to accompany him. On the way, as they were avoiding HYDRA, Black Widow suddenly kissed the Cap to avoid detection. Steve’s surprise and Nat’s obliviousness were just hilarious.
Beating Up Happy Hogan
Honestly, some on should make a spin-off based on the interactions between Natasha and Happy, Tony Stark’s friend and Head of Security. They didn’t get much screen time together after Iron Man 2, but that didn’t even matter. When Natasha first met Tony (and Happy and Pepper), she was working undercover as Tony’s new assistant.
Tony was being Tony at the time and insisted that Nat get in the boxing ring with Happy. Natasha obliged and Happy began to mansplain to her about fighting techniques (although to be fair, no one knew Nat was a spy at the time). Happy swung a punch and Nat reacted instantaneously, flooring Happy, much to the shock of everyone around.
Multitasking
The Winter Soldier is one of the darker films in the MCU, but it’s also one of the most popular. It’s dark and gritty, and a solid spy thriller, but as with every Marvel movie, it also has plenty of moments of levity to balance out the somewhat darker plot points. Most of the humor in this film came from the witty dialogue.
Throughout the film, Steve is trying to get used to life in the 21st century, while struggling to let go of the pain of the past. To help him with this, Nat tries her best to set Captain America up with their colleagues, at many inopportune moments, such as jumping out of a plane or throwing people off rooftops.
Black Widow’s First Ever Fight Scene
This is the second Natasha/Happy entry on this list and it’s primarily here because it is adorable and hilarious and badass in equal measure. Happy and Black Widow made their way to Justin Hammer’s headquarters to try and stop Whiplash, but in order to get to him, they had to get past all of his armed men.
Happy had a massive fight with one man, of which he eventually emerged as the victor. However, while Happy was busy preoccupying himself with one assailant, Natasha had got to work disabling the entire security team. Happy’s elation at beating his guy, only to find out with dismay that Nat had wiped out the entire battalion singlehandedly was precious to watch.
Paranoia
Civil War was similar to its predecessor, in that it was quite a dark movie for the MCU, and it changed everything. However, it still managed to inject a reasonable amount of humor into the writing.
One of my favorite lines, not just in this film, but in the whole of the MCU, happened right at the very beginning of the movie. The Avengers were in Lagos, attempting to track down Rumlow, who was about to steal a chemical weapon. As they waited for Rumlow to make his move, Sam asked Nat if anyone ever called her paranoid. She responded in a hilarious fashion, stating “not to my face. Why, did you hear something?”
Black Widow’s Tied Up Interrogation
In Avengers Assembled, the first time we see Natasha is when she’s tied up and being pumped for information and generally being threatened with death. You know, the usual stuff. During the interrogation, Coulson rings her to tell her to come back and help with the Barton situation.
As Black Widow hung up the phone, it became increasingly obvious that she had allowed herself to get captured so that she could find out what her captors were really up to, as they had been correcting her ‘incorrect’ information as the interrogation played out. This was hilariously intelligent, and proved that there was more to Nat than just her combat skills.
