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Black Widow: Does the post-credits scene undo the film, and more WTF questions – CNET [CNET]
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And will we ever see Scarlett Johansson do that pose ever again?
Released July 9 in theaters and on Disney Plus, Black Widow is both a prequel and a solo adventure for Johansson’s assassin-turned-avenger. So it isn’t as rife with links to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as some other films in the series (well, at least until the post-credits scene, which does hint at the future of the MCU). But this slick spy thriller still has a few things to ponder. Zip up your utility vest, pull your best superhero pose and join in the search for answers. Warning: Spoilers everywhere!
How did the Widows escape?
At the end of the movie, Natasha and her surrogate family have crashed the Red Room, freed the Black Widows and are all set to start new lives. Hurray! Now all they have to do is get away. On foot. With a fleet of SUVs bearing down on them. We see Natasha hiding out again in the final scene, so what did the family and the Widows do? Cram onto that fancy hover plane? Hide behind some wreckage until the army of highly trained spec ops guys gave up and went home? What if two of the Widows tried to hide behind the same burning chunk of helicarrier? What if two if them started running in the same direction? Would that be hella awkward?
Natasha’s got no nose. How does she smell?
Natasha beats Dreykov by severing her own olfactory nerve and short-circuiting his pheromone-based brainwashing. So in Infinity War and Endgame, does Natasha have no sense of smell? And why does the success of the mission rely on her smashing her own nose? Do we smell… a metaphor?
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What movie did Natasha watch?
Once safely holed up off the grid, Natasha settled in to watch a movie. Specifically, 1979 James Bond flick Moonraker, in which Roger Moore battled toothy henchman Jaws on a cable car and went to space. Natasha knows the film inside out, so she may’ve been inspired by the villain’s hidden space station and the scene in which Bond dived through the air to steal someone else’s parachute. Perhaps more pertinent to Black Widow’s themes, Moonraker included the nadir of sexism in the Bond series: Moore is surprised at meeting a scientist who is “A woman!“
Who was Taskmaster?
Under Taskmaster’s task-mask is actor Olga Kurylenko, who provides a neat James Bond connection: She appeared as a Bolivian agent in 2008 Bond flick Quantum of Solace.
Will we see Taskmaster again?
I’ll be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the amount of screen time for Taskmaster. Though the copycat villain gave Natasha and friends a run for their money, they weren’t quite the threat they could’ve been. It was fun to see Taskmaster repeating Hawkeye‘s archery skills, Captain America‘s shield-tossing attacks and Black Panther‘s fingernail claws. And was that a Falcon-style kick flip or a Spidey-flip? Has Taskmaster been watching the Spider-Man movies?
Who sent you? Who do you work for?
MarvelWhy do they want Hawkeye dead?
To set up the Hawkeye TV series, obviously. But what’s the real reason? Probably the haircut.
We’ll find out when Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld headline the Hawkeye show on Disney Plus later in 2021.
Doesn’t the post-credits scene undo Yelena’s entire arc?
So the whole movie is about the women of the Black Widow program battling for freedom to think for themselves. Yelena, for example, goes from mind-controlled assassin to a free woman exerting her own independence. Her emotional journey is symbolized by her vest: It’s the first item of clothing she’s ever bought for herself, and it’s full of pockets — because the availability of pockets in women’s clothing is a feminist issue. Like Natasha says, her arc is all about “making up for the pain and suffering we caused. Trying to be more than a trained killer.”
Cut to the post-credits — and Yelena is back taking orders and apparently killing people on someone else’s say-so. What happened to free will, Yelena?
Will we see Scarlett Johansson in the MCU again?
The million dollar question! Natasha laid down her life to secure an infinity stone in Avengers: Endgame, and we see her grave on Earth in a post-credits scene that also suggests Florence Pugh is taking over the Black Widow mantle. So is that it for ScarJo and the MCU? Time travel is now an established part of the MCU, thanks to the Loki TV series as well as Cap’s use of those same infinity stones to undo Endgame’s timey-wimey shenanigans. So maybe there’s a chance Natasha will be un-widowed for the next phase of Marvel movies.
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