Black Widow was one of several heroes to lose their lives during Avengers: Endgame, but one cut scene from the film makes her sacrifice more powerful.
One cut scene from Avengers: Endgame reveals what Black Widow was up to during the Blip and makes her MCU sacrifice even more powerful. Scarlett Johansson debuted as Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, in Iron Man 2 and quickly took her place as one of the MCU’s original Avengers. While Phase 4’s Black Widow delivered a retrospective story for Romanoff, the character’s story came to an end in Avengers: Endgame, which saw her sacrifice herself to allow Clint Barton, the MCU’s Hawkeye, fellow Avenger, and Black Widow’s long-time best friend, to collect the Soul Stone during the Avengers’ Time Heist.
Black Widow’s death in Avengers: Endgame was only one of several emotional moments during the Infinity Saga’s epic finale as the Avengers sought to reverse the devastation caused by Thanos five years earlier. This adventure came towards the end of Avengers: Endgame’s five-year time jump, however, and subsequent MCU projects haven’t done much to explain what happened to society during “the Blip.” Upcoming Phase 5 projects, including Secret Invasion, are set to explore the Blip further, but Avengers: Endgame itself almost gave deeper insight into the lives of the surviving Avengers in the wake of Thanos’ snap.
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Black Widow Ran An Orphanage During Avengers: Endgame’s Blip
During a 2019 episode of The Gist podcast (via Slate), Infinity War and Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo revealed more about the impact of Thanos’ snap on the MCU’s Earth, including uncovering some of the actions of the Avengers during the Blip. One major aspect of Thanos’ destruction that the Russo Brothers discussed was that “one-quarter of all children [were left with] no parents,” creating a multitude of global orphans. This sobering reality was almost explored during Avengers: Endgame, as Anthony Russo revealed that Black Widow was actually leading an organization taking care of the world’s orphans, but these moments were dropped from the final script.
Russo Brothers’ Reveal Gives Black Widow’s Sacrifice New Context
In the opening moments of Avengers: Endgame, Natasha Romanoff was one of the first characters audiences caught up with, shown to be still reeling from the events of Avengers: Infinity War five years earlier. While other Avengers journeyed across the Earth and across the galaxy to help those in need, Black Widow held her post at Avengers HQ, determined to continue protecting humanity despite feeling as though all hope had been lost. The fact that she was almost revealed to have been running an orphanage for children with snapped parents emphasizes this emotional distress but once again proves her compassion and commitment to the Avengers’ mission.
Should this dropped scene have been included in Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow’s sacrifice would have been given a much deeper meaning too. In the final film, her death is backed up by the motivation to bring back everybody who Thanos snapped away, but if it had been revealed that Black Widow had been running an orphanage, she wouldn’t have only been sacrificing herself for her fellow Avengers, but also for the parents of all the children under her care. The MCU often ignored Black Widow’s story, but this hidden detail from Avengers: Endgame cements her as one of the most selfless characters in the MCU.
