From Red Room assassin to Avenger
Natasha was taken as a child into the Red Room, a secret Soviet program that trained girls to become killers with no will of their own. She escaped that life and eventually joined S.H.I.E.L.D., but she never stopped feeling the weight of what she had done. Her famous line about having red in her ledger sums her up: she sees each mission as a chance to balance the books.
She has no superpowers. What she has is skill, nerve and a talent for reading people, and the films often use her as the sharpest mind in the room, the one who sees through a villain before anyone else does.
All Black Widow movies in story order
- Iron Man 2 (2010, recommended)
- The Avengers (2012, essential)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014, essential)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015, essential)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016, essential)
- Black Widow (2021, optional)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018, essential)
- Captain Marvel (2019, essential): the mid-credits scene
- Avengers: Endgame (2019, essential)
This is the one place where her order and release dates disagree. Black Widow came out after Endgame, yet its story takes place between Civil War and Infinity War. Either way works, but if you want release order, simply move it to the end.
Moments that shaped her
She arrives in Iron Man 2 undercover as Tony Stark's new assistant, and the surprise of who she really is sets the tone. The Avengers turns her into a team player and gives her a brilliant interrogation scene with Loki. In The Winter Soldier she becomes Steve Rogers' partner, and the collapse of everything she believed about her employer forces her to stand on her own.
Age of Ultron opens up her past through haunting visions of the Red Room. Civil War splits her loyalties between both sides of the Accords debate. Her solo film finally reunites her with the family she was given as a child, including her "sister" Yelena. By Endgame, she is the one holding the team together when everyone else has given up, and the film gives her a moment fans still talk about.
The people closest to her
Captain America is her most trusted friend, and their partnership grows across three films. Nick Fury brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D. and believes in her more than she believes in herself. Tony Stark knew her first as a spy in his office, which makes their later teamwork feel earned. Sam Wilson fights beside her and Steve from The Winter Soldier on, and the three go on the run after Civil War, and Clint Barton, her oldest partner, connects to her past in Budapest.
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha
Scarlett Johansson plays Natasha in all nine films. Over that time she turned a sidekick role into one of the emotional anchors of the saga, adding humor, weariness and warmth without losing the character's guarded edge. She also produced the solo film.
Outside the MCU she is known for Lost in Translation, the voice of the AI Samantha in Her and Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story.
Choosing your route
For the essentials, start with The Avengers and follow the list through Endgame. Add Iron Man 2 to see how she met Tony, and fit Black Widow in after Civil War if you love the character or want to meet Yelena before her later appearances.