It's fair to say that David Harbor has made quite the impact as Red Guardian thanks to Black Widow, and fans are already anxious to see him step back into that tight-fitting costume.
There are a lot of different directions to take a character like this one, and the Stranger Things star hasn't shied away from expressing his desire to see Alexei clash with Captain America. However, there's another hero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe he's keen to see Red Guardian square off with.
Talking to Insider, Harbour was asked if he would be open to returning to this shared world post-Black Widow and where he sees the character's story going next. "I'm down for more. I have two ideas. One is seeing Red Guardian back in his prime. That's interesting to me. But the other is going off this story, having this experience with Natasha and having this beautiful end when he takes her hand and says 'I can't even speak to you because I would mess it up.'"
"When he finds out that she was on that cliff with Hawkeye and maybe the version of the story he hears is that Hawkeye pushed her off or something, it's a moment when Red Guardian turns back to the guy he was. He now wants vengeance for her. That I feel would play well."
Could we see Red Guardian join Yelena Belova on her mission of vengeance in Hawkeye? That's probably a little too much to cram into the Disney+ series, but it's certainly possible and would be an interesting use of Alexei as he processes his grief following the shocking death of Natasha Romanoff.
It feels like Marvel Studios must have something planned for these Black Widow supporting characters, and the fact that the movie was delayed over a year could mean we'll see them all sooner than expected.
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the ways Black Widow sets up the MCU's future!
6. Could Natasha Return As A Skrull?
There's a weird moment at the end of Black Widow when Natasha waits to be confronted by General Ross only for the film to immediately jump to two weeks later. There, Natasha has blonde hair and is setting off to go help Captain America out.
What happened when Ross arrived to presumably arrest her for breaking the Sokovia Accords is unknown, and it feels a lot like a scene might be missing. Sure, Nat might have struck a bargain or escaped (or it might be a sloppy piece of editing on the film's part), but there's another far more exciting possibility.
What if this was the moment Black Widow was replaced by a Skrull?
We're not sure why this fake Natasha would go through everything she did heading into Avengers: Endgame, but this could be explained by delving into whatever their grand plan is in Secret Invasion, and we're sure the shape-shifters wanted to see Thanos defeated as much as the rest of the universe. Hence, the Skrull did "whatever it takes."
5. Red Guardian's Redemption
Despite him clearly not being the best father to Natasha and Yelena, Red Guardian does find redemption as the film progresses and ultimately earns their forgiveness and love.
Describing him as a standout character here feels apt, and he's already someone fans are keen to see more of. By the time all is said and done, he leaves alongside Yelena, Melina, Taskmaster, and the surviving Widows, and now a free man, you have to imagine he smartens himself up, cleans that costume, and returns to being Russia's Red Guardian.
Marvel Studios is unlikely to want to get too political (especially where Russia is concerned), but Alexei could still form his own team of Russian heroes as they look to escape the shadow of the Red Room.
Failing that, it would be good to see more of him working with Melina and Yelena, and it's blatantly obvious David Harbour has some sort of future in the MCU.
4. More Taskmaster
As noted, Taskmaster is among the Red Room escapees at the end of the film, and while she's certainly damaged after the time spent being controlled by Dreykov, this surely can't be where the character's story ends?
She never really speaks here and has little in the way of personality. Marvel Studios could certainly change that, but it might be better to use Taskmaster as someone who uses her newfound freedom to become a mercenary and assassin; a silent, deadly killer every bit as formidable as what we see in Black Widow.
Taskmaster could be portrayed as a threat to everyone from the new Captain America to Spider-Man and Hawkeye, and it would be no bad thing to see her join Yelena - with a new costume - in the latter's Disney+ series.
This is a villain too good to waste on a one-and-done MCU appearance.
3. Yelena's Next Mission
Talking of Hawkeye, the film's post-credits scene establishes that Yelena Belova is going to take aim at Clint Barton. Manipulated by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, she's clearly been led to believe that he's the reason her sister is dead and understandably wants revenge.
We're sure that Clint will set her right and this will be another part of her journey to becoming a superhero, but as she's seemingly been working as an assassin since the events of Black Widow, perhaps redemption isn't on the cards?
Her comic book counterpart is primarily a villain, of course, so that could be where the MCU is headed.
Why would they want to do that? After all, Yelena has all the makings of this shared world's new Black Widow, filling the massive voice left by Natasha's death. It all comes down to whatever Val is plotting...
2. Dark Avengers
Black Widow was supposed to be released before The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but timeline aside, and the mysterious Val now has her own Captain America - U.S. Agent - and a Black Widow following her orders.
It sure does feel like she might be building a team, eh?
With no Norman Osborn in the MCU (Disney's relationship with Sony isn't strong enough to guarantee he'd be around for the long haul), it seems Phase 4 is taking the opposite approach to Phase 1, this time with Val creating a team in place of Nick Fury. Who she works for remains a mystery, but Marvel Studios could be playing the long game again here.
As a result, it's sure to be a while before this character's mission becomes clear, but the Dark Avengers assembling in the MCU could happen sooner than expected.
1. More Widows
By the time all is said and done, a number of Red Room Black Widows are able to escape, while the locations of the rest are revealed so they too can be freed from Dreykov's programming.
That leaves a lot of badass women out there who no longer have anyone to report to, and while we're sure many of them will return to a normal life, there are others who will likely continue working as assassins or mercenaries. The comics don't provide too many options for characters as well-known as Nat or Yelena, but could we see more of these Widows?
Rumor has it at least one of them will compete in Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings' fight tournament, so we'd be willing to bet that's true.
Beyond that? It seems we'll have to wait and see.