BLACK WIDOW Star Scarlett Johansson On The Character's More "Sexualized" Depiction In IRON MAN 2

BLACK WIDOW Star Scarlett Johansson On The Character's More "Sexualized" Depiction In IRON MAN 2

Natasha Romanoff has gone through some big changes since she debuted in Iron Man 2, and in a new interview, Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson comments on the character's more "sexualized" depiction...

By MarkCassidy - Jun 15, 2021 10:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Black Widow

Several sites have shared details of their 2019 visits to the set of Black Widow prior to the movie being delayed due to the pandemic, and some interesting tidbits have been unearthed from the cast interviews.

Collider asked star Scarlett Johansson about the sexualization of superheros in relation to how her character, Natasha Romanoff, has evolved over the years, and the actress recalled her MCU debut back in 2010's Iron Man 2.

"All of that is related to that move away from the kind of hyper-sexualization of this character and, I mean, you look back at Iron Man 2 and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is so sexualized, you know? Really talked about like she’s a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever — like a piece of ass, really. And Tony even refers to her as something like that at one point. What does he say?"

The interviewer (incorrectly) reminds Johansson that Stark said "I want some" (he actually says "I want one") during the training scene, but the gist is the same!

“'I want some,'” she continues. "Yeah, and at one point calls her a piece of meat and maybe at that time that actually felt like a compliment. You know what I mean? Because my thinking was different. Maybe I even would have, you know, my own self-worth was probably measured against that type of comment or, like a lot of young women, you come into your own and you understand your own self-worth. It’s changing now. Now people, young girls, are getting a much more positive message, but it’s been incredible to be a part of that shift and be able to come out the other side and be a part of that old story, but also progress. Evolve. I think it’s pretty cool."

We don't think Stark ever actually calls Natasha a piece of meat (unless there's a director's cut we don't know about?), but there's no denying that, aside from her one action scene near the end, Widow was primarily utilized as eye candy in the Marvel sequel. One could argue that this was true to the character to an extent (Romanoff counts on people underestimating her because of her looks), but either way, it's hard to argue that Black Widow evolved into a far more compelling and complex figure as the MCU progressed.

Back in March, Disney officially announced that Black Widow would debut on Disney+ Premier Access at the same time it hits theaters. The Marvel prequel was set for a theatrical release on May 7 before being pushed back to July 9, and will now be made available to Disney+ subscribers for an extra $30.

Black Widow finds Natasha Romanoff "confronting the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger. Joining Johansson in the new feature film are Florence Pugh as Yelena, David Harbour as Alexei/The Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz as Melina."

Do you guys plan on checking out Black Widow in theaters or on Disney+? Let us know in the usual place.

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CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 6/15/2021, 10:46 AM
She looked unbelievable in IM2.
AmbientCreativiT
AmbientCreativiT - 6/15/2021, 10:52 AM
@CorndogBurglar -
Fogs
Fogs - 6/15/2021, 12:37 PM
@CorndogBurglar - Since apparently my comments are being censored...

Yes, unbelievably not empowered enough!
dragon316
dragon316 - 6/15/2021, 2:39 PM
@CorndogBurglar - Iron Maiden 2 ?
JonC
JonC - 6/15/2021, 10:52 AM
I would say the comments about her as 'a thing' in the movie reflects who Tony still was at that time... evolving from who he was prior to the cave in IM1. He had evolved in the use of his weapons against his own country but had not evolved in relationships yet... and as he needed Pepper more, he evolved and went away from treating women like that.
Kumkani
Kumkani - 6/15/2021, 10:55 AM
@JonC - That doesn't really change her argument, partially because the film doesn't necessarily say or show that Tony's behaviour is deplorable.

And aside from that there are several shots of her backside, and an entire gag of Happy flirting with her without her consent.
santoanderson
santoanderson - 6/15/2021, 10:56 AM
Iron Man 2 was from the Perlmutter era wasn’t it? Where female characters didn’t get action figures because “girls don’t buy action figures” and Don Cheadle was an easy recast for Rhodey because “nobody can tell the difference between black actors.”

Things have evolved since 2010.
inkniron
inkniron - 6/15/2021, 11:13 AM
@santoanderson - You have to play to the percentages. Although it has evolved into a global phenomenon, comic books in general were dominated by a mostly white male fan base. Even though they have worked beyond some short sighted issues, I can't blame them for catering to their core audience initially.
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 6/15/2021, 10:57 AM

I thought that bit was funny and representative of the characters. Tony being a misogynist, with Black Widow's role being the eye candy/femme fatale. And then of course later in the movie, she shows that she's much more than that.
Fogs
Fogs - 6/15/2021, 11:10 AM
@99OPTIMISTPRIME - Exactly

And that is the line where people are afraid of characterizing people in their films for the sake of being politically correct.

This scene wouldn't be shot nowadays.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 6/15/2021, 10:57 AM
Yeah I mean, Tony WAS a misogynistic playboy in his early MCU appearances. So it's hardly surprising or a problem that those lines were included. Of course, by the time of Endgame Tony had come a long way in that regard.
Fogs
Fogs - 6/15/2021, 11:10 AM
@Nightwing1015 - this.
OmegaBlack13
OmegaBlack13 - 6/15/2021, 11:24 AM
@Nightwing1015 - But the film doesn’t take the stance that “I want one” is a gross bit of sexism, it’s more like “wow Tony Stark, what a womanizer”. Pepper doesn’t chastise him for being a creep she just says “No.” with a smirk.
madhombre
madhombre - 6/15/2021, 12:05 PM
@OmegaBlack13 - Of course.
Let’s take all the fun out of that scene so 3 people can feel better about it . 😂
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 6/15/2021, 12:29 PM
@OmegaBlack13 - I don't think everything needs to be spelled out for us. Not criticising people in movies does not = glorifying their behaviour. If Tony had behaved any differently it would've been out of character. Also, Pepper didn't really smirk, she was cross and stern.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 6/15/2021, 10:59 AM
Yeah, cause Evans and Hemsworth weren't sexualized at all in their respective films.


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