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Marvel has announced 10 films for its Phase 3 slate. I’m as excited as any comic book movie fan. The list of films Marvel has coming includes Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Captain Marvel and Captain America: Civil War. These are the films I’m most excited for. Captain America and Thor are closing out their respective trilogies while Black Panther and Captain Marvel are just getting started. Notably, Captain Marvel will be the first female superhero in the MCU to receive her own solo film. This is a milestone film for Marvel. But, it disappoints me somewhat. Captain Marvel may be the first female heroine to get her won solo film, but she isn’t the first female heroine in the MCU. That title belongs to Natalia Alianovna Romanoff, better known as Natasha Romanoff, and as Black Widow.
Kevin Feige, the godfather of the MCU, has stated countless times that Black Widow is a significant part of the MCU. He’s repeated on numerous occasions, that Widow has an important future in the universe. How important can she be if she doesn’t receive some sort of solo film or even a series to expand on her character like her colleagues? Widow is just a layered and interesting a character as Cap, Thor or Iron Man. Her mysterious past is incredibly fascinating and it’s filled with numerous adventures, secrets and stories to explore.
There’s been some talk and/or rumors of Marvel possibly developing a Black Widow film, and more recently, maybe even a Netflix miniseries. I’m all for a miniseries. Black Widow is a character who can really benefit from an episodic format of storytelling. And Netflix is the perfect place for it. With this serialized storytelling, I believe examining her past is the best route to go. I will give my take on the story, tone, the characters, and the showrunner of this probable series.
Let’s Talk Story
Natasha Romanoff has got red in her ledger. She’s got a lot of it. In Avengers, she explains how she has to wipe it out. Asgardian menace, Loki, retorts, “Can you? Can you wipe out that much red...?” This response is a strong indicator of the blood Natasha has spilled in her past. Her hands must be caked in blood. Her future after the KGB seems to be a path towards redemption. Helping the Avengers and protecting the Earth is s a second chance. As lethal and dangerous as Widow is working with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, we never get a true sense of how deadly she is. That’s obviously because of the restrictions of the PG-13 format of the movies. A Netflix series could allow for a showcase of just how deadly Natasha was in her past. Dreykov's daughter, Sao Paulo, the hospital fire; these all sound like ugly and nasty situations. Let’s not forget Budapest. A dark story is required for a Netflix miniseries focused on Widow’s past. I think I have just the right narrative to adapt.
*My take has very faithful links to the Black Widow mythology
Story: WIDOWMAKER
The
Widowmaker story is a four issue comic book limited series published in 2010. The plot focuses on
the assassination espionage agents around the world. Spies are being hunted down and killed. Black Widow finds herself and Mockingbird to be the next targets. This is all spawned by the mass murder of K.G.B. recruits at the Red Room Academy. Surveillance video reveals the killings are carried out by the Dark Ocean Society, a shadowy Japanese group
I don’t desire a direct adaption of this storyline. I’d like to pull certain plot threads from it and tweak it. Instead of all spies being hunted down and killed, I think all Red Room recruits/agents should be the ones being hunted and killed.
Agent Carter showed fans the Natasha, wasn’t the first Black Widow. There were those who came before her.
Age of Ultron, with its Widow flashback hallucination scenes, displayed other girls in the Red Room with her. I’d like to think that graduation from the Red Room just doesn’t have one girl graduate. Could there have been other Black Widows besides Natasha? In present MCU, it seems definite that Natasha is the only Widow. What if there were others?
The story begins in the present MCU. Widow isn’t as much in the shadows as she was before with her now being a member of the VERY public Avengers. Natasha receives countless files depicting her spy history. Now Widows past is so interesting because it’s mysterious. Maybe the audience shouldn’t now the exact actions she committed. It’s all mention, but never fully explained, to enthuse us with curiosity. But, I like to SPECUALTE, so what the hell.
These files depict her first mission; how she seduced a prominent Russian political figure named Dreykov. Romanoff posed as an escort. She inserted herself into his life, gained his trust. She unearthed his secrets, became his confidant. She eventually betrayed his trust. She killed his daughter to send him a message; a little girl who was innocent. These files continue to delve into her past more deeply. The hospital fire, where Widow burned down an entire hospital as a child. Her mother was ill. She was ex KGB and was attempting to turn in secrets on the organization. Her hospital was attacked as soldiers came for her. Little Natasha burned down the hospital in fear, hoping the soldiers would burn with it. Her mother threw her out the window to a Russian soldier, named Ivan Petrovich (more on him later), before dying in the fire. Her mother died in the process. These are just a few of the mission Natasha took part in.
Widow looks into who is sending her these files on her own. She then finds herself kidnapped by the same man who rescued her all those years ago from the hospital fire: Ivan Petrovich. Petrovich was the one to hand Natasha over to the Red Room as a child. He was an ex-soldier who smuggled children for the Academy. Petrovich now wants answers on what happened during the end of the Red Room. He says he’s been receiving threats like her. These two may be the last remnants of the Academy. Natasha tells him, whilst being locked up.
“Before I worked for SHIELD, I, uh... Well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me. He made a different call.”
As the audience, we know that Hawkeye was sent to kill Widow on order from Nick Fury, but he spared her. The aforementioned quote says Natasha got on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar in a “bad way”. This could’ve been just for her entire history of assassinations what not. I think it should be for a specific kill and or mission she took part in. A mission of revenge. I think we find Widow taking down the Red Room after her own defection from it. This is where she runs into Hawkeye who has been sent to kill her recent independence from the spy organization. Fury believes someone as dangerous as Widow shouldn’t be on her own in the world. Also, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been trying to dismantle the Red Room and getting rid of one of its top agents would be a benefit. Clint spares Natasha after discovering she’s trying to atone for her sins. He decides to aid her on her mission and help her find redemption. The upcoming and remaining Black Widow's were all killed. Clint and Natasha look into the mass killings and discover a sinister plot. They aren’t the only ones investigating, as a metal armed assassin is also on the hunt.
It turns out that Hawkeye and Widow discover that Alexei Alanovich Shostakov aka Red Guardian is behind the killings. He was a former lover of Natasha’s with ties to the Red Room. He graduated from the
Wolf Spider Ops Program, the male division of the Academy. He is now a Russian mercenary who works for a Japanese group known as the
Dark Ocean Society. His motives are secret but it’s tied to the interests of the Japanese group. They seek to take over the Red Room and use their agents for their own purposes. The Red Room Balck Widow's fight back, but are killed.
A battle ensues in
BUDAPEST between Hawkeye, & Widow, against Red Guardian, and his group. Widow and Barton track Alexei's whereabout to the Hungarian capital. Barton and Romanoff fight a seemingly losing battle as they fight countless mercenaries and ninjas. The Winter Soldier is there on orders from HYDRA, strictly for surveillance; HYDRA is looking to learn more about this Japanese society and the fall of the Red Room. Winter Soldier and HYDRA, had ties to the Russian academy back during the Cold War. Winter Soldier had received training from the Red Room in spy craft.
The good guys win and Guardian is killed by Widow. Hawkeye and Widow keep what happened secret, even from Fury. Only briefing him on some of the details. Years later, someone has brought up those past events and is looking for revenge: Niko Constantin. Niko was the only other male trainee of the Red Room's male equivalent of the Black Widow Program, Wolf Spider. He’s back and wants to settle a score. He tracks Natasha to her location and means to kill her and Ivan. He then takes them to Budapest, where Alexei was killed. Barton arrives and a battle ensues.
*Each episode would focus on Widow recounting her story in a manner similar to Usual Suspects. We’d follow Widow through her time in the Academy, her desertion, S.H.I.E.L.D. recruitment, Red Room massacre and then finally back to her present. FLASHBACK and NARRATION are how the story is told.
The Tone
The tone of the series would be very similar to that of the modern James Bond films. It would be dark, gritty, and somewhat grounded. The Americans show on FX is another source of inspiration. Its Cold War setting and espionage tone is evoking exactly what a Black Widow series should as well.
The Characters
Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff
Widow, at the beginning of the story, is being held by Petrovich and being forced to explain what happened to the Red Room. Little does she know, that she and Petrovich are in danger as someone from their past has returned: Niko. Petrovich hopes to understand why Constantin wants vengeance against Widow and anyone from the Red Room.
Natasha is forced to recollect the cruel and brutal actions she committed in her past. Her interacting with someone from her past life, allows for more clarity; the audience sees how different of a person Widow was before the Avengers Initiative. She tried to take down the Red Room, her place of training and employment, after defecting due to guilt.
Hawkeye/Clint Barton
Barton is trying to find out where Natasha has been. He discovers the files sent to her and begins his own investigation into finding her. With some help from Fury, he discovers she’s being hunted by Niko. Hawkeye finally finds Natasha, along with Petrovich, as Niko make his move.
Niko Constantin
Niko was the only other male trainee of the Red Room's male equivalent of the Black Widow Program, Wolf Spider Ops Program. He proved to be impossible to handle or control, leading to the ruin of the male program. He, along with fellow student Alexei (Red Guardian), were arranged to be killed. They escaped and became mercenaries and assassins for hire. Niko was caught on a mission and sent to a Russian gulag. While there he amassed power and caused a prison break. Many escaped. Alexei eventually came into the employ of the
Dark Ocean Society. Later on, he’s killed by Black Widow in Budapest. Niko discovers this and is out for blood.
Alexei Shostakov/ Red Guardian
A former student of the Red Room’s failed male assassins division. He eventually left and became a mercenary in the employ of the
Dark Ocean Society. He’s eventually killed by Romanoff.
Ivan Petrovich
A former Russian soldier who came into the employ of the Red Room; he smuggled little girls for the Academy to be trained as assassins. Petrovich had taken Natasha to the Red Room which was a secret sect of the Soviet Union that trains females to infiltrate the West. He watched over Natasha after saving her and became somewhat of a father figure. After the fall of the Red Room, he disappeared and went into hiding. He resurfaced when he received files on Natasha’s past.
Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes
A renowned assassin for HYDRA, Barnes was trained in combat and espionage by the Red Room after his brainwashing shortly after WWII. Bucky adopted the Russian language and culture during his training. He sympathized with the Soviet Union as well, seeing as how his arm originated from them. But, his primary loyalty was to HYDRA. He is sent to look into the Red Room massacre by HYDRA.
Organizations
Dark Ocean Society
A secret Japanese faction that was looking to take over the Red Room and use its agents. The society is actually a division of The Hand, a shadowy cult of dark ninjas from Japan.
Red Room Academy
A secret division of the Soviet Union that trained females to infiltrate the West as well as assassins for hire. They were destroyed by the
Dark Ocean Society after they declined being taken over. Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, also began systematically taking them down after feeling regret over her involvement with them.
HYDRA
Used the Red Room as a training facility for their top asset The Winter Soldier right after his creation. Looks into the
Dark Ocean Society as a possible threat.
THE SHOWRUNNER
Joe Weisberg
Weisberg is the creator and executive producer of the
FX TV series
The Americans. He is also a former CIA officer.
CONCLUSION
Natasha Romanoff is all about redemption. She’s got red in her ledger and she has to wipe it out. This miniseries would explore the foundation of that objective.
“It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out.”
--Black Widow/Natalia Alianovna Romanoff/ Natasha Romanoff
LET IT MARINATE!!!