Marvel's Black Widow has been scrutinized very closely from the very first Avengers movie, and the character has drawn a wide variety of defensive comments from numerous sources. And Scarlett Johansson has no problem with firing up the Internet for more of them.
The Internet has been up in arms over Marvel's treatment of Black Widow, whether it be from a lack of merchandising to "slut" jokes made by Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner during an interview. While there is something to be said (again) about the Internet's overly sensitive feelings, it is true that the character hasn't been developed nearly as much both in and out of the movies as it could be.
Though the complaints are actually a good thing, in the long run. As one site put it, "Johansson doesn't mind the complaints, pointing out that the alternative could have been people not caring about her character at all."
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Johansson said: "You know, I'm happy that people scrutinize the Widow's storylines and care about it and are invested. I'd much rather it be like that than have a kind of 'meh' reaction."
And the Black Widow character is a very difficult one to portray. The very name is ripe with negative connotations, and the character already has a challenging backstory. Additionally, being the only female Avenger/major protagonist, there are going to be accusations of various sorts regardless of how the character is handled. As one writer put it, "If she was Iron Man, she'd be the problem-causer. If she was Captain America, she'd be the uptight one. If she was Hulk, she'd have out-of-control emotions. And so on ..."
We'll have to see what happens with the Black Widow as the Marvel Universe progresses. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to having a movie with her as the focus. It could be quite interesting.
So what do you think about the Black Widow? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
