Recently there has been a lot of talk about how everyone is put off by the way Black Widow has been treated in the MCU starting with her appearance in Iron Man 2.

Now Scarlet Johansson has been criticizing how the character was treated previously telling Collider:

“..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?

“I want some.”

JOHANSSON: “I want some.” 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.”

Of course the character has become more over the years. There were years of films to flesh out all the characters and their relationships better, including Natasha.

If you go by the character, she is called Black Widow for a reason. Right or wrong, that was where she came from.

What angers me is the sudden push to stop sexualizing a character that they could have treated better all along.

I always loved Natasha, because unlike most of her Avengers counterparts, she didn’t have “super powers.”  She didn’t use super serum, didn’t have changes due to Gamma radiation, didn’t have high powered and expensive suits, or didn’t absorb Kree energy.  She had herself, her skills and her guns.

The very fact that Disney and Marvel haven’t given her a movie until after the character died in “Avengers: Endgame” is more a testament to how they treated the character like eye candy and not an actual character for the longest time.

Plus, how about the poster for the “Black Widow” film.  Seems a bit sexy to me.  I guess it was okay to sexualize her for that.

Now they want to talk about how it’s wrong to sexualize and sideline or use a female character as a “chess piece.”  When they’ve been the ones doing it this entire time.

She didn’t even get a funeral in “Avengers: Endgame” but Tony did. If you are so darned offended by how she was treated as a “chess piece” why didn’t Marvel give her the same treatment they gave Tony Stark? She sacrificed herself too. Not just for Hawkeye, but for everyone, just like Tony Stark.

I think I’m more offended by the fact they are trying to back pedal now, after the fact, because they want to promote a female centric ‘Black Widow’ film as well as this new push they have for Phase Four that many are calling the “M-She-U.”

Why can’t we just have strong female characters and they not make it a talking point for clout with the media?  Show not tell.

If you have to point it out then you aren’t doing something right to begin with.

If we’re being honest, up until Natasha died and wasn’t given a funeral, or movie before the character’s death, they weren’t doing that bad with her.  Marvel had moved away from her origins and the character has developed quite a bit.  To the point where you weren’t even thinking about that and she became more like a mom, caring about everyone.

Because of her origins, it gave her so much more depth and realism. They are taking that family theme into the next film as well.

So why go back and pretend she was always sexualized now?  It diminishes what the character has accomplished and become.

Oh right. There’s a movie they have to promote and buzz words.

Talk about using a female character as a “chess piece.”

Source: Collider, CBR