Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is one of the best female characters to have ever existed! The super cool secret spy who later turned into an Avenger is a treasure trove of stories that deserved her own movie long before the 2021 movie came along. Unfortunately, it took the MCU a very long time to come to that point, and when it did, it was somewhat of a disappointment, to say the least.
Although the debate persists, Scarlett Johansson’s character has come a long way in the movie world, all thanks to her efforts. The actress has helped shape and even protect the character from sexist narratives, truly showcasing her capability beyond just being eye candy.
This Is How Scarlett Johansson Protected Black Widow From the Male Gaze!
In Captain America 2, people saw more of Scarlett Johansson‘s Black Widow since she was given the second lead in the movie. Thus, Johansson took her job very seriously and had a vision of how things should go. Consequently, when she detected a sexist scene in the script, she immediately shut it down. While speaking to Fatherly, she revealed,
“When we were doing Captain America: The Winter Soldier— She first drives up in this beautiful car and picks up Cap, and initially in the script, it was like, she arrives in her tennis whites, with a blonde wig. It was very quickly killed.“
She continued saying,
“You work with a lot of male writers. Things were shifting. You have to be a part of the change. Audiences are also demanding stuff and there’s a cultural shift and it feeds everything into a more progressive direction. It’s been a process, it’s been a process.”
Johansson declared that those days are a thing of the past, even audiences now demand and deserve female characters who are complex and meaningful, not mere set decorations. Limiting Black Widow in such a way is squandering her potential and robbing her of what she could truly become.
Over the years, Black Widow has unquestionably been sexualized, there’s no denying that fact. However, Scarlett Johansson takes pride in believing that she has played her role in minimizing this problem as much as possible, and indeed, she has succeeded. Speaking about her character’s evolution throughout the years she said,
“After Iron Man to going into Avengers, there’s been an evolution of her look. I think part of that is just gaining the trust of the executives at Marvel and kind of sitting in the character and just being able to make decisions for her. That really happened fairly early on.”
She continued,
“I mean, in Iron Man 2, I worked with the amazing incredible costume designer Mary Zophres, who created an absolutely beautiful femme fatale look for the character. And it was very stunning. In some says I look at it as a costume she was wearing — at the time, Marvel was interested in the character being a shape-shifter. When we were doing Captain America: The Winter Soldier — this is a really funny thing — the look is fantastic and utilitarian.”
By the end, Black Widow had truly evolved into a character that inspired millions. Her perfectly nuanced blend of flaws and greatness complemented her character beautifully. Fans only wished for this transformation to have occurred a bit earlier.
