#black widow meta

[thebisexualagendasblog]

I Rant About Black Widow

The reason why people say this fight scene is dumb is an understandable one. At first glance, it looks like a well-choreographed but random fight, like the producers threw it in just because they needed something interesting to happen. After all, why would two sisters be trying to murder each other out of nowhere?

There is an explanation, and that explanation is emotion.

First, I want you to think about how Natasha is feeling at this point. She’s already stressed: the Avengers have broken up and 117 countries are hunting her down with the intention of throwing her in prison to rot. That would push someone close to the edge already. To top it off, she’s just been attacked and defeated by some guy in a fancy suit who can mimic her moves and use them against her. She doesn’t know who he’s working for or what they want, but she does know that it has something to do with her sister Yelena.

That must be a massive punch in the gut to Natasha. She hasn’t seen Yelena in twenty years, and as we learn shortly after the fight, genuinely believes that she took down the Red Room and freed the Black Widows. There’s no reason that Yelena would be involved with some secret violent conspiracy, right?

Now if you ask me, Natasha really does think that Dreykov is dead, but there’s wishful thinking going on too. The Red Room and the separation from Yelena were so traumatizing that she would prefer to avoid any reminders of that pain. As she says later, “Honestly, I didn’t think you’d want to see me,” she assumes that Yelena wants to forget about all that as well.

At the fight scene in Budapest, Natasha is going in with almost no information or trust, and a great deal of fear and anger that her broken relationships are being dredged up again. Now onto Yelena.

The audience can guess that Natasha was very important to Yelena from the photographs in the mind control antidote. If she loves Natasha enough to hold onto those photos for two decades, she probably isn’t thrilled that Natasha apparently feels the opposite.

Yelena refers to herself as Natasha’s family—“you didn’t want your little sister tagging along whilst you saved the world with the cool kids”—which hints to us how Yelena feels about Natasha treating her distantly for their first few scenes together.

For a big chunk of the rest of the movie, Natasha spends a ton of time in denial. She doesn’t want to acknowledge Yelena as her sister for the reasons I mentioned above, and also the unavoidable truth that if they’re family, Natasha has abandoned her little sister. While Natasha is trying to push these feelings down, Yelena very much feels the sting of betrayal. She doesn’t see the trauma left behind on Natasha, she sees her own and is angry that Natasha willingly left her to that.

Yelena has also just come out of extended and brutal mind control and doesn’t know which parts of her were real. She won’t trust anyone, least of all the person indirectly responsible for it.

So, to summarize, we have the perfect recipe for a fight here. Yelena is furious that she was betrayed and left to her own devices. Natasha is stressed and deeply in denial about her past. It’s clear to both of them that the other one does not trust them and is not to be trusted.

Looking closer at the actual fight also clears things up a bit. Natasha is more on the defensive and when she has an opportunity or the upper hand, uses it to disarm and try to pin Yelena to the ground instead of hurting her. She’s also the first to call for a truce when they’re strangling each other. On the other hand, Yelena slams Natasha’s head into the wall a few times and goes for a very large knife when given the chance.

In conclusion, this fight scene seems out of place at first glance, but if you look at Natasha and Yelena’s mental/emotional states at the time, it makes a lot more sense.

#marvel #black widow #gifs not mine #not my gif #black widow film #black widow 2021 #marvel​ meta #mcu meta #black widow meta #natasha romanoff #yelena belova #mcu #natalia alianovna romanova

[percheduphere]

How’d ya think people would react to finding out Mobius is with Loki?

Like I’m writing a thing where Mobius is working with Fury as a TVA-S.H.I.E.L.D. Team up and Mobius is just hiding that fact lol. I feel like if he let that slip, Fury would either put him under surveillance or try that thing Nat did to Clint in Avengers.

But idk, what do you think?

Hey anon! Sorry it took so long to reply!

Honestly, it depends on the time you're going for and the specific characters who would be involved. For instance, if the Avengers found out as a team, then it would be in-tone for Marvel for everyone to be shocked and have a witty one-liner as they absorb the news.

Hiding the truth is bound to piss some characters off, especially if they develop a relatively swift trust with Mobius in the beginning. Steve, Clint, Fury, and Bruce would be very upset with Mobius and might give him the cold shoulder a bit before warming up again and re-establishing trust.

Tony will be surprised and take this news in stride after bestowing Mobius some kind of nickname alluding to his relationship with Loki, a nickname that nods at the love interest falling for the villain. Mobius would probably apologize to Tony for Loki tossing him off the building, saying, "He told me himself, 'He lost it. It wasn't tactical. Bad day for everyone, all around, really."

Natasha would probably figure it out before Mobius either comes forward or let's slip. She wouldn't be surprised and would outline how she figured it out based on things Mobius has said and his mannerisms talking about Loki. Of all the Avengers, I think Natasha and Mobius are the most like-minded in terms of studying people and using what they've analyzed to their advantage. I think they would get along quite well for all that Natasha holds herself as cold while Mobius is warm.

2012 Thor would be in disbelief but also hopeful upon learning his brother has friends of his own and someone who loves him. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think Thor would give him the shovel talk. Thor knows Loki can defend himself well-enough. Instead, I think Thor would seek Mobius out privately and ask all sorts of questions about how Mobius's Loki is doing and "how he did it?" Among Thor's questions would be, "What could I have done differently?"

#asks #loki #mobius #lokius #loki headcanons #loki meta #my meta #the avengers #thor #black widow #natasha romanoff

[scavengerssuccotash]

Origin of the arrow necklace? 💘

Oh yay! Thank you for asking!

I’ve gone back and forth on this one since its first on screen appearance. I do believe the fandom is torn between thinking Nat got it herself and Clint giving it to her.

As of now I’ve finalized my position in the latter camp. It was a gift to Natasha from Clint.

He gave it to her after New York, probably around six months after. In some headcanons he had already bought it and was waiting to give it to her in others it was spurred on after the events of New York and Loki’s brain washing. I’m perfectly content with either.

I think of course by the time we do see it’s on screen presence the team of course know about Clint and Nat being together. My favorite headcanon of this is that they were none the wiser until she waltzed in for breakfast wearing it. Clint had a stupid dopey grin the entire morning, failing to hide it behind his coffee cup as the two of them shared glances at each other. Tony of course stood up and applauded, Thor was confused, Steve was kind dumbstruck and Bruce had no idea what was going on; he was brushing up on some light reading while enjoying his eggs (molecular physics!)

Ultimately the necklace was a huge step in their relationship as they fully and unashamedly advertised their relationship to each other. A pretty big deal I think for two people who are pretty reserved when it comes to their interpersonal relationships.

Ready for a meta-headcanon?

When Natasha forgets to take off the arrow necklace during her senate hearing (congressional idk, that scene where she says “you’ll know where to find me” and walks out like the boss bitch that she is) Twitter (fuck you Elon) was ablaze!

And that ladies and gentle kind is how the in universe Clintasha fandom was born.

#ask me #clintasha #hawkeye #clint barton #natasha romanoff #black widow #arrow necklace #marvel #fandom #really went meta in that last bit

[amarriageoftrueminds]

more fics pls about post-WS Bucky discovering ballet;

a passtime where he gets to be dancing, badass, wearing tights like Steve, and work through his 'getting yelled at in Russian' trauma without consequences!

#bucky barnes #bucky meta #meta #mcu #mcu meta #stuckbunny #ficbunny #au idea #dat's me #also: Natasha having obscure beef with Bucky because he's only been doing ballet for a few months #and yet his legs and feet are fuckin amazing?? #(not because of the two times the Winter Soldier shot her what is she a snowflake) #steve: buck why do all the black widows hate you?? 🥺 is it because of your dark past?? #bucky: *thinking about how he just found out he can stand en pointe for hours* ...it's complicated 😔 #yet each man queues the thing he loves #release the cracken #also the idea of bucky & nat et al being yelled at by tiny terrifying old russian lady who is retired prima ballerina?? #only person bucky and the widows are scared of?? #hilarious #also idk why but bucky is definitely her favourite and he is SOOoo smug and annoying-older-brother-y about it?? 😊

[pigtailedgirl]

So because I can’t let Steve go anymore than the MCU can. Or, in the MCU’s case, you know let his character be grown if that was really the best end for him, complete or anything other than a joke. The way that have to keep mentioning him and Tony in every project to fill in or tease more character. To try an explain the plot hole or emotional hole of loss each brings. Tony’s lack of connection to the other’s emotional story, versus the Iron Man cast, versus not really examining anything about his death narratively as it relates to what it meant morally, or physically for those close to him. Sure Peter and Happy miss him, the world mourns... Is there a reflection of who and why in Tony’s legacy and death?

Same with Steve. The MCU clearly doesn’t care who and why Steve is or was.  Steve’s ending clashing so hard with his connections not only to Sam and Bucky, but the present, to all these emotional parts of character’s lives that he was related to. Nat’s and Tony’s friendship. Wanda’s mentee. T’Challa’s respect. America’s old icon and morale. The question of Hulk’s serum alt. All of it dropped. 

The important context to Steve now is he loves and has sex with them ladies. On the USO tour. As beefy, good ass Steve. 

How incredibly shallow a take on the character.

How sad that they are so obsessed with these takes...he’s left in character limbo hell, where he’s as the narrative so far as decided a public and private Schrodinger. Is he dead to them, is he on the moon, is he in the past happily living, is he back as an old guy? It’s all pick your options but realize none of them are going to be considered in the emotional weight on him or whoever thinks it. 

I think if the MCU heads have brains, they realize the character’s as they wrote and their endpoints were narratively unfulfilled. This is why they can’t let them rest or have the new ones compellingly take over. 

#anti mcu #mcu meta #steve rogers meta #tony stark meta #this applies to the too late for character black widow film #in trying to shove bruce into she-hulk #in hawkeye's whatever series #i dread what they gonna do to explain T'Challa's loss #who has had a satisfying ending

[astrid-goes-for-a-spin]

Procrastinating work thinking about how much I wish Natasha had been there to steal Starktech in Iron Man 2 instead of protect him 

SO many benefits 

It’s a callback to her comic intro and makes the sexy undercover stuff a bit more fun because it’s nefarious 

Ties into the main themes of the movie, which is the arms race of replicating Iron Man 

Gives her a tiny bit of a character arc, since she’ll have to disobey orders to help him

It gives Tony an actual reason to be paranoid enough he’d prefer dying of heavy metal poisoning over having the arc and shrapnel surgically removed, and then makes sense for him to be resentful and untrusting when he next encounters her in Avengers 

#iron man #iron man 2 #tony stark #black widow #natasha romanoff #natalie rushman #iron man meta #mcu meta

[redvanillabee]

Hey Edna, I’ve been thinking a lot about the similarities between Katya (Goncharov 1973), and Peggy Carter in terms of agency and being heard within their respective communities. Would love to hear your thoughts

Oh where do we begin!

There are definitely parallels between Katya and Peggy. Like you said, both of them struggle at first with being heard. That opening scene of the mafia meeting, when the audience literally only see slivers of her through fancy Italian suits, and even her ‘yes’ to being told to bring more coffee is barely heard. It does remind me of Peggy’s line about how she’s invisible unless she’s got someone’s file or coffee or something.

Unfortunately, for the first half of the film, Katya actually cuts a much more tragic figure than Peggy. One distinct difference is, of course, that Peggy has got allies in her male-dominated world, while Katya does not. Peggy at least has got Jarvis and Daniel; Katya does not have that privilege. All the men around her are planted there by, well, other men. Her bodyguards are her husband’s henchmen. And unlike Peggy, who chooses to stay at the SSR despite the slights and abuses, Katya is stuck with Goncharov. Even Andrey Daddano, who is probably the nicest—comparatively speaking—man to Katya in the whole film, is too busy staring moon-eyed at Goncharov to really notice Katya’s plight and her call for help.

(Basically—imagine AC S1 if Daniel is entirely too preoccupied with staring longingly at Jack, and completely ignoring Peggy's struggles in the office. That’s how sad it is for Katya.)

We also see Katya relying a lot more on…well, being a woman than Peggy does, and Peggy does that a lot already. Because beneath the taking advantage of sexism and all, Peggy is a skilled spy. Once she has seduced a man into distraction (102 Sweet Dreams lipstick where would Peggy be without you), she can handle all the tasks herself. Katya could not do that. Both because of a lack of skill and because of physical confinement at times, not only does Katya have to rely on seducing men to get places, she has to manipulate them and sometimes even give them favours to get things done, which places her in a much more vulnerable position than Peggy has ever been in.

Then there is, of course, the kiss between her and Sofia, which does call to mind the kiss between Dottie and Peggy in 1x06. However, I do have to give credits to Goncharov for one thing: while AC plays into the kiss of death trope, Goncharov quite smartly subverts it. Because see—like Peggy, Katya falls victim to internalised misogyny and underestimates Sofia, writing her off as nothing more than a henchman’s arm candy. So when she kisses Sofia to incriminate her, on the surface, it reads like a kiss of death. BUT it actually is through Sofia that Katya finally finds her ticket to freedom.

In fact, I would even argue that comparing Katya to Dottie is more appropriate than comparing her to Peggy. Sure, on the surface it sounds like lazy analysis—just directly comparing two Russian characters. But from the perspective of both Dottie and Katya, their female connections are what give them a chance to escape and finally build their own lives. Dottie is used by Ivchenko, instead of being allowed to plan a mission herself. If she has struck a deal with Jack in early S2 instead of taking advantage of her connection to Peggy, she would never have had the chance to run free after the party. Same for Katya—she has kissed multiple men in the film, but by seducing and finally kissing Sofia, she found someone who can actually help her escape Goncharov’s control.

There is something almost Thelma and Louise-esque in the ending, when we see Katya at her husband’s funeral looking more relieved than mournful, and the teasing closing shot of Sofia observing—if not waiting—on the periphery of the funeral party. That is honestly a far kinder treatment of a lesbian relationship than I would ever have expected from a 1970s film. (And to think Marvel teased us a Cartinelli ending then never brought Angie back…for shame, Feige, for shame…)

References: [Link 1] [Link 2]

#answers #likea-black-widow-baby #this is one of the wildest things I’ve ever written for tumblr #people: oh so what are you doing with your ba in English? #me: …writing spoof film analysis on tumblr dot com? #my meta #goncharov #unreality

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

So what are your thoughts on Brutasha (since the recent ask reminded me of the other two og avengers that you didn't do, and the relationship they got into...)?

I am haunted by "hiding the zucchini" that's how I feel about Brutasha.

But to actually answer your question, remember I come from MCU land, I've never read the comics, watched only part of other Marvel TV adaptations (i.e. a few episodes of animated X-Men here and there). So, things that require BUT THE COMICS are not going to work for me. I'm well aware that things happened in the comics but all I have to go on is what the MCU delivers to my doorstep.

So, back to these two per the MCU.

The MCU was desperately trying to hook Natasha up with somebody. We have her first being a femme fatale with Tony, admittedly this was never serious as he had the Pepper/Tony thing going on, but still clearly there. Then we get some intense flirting/friendship with Steve Rogers for a while (though that this is also going on while Steve has other desperate love interest of Peggy's granddaughter is a bit interesting). Then we get Bruce out of nowhere.

As the only female avenger for the first few iterations, there was clearly a dying need on someone's end to pair her up with somebody. It's her destiny.

And Bruce came out of nowhere, just like the rest of them.

We're suddenly told in Ultron that Bruce and Natasha are in a relationship. "Wow, where did that come from?" because the first time we saw them meet, in the last Avengers film that gave them both screen time, Natasha strong armed Bruce into joining the Avengers, boarding a helicarrier, and having the absolute worst time. Natasha is the face of SHIELD, Bruce... isn't a huge fan.

But regardless, we're told the relationship is a thing and we get... a lot of awkward to back that up. Such as weird lullabies showing that only Natasha can get Bruce to transform back from Hulk and uh some very very cringe jokes from Tony.

Of a memorably bad movie, the Brutasha was perhaps the most memorably awful part of that movie. And that's saying something, as that movie had Ultron cracking jokes about eggs.

And then Bruce goes into space and we sort of forget about that whole relationship for a while except for a few odd mentions to convince us that it was totally a legitimate and deep thing.

It was just so desperate to me, to desperately get me invested into a ship that no one wanted and no one cared about with two characters that the franchise had spent the least time on at that point.

NPC A and NPC B are in a relationship! Don't you love it? Don't you have intense feelings about it?

No?

Are you sure?

What if I give it more screen time without developing the characters?

Still don't like it, huh?

Hm.

#mcu #mcu meta #mcu headcanon #mcu shipping #bruce banner #natasha romanoff #bruce/natasha #anti bruce/natasha #black widow #the hulk #meta #headcanon #opinion

[nellasbookplanet]

Been thinking a lot about revenge and justice and punishment and healing lately (just finished reading She Who Became the Sun; of course I'll be thinking about revenge plots) and I think I've finally, finally managed to nail down why some revenge stories work for me while others leave me feeling empty. Being who I am, let's come at it from the angle of critical role campaign 2.

Cr2 has multiple plots and characters centered on some form of revenge or justice: Caleb and Trent, Beau and her father, Yasha and Obann, Yasha and her tribe, Essek’s entire character. They are all handled very differently (and all in ways I enjoyed, let's be clear). Let's start with Yasha.

It’s heavily implied Yasha killed the Sky Spear, the person who murdered her wife. It's also heavily implied this did nothing to help Yasha heal: rather, she repressed the memory and fell for Obann's manipulations soon after. This is the closest we have to a 'classic' revenge arc: someone hurt you, so you hurt them back no matter the impact on yours or others' well-being.

When Yasha later faces Obann, that too is a form of vengeance, but it’s fundamentally different from her facing the Sky Spear. Killing him (and tearing his wings off as icing on the cake) was revenge, sure, but more than that, it was about stopping him from causing furter harm. Killing him did in no way heal Yasha, as we saw with her ongoing guilt and even behaviour of self harm. What eventually helped her heal and move on was the support of her friends and her allowing herself internal forgiveness and happiness rather than seeking further pain. In the end, when facing what’s left of her tribe, she’s not there for revenge, nor has she in any way forgiven them. She just wants to heal and move on and let the past be the past, because these people can no longer hurt her.

In a similar vein, Beau never seeks vengeance against her father, because that would not help her heal. Seeing other people recognize the unjustice against her and take action to show it wasn’t right, however, did help her move on. She didn’t need either forgiveness nor revenge, she needed support.

Let's juxtapose this with Caleb. While he wanted vengeance against Trent, by the time the two faced each other Caleb had already come to understand that Trent as a person was unimportant and small (and rightly told him so when he chose to face Lucien before Trent). While stopping Trent was also about stopping him from causing further harm, his position was very different from that of Obann. Obann was an independent actor, in killing him the harm was stopped; Trent was given the power to hurt people by the Cerberus Assembly. Removing Trent would not remove the threat. Thus, instead of killing and forgetting about him, Trent is made an example: his sins dragged into the light, the man himself locked away as Beau and Caleb work on making the same happen for the rest of the Assembly.

For both Yasha and Caleb, there is an element of revenge, but when it all comes down to it, the actual act of vengeance is irrelevant to their respective arcs. The healing comes from elsewhere.

Finally, let's talk about Essek.

I don’t believe in retributive or punitive justice. I simply don’t. I find it detrimental to both individuals and society at large. I do, however, think that some individuals need to be removed - imprisoned, if you will - for the safety of others. Obann and Trent were actively hurting others, either independently or through a system, and showed no signs of ceasing that activity. They needed to be stopped (and in stopping them, maybe there was revenge, but again the revenge itself was irrelevant).

Essek also hurt people. However, he not only chose to stop doing so, but to start actively helping others. There is no reason to go after him other than revenge or punishment, which, again, I view as nothing but detrimental. If the nein had chosen to kill Essek or have him imprisoned (he did after all hurt one of them personally when he went after Yeza, if the impersonal hurt of starting a war wasn’t enough), it would only have hurt them in the long run.

And that’s the crux for me, I think. A good revenge arc needs to either realize that the revenge itself is irrelevant (or even detrimental) for healing, or it needs to be actively corrosive. A revenge arc played straight is interchangable with a corruption arc. It’s Percy inventing weapons and making deals with demons not for justice but because he wants to hurt those who hurt him, it’s Yasha losing herself to her own guilt and rage. It can be fantastically interesting and even cathartic to see, but it is, fundamentally, a tragedy. Any revenge arc played straight yet portrayed as positive is never going to sit right with me.

#brace yourselves I'm rambling about narratives again #anyway i think this is why iron widow didn’t fully work for me #it focused too much on revenge as 'girlboss behaviour' #rather than on the trauma that both led up to it and that the act of revenge itself should’ve had on the protagonist #it was all 'she’s going on a murderous rampage. good for her' #i do love a good revenge arc but for it to work the narrative needs to actively recognize it for what it is #which is why so many revenge plots and redemption arcs and morally complex characters fall flat for me #even when trying for morally gray the stories themselves still try to go for black and white; right or wrong #embrace that what your character is doing is fucked up!!! #if they’re going for vengeance let them spiral down!! let them hurt themselves and others while narratively admitting it’s fucked up!! #don’t be a coward about it!! #critical role #critical role meta #caleb widogast #yasha nydoorin #cr2 #nella talks cr

[thelittlewolfofaretuza]

Things I think about while sick with Covid (round 2 🙁) :

1. Nat severed the nerve(s) in her nose during Black Widow, and probably never fully regained her sense of smell.

2. After seeing the mirror dimension scene in MoM, I can't help but think Wanda couldn't kill herself even if she tried. With all of her trauma and grief, I can't imagine she hasn't tried to commit suicide at some point (especially when she was younger and lost Pietro) before realizing her magic simply won't let her.

3. Still forever amused by the parallel of the twins in Wandavision, with Billy being the youngest and having powers like Wanda and Tommy being the oldest with powers like Pietro.

4. Agatha was so good at hiding that she wasn't truly part of the Hex in Wandavision because she lived through those decades. (and probably had the Darkhold for many many years based on how black her fingertips are compared to Wanda's in MoM).

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk guys

#agatha harkness #wanda maximoff #natasha romanoff #natalia alianovna romanova #Wandavison #mcu meta #black widow #ds:mom

[jack-ackles]

i would consider black widow not a bad movie but:

▫️ i didn't wait more than a whole decade, 24 movies and death of natasha romanoff herself for a black widow movie only for mcu to put more focus on family drama where most of the screen space and character arcs was given to yelena or alexei and milena

▫️mcu movies didn't give us much details of black widow's life before the s.h.i.e.l.d (only hints) & poured it all on us in a single movie. [without making it about natasha and it looked more like they were laying base for yelena, alexei and melina's entry in the mcu than giving us a story ABOUT natasha]

▫️i seriously felt like there was so less of natasha in her own fucking movie. they could have given the family time of the romanoffs in a different movie or series, i end up feeling like there was so less of natasha (just like in other avenger movies) in her own movie

▫️the STUNTS? the stunts in the air were so poorly shot i'm sorry for example there is this shot where yelena and natasha are rescuing alexei and natasha is in the air hanging from the chopper it was so cool would've been so cool it they put more focus on scarlet/natasha instead of showing scenery from afar like whyyy would you do that it would've been such a great shot. the same happened in the final scene. they must hate black widow for just casually missing this great shot. mcu could've put all that big money in use.

sorry this is just a rant because i am so fucking disappointed with this movie as a natasha romanoff fan. this would be considered a good movie. and it is. if you weren't watching black widow since a decade and finally got a whole movie in her name only to see a family action drama.

to think they kept postponing this movie for so long😑

#natasha romanoff #you fucking deserved better #black widow #scarlett johansson #the avengers #movie review #kinda #i guess #meta #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel

[greatrunner]

Sometimes, I wonder what Scarlett Johansson’s career would look like if she stuck to playing against the type the industry chose to frame her in the mid-to-late 2000s once she outgrew teen movies.

Would she even have gotten the Black Widow role, I wonder?

#greatrunners meta #scarlett johansson #black widow

[cm-top-10]

C.M. Top 10: Badass Moments in TV Series

There's always that one scene that makes history in the making. But when it comes to making an entrance, let's just say it's best to go in or out with a bang...LITERALLY!!!

So here's ten of the most awesome & badass scenes in action movies & series. Which is your favorite action scene? You be the judge of that.

1. Book of Bobba Fett - Bobba & his Rancor

Boba riding his Rancor into battle.

2. Red vs. Blue - the Meta

Meta gets payback on the guy who shot him in the neck.

3. Marvel's What If...? - Widow & Carter

Captain Carter & Black Widow double Shield Slams Ultron on opposite sides.

4. Helluva Boss - Striker

Striker riding in on a hellhorse like a badass.

5. Seven Deadly Sins - Escanor & Estarossa

Escanor facing off against Estarossa in an epic showdown.

6. Wakfu - Goultard the Barbarian

Master Goultard summoning his weapon from his arm.

7. Overwatch - Balderich von Adler

Balderich taking his last stand against the Omnic invaders.

8. Batman vs Robin - the Batbot

Batman beating the shit out of some Talon Owl clones in his legendary mechsuit, the Batbot.

9. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Sonic vs. Knuckles

Sonic & Knuckles facing off to see who is worthy of the Master Emerald.

10. Death Battle: Thor vs. Vegeta

Thor & Vegeta having an epic throw down of the gods.

#C.M. Top 10 #My Top 10 #Badass Moments #Star Wars #Bobba Fett #Red vs. Blue #the Meta #Marvel's What If...? #Captain Carter #Black Widow #Thor #Helluva Boss #Striker #Seven Deadly Sins #Escanor #Estarossa #Wakfu #Goultard #Overwatch #Balderich von Adler #Batman #the Batbot #Sonic the Hedgehog 2 #Sonic the Hedgehog #Knuckles the Echidna #Death Battle #DBZ #Vegeta #my screenshots #cameraman screenshots

[queeenpersephone]

What do you think did and didn’t work in the Black Widow movie? For example, I felt like it didn’t focus enough on Natasha’s character development/inner world as a stand-alone and it instead just set up Yelena as the next Black Widow. And I think the CGI was horrible, but the fight sequences were good. But I’m curious what your thoughts are!!

hi anon!! thanks for the ask - i should preface this by saying i've only seen the movie once all the way through (i really lost my enthusiasm for sitting through a marvel movie after endgame lol) so maybe i should lose my card as a nat stan lol. i'm actually going to focus on one aspect of the movie (nat's characterization), but i will say the biggest failing of the film was, genuinely, not its fault, which is the placing of the movie in the mcu. this movie needed to be before nat's death. it just doesn't have the same impact seeing a character go through things when we know it's just in a little bubble, and it takes away from us really feeling nat's vulnerable moments in iw and endgame. i also have an overall problem with solo movies at this point in the mcu, but i digress.

my personal biggest problem is similar to yours actually! i don't think nat really grew in bw. we find post-cacw nat in a very vulnerable place. she's invested years of her life into her avengers family, and it splintered not because of external factors, but mainly internal ones. cacw was the wake-up call that 2012 fandom never wanted: the avengers are NOT family. i think this hits nat the hardest because, as we see throughout the mcu, family is something that nat wants desperately, and in cacw, she uses everything in her toolbox to keep them together. the point: her toolbox is incomplete.

if i had written bw, i would've tried to show nat four things: 1) what she did wrong in cacw, 2) simultaneously, that cacw was not her fault, 3) that second chances are possible when it comes to the avengers, and 4) how to actively improve the avengers through her own self-improvement. to the film's credit, i think it did #3. nat's spy family is the proxy for the avengers ("besides, if it can work out with the four of us, you know, there may be some hope for the avengers") - though they make it anything but easy, they're capable of working together and caring about each other. she exits frame in the movie with hope, which is a whole different meta about the theme of hope in the mcu. actually, the film gets closest to #4 when nat apologizes to yelena, and they reconcile. i think there's an accidental comparison to be made between that scene and tony and nat after the fight at the airport. nat chooses to be completely open - she doesn't parse out her words when she apologizes to yelena ("i should've come back for you" "it was real to me too") vs to tony ("we played this wrong"). granted, different circumstances and people, but nat is noticeably appealing to tony as a teammate and a strategist. she doesn't try to say "i thought someone was going to get killed" or "i think i made the only good move, but i hated hurting you." we know that nat's being vulnerable, but tony understandably doesn't get it. with yelena, she leaves nothing to chance. she speaks from the heart and not the head, and it ends up being exactly what yelena needs to hear.

so maybe the way to deal with family pain is to be explicit, to open yourself up to hurt, but then we don't get the follow through with the avengers. essentially, nat maybe realizes that family cannot be maneuvered, they have to be loved, but it's not like we get a end scene with tony or steve or clint or god, even rhodey. anything to show nat implementing the lessons she's learned. rhodey would be great because, as the mcu writers love no consequences, it doesn't have to impact them later the way that a steve/nat or tony/nat interaction might. #1 and #2 are not even in the picture, though bw would've been the perfect time to give us more of nat's thoughts from cacw. i feel like my unofficial ironwidow job is deconstructing that movie lmao, so having nat either face feelings of failure/guilt from her actions/inactions in cacw or come to terms with what she and tony, imho (maybe steve too) have built, would've been golden.

on the other hand, though, i did think bw gave us that impetus for nat's 'whatever it takes' vibe in endgame ("i had nothing; then i got this family"). it drives home that family was nat's true goal all along, which is really beautiful and f**king heartbreaking after everything. she was always willing to die as long as it was for people she thought worthy. it also gave us more of nat's playful side. though the actual plot wasn't my favorite (it just felt kinda like the OG bw film plot that was never updated when we didn't get a solo film earlier?), it was refreshing to have a despicable villain (i'm tired of the 'what if the villain kinda had a point' discourse) and i love the parallels to human trafficking. the focus on good quiet moments rather than big dramatic fights and scenes was probably my favorite thing about the movie, though i think it resulted in worse outcomes from critics. directing was good (and clearly done by a woman). you're right about the cgi for sure. didn't mind the fight scenes, and ofc yelena was great. i respect their need to set up her character, and i don't necessarily think she stole the show. i do think it sets up some weird plotholes, and i still could scream about "do we know if she had family" which i literally hate even typing. the fact that either 1) the og6 never knew about yelena (which we know is not the case for at least clint) or 2) no one cared enough to let her know about nat's death post-endgame is horrifying.

tldr: character development is only good if it carries through to future things, and bc of timing and bad planning, we didn't get that carry through. bw was more of a glimpse into nat's background, and while it was an enjoyable two hours, i just really felt frustrated by that lack of character work in a movie where it would've been so easy to do it.

#i literally wrote this all at 2am #it's probably incoherent #but i agree with you anon! #overall decent #but it could've been great with just a little more character work #and i think awareness of where bw was in the timeline #natasha romanoff #black widow #marvel #ironwidow meta #marvel meta #anonymous #answered #happy to talk in more detail about anything! i just didn't wanna ramble forever #thanks so much for the ask!

[ohmuqueen]

I really don’t understand why so many are surprised Taemin is touching a man in this scene but I love @abbyabbsteroni’s take so 🤷🏻‍♀️

#taemin #lee taemin #taemin guilty #I wrote a longer post but this puts the concept in a really cool perspective so I felt it should be posted alone #of course I haven’t seen black widow so this didn’t occur to me 🙃 #I love this idea! it makes a lot of sense and still ties into the symbolism i and so many others have talked about! #ltmguilty #ltmguilty meta #it’s the heteronormativity isn’t it

[heartsbreaking]

marvel ocs : gaja zajacowa

#*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : STARTERS ] #*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : REPLIES ] #*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : MUSINGS ] #*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : AESTHETICS ] #*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : VISAGE x kat graham ] #*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : PLOTTING CALL ] #*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : META & COMMENTARY ] #*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : VERSE x black widow ] #*[ ZAJĄCOWA G : VERSE x the ten rings ] #character : gaja zającowa