The following contains spoilers for Black Widow.
After waiting years for Black Widow to have her backstory fleshed out in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it finally happened - to an extent. Her solo movie takes place during the events of Captain America: Civil War. It puts Natasha Romanoff on a collision course with her past. Before she became a SHIELD agent and an Avenger, she was an agent of the Red Room. It's her past in the Red Room that comes back to haunt her.
Natasha has the chance to confront the man who turned her into a Red Room agent, General Dreykov. The confrontation brings her journey as an Avenger full circle, even if it's a different team that helps her in Black Widow. Natasha and Dreykov's meeting in her movie is something of an interrogation - on both sides. It also echoes the interrogations that began her time as a superhero instead of a spy in The Avengers.
Black Widow VS Dreykov
When Dreykov realizes the Widow in his office is actually Natasha, he's fine with it. He talks about "raising her." He's comfortable. Dreykov has no fear thanks to a pheromone blocker in all the Widows. That makes him complacent, easily spilling secrets to Natasha because he's so sure he has the upper hand.
That's actually where Natasha excels in the MCU. Ever since her introduction, she allows others to underestimate her. Beginning with her Iron Man 2 debut in which Tony Stark saw her as a pretty face working for his company, she allowed perceptions to dictate the path of a mission. This is especially true when the narrative places her at odds with powerful men.
As the scene progresses and Dreykov gives Natasha all of the information she needs to take him down, she uses him to get exactly what she wants. When Dreykov's blows don't sever her connection to the nerve responsible for her sense of smell, she does it herself. She even thanks Dreykov before he realizes just how far he's stepped beyond the point of no return. The scene acts as a great showcase of how Natasha always holds all the cards.
Black Widow's Avengers Introduction
Dreykov's confrontation with Natasha echoes her first scene in The Avengers. There, Natasha appeared restrained in a chair with several criminals around her. They kidnapped her, intent on figuring out just what she knew about their operation. Much to their surprise, she received a phone call in the middle of them interrogating her.
The phone call was from SHIELD handler Phil Coulson telling her that Clint Barton had been compromised. It's that bit of information that has Natasha decide to cut the interrogation short. Natasha feels like she owes him for his help in Budapest, something that's revealed in the Black Widow movie. She quickly gets out of the situation and takes out every single one of the criminals around her. Of course, Natasha first assures Coulson that the guy in charge was already "giving her everything" she needed.
While the criminals around her are unprepared to fight her, they're also shocked that she's been playing them all along. The scene is a prelude for what's to come later in The Avengers with another interrogation. It also sets up nicely just how she deals with Dreykov as she allows him to think that he's captured her. Really, Black Widow is exactly where she wants to be when she sits in his office. He starts telling her all about his Red Room operation while her family goes to work around the facility.
Black Widow VS Loki
Though the Avengers face difficulty working together, they are all confined to a SHIELD helicarrier with Loki as The Avengers heads toward its climax. The audience might have anticipated Thor being the one to get information out of Loki since the two were brothers, but that's not the case. Instead, Natasha, who has no superpowers, but a whole lot of training, steps in.
Natasha allows Loki to think she's just there for a chat, and it's a retread of Natasha's earlier interrogation technique. She also allows Loki to think she's vulnerable as he picks at the more emotional memories of her past. He even name-checks Dreykov's daughter when discussing the red in her ledger, a tease the Black Widow movie finally pays off.
Natasha feeding Loki just enough information about her own insecurities, like her connection to Barton, makes Loki just keep talking. It's the same ploy she uses with Dreykov as he starts to gloat about his operation. The Easter eggs drop throughout. She even utters the, "thank you for your cooperation" in both scenes as the characters both realize they've been played.
The confrontation with Dreykov reminds the audience that, despite battling with magic and aliens when she has no superpowers, Natasha Romanoff is still one of the strongest Avengers to have on their side.
Black Widow is currently in theaters and available to stream on Disney Plus.