Now that Black Widow has been out for a week, Marvel fans are finally starting to grow used to the idea of not having Scarlett Johansson be the most well-known female Avenger. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be a Black Widow in the future now that Florence Pugh's character is quickly becoming a favorite for cosplay enthusiasts.
After all, Natasha Romanoff’s going away party did a lot to introduce Yelena Belova to the MCU’s world and the Black Widow post-credits scene shows she still has a big role to play in the future. Whether this is limited to the upcoming Hawkeye, appearances in future crossover films, or maybe even her addition to Marvel’s rumored Thunderbolts initiative as a response to DC’s The Suicide Squad, that’s an entirely different deal.
Nevertheless, it looks like Yelena Belova is here to stay and that’s a good thing considering the kind of praise Pugh has been getting for her performance, with cosplayers like @sarahisloading eager to show their love for the character. Of course, no Yelena cosplay would be complete without the now signature tactical vest she ends up giving to Natasha, which was the same piece that the blonde Black Widow is wearing in Avengers: Infinity War and during parts of Endgame.
The Philadelphia native cosplayer absolutely nails down Yelena’s white outfit and looks ready to storm the Red Room with her sister at any given time, and there are plenty of Black Widow cosplays out there seeing as Natasha was the only woman in the Avengers' ranks for so long. Funnily enough, it’s a bit of a mystery as to what happened to the green vest after the five-year time jump in Endgame, so it’s unknown if Yelena will ever be reunited with her favorite piece of clothing.
Black Widow does wonders with Natasha and Yelena’s relationship by giving a more grounded approach to what would otherwise be a full-blown spy movie. That, coupled with David Harbour’s clumsy parenting guidelines, and the Red Guardian singing "American Pie" in Black Widow go a long way towards giving the movie its own unique identity in the MCU.
There appears to be a lot of potential in taking certain Marvel storylines and adapting them within a specific movie genre, a trend that could only grow after the widespread success of WandaVision and Loki. While it's still not clear what kind of direction the Hawkeye series could take, a spy thriller with Jeremy Renner and Florence Pugh sound like the stuff of dreams.
Black Widow is currently available in theaters and on Disney Plus.
Source: @sarahisloading|Instagram