Wonder Woman Movie and Black Widow

Do you know what is really upsetting for a Marvel fan? No Black Widow movie and the lack of Black Widow merchandise. Are you kidding me? Black Widow is a beloved character by women and men, yet Marvel continuously skips over her. Personally, I think the main reason Wonder Woman is getting her own feature film is because DC has sat quietly and observed Marvel fans begging for years to get a Black Widow movie and someone over at DC thought "hey, if these fans are asking for a female led superhero movie, why don't we make one for our star female superhero?!" And you know what, it's a brilliant move!

I am not a DC fan, but I will be seeing the Wonder Woman film and I know when I leave the theater I am going to be even more pissed that there is no Black Widow movie. My hope is that this movie will destroy the box office because that would get us a step closer to a Black Widow movie. It's sad to me though that Marvel has ignored fans for so long in this, but kudos to DC for seeing Marvel's mistake and jumping in. I also saw a comercial for DC Superhero girls dolls. So not only are DC fans getting a Wonder Woman film, but they're getting all of these female inspired toys and merchandise. Marvel is going to lose many young fans due to this. I mean when a little girl is going down the toy aisle looking for a Black Widow doll, but can only find Wonder Woman, who do you think she's going to pick? Is she going to hold out in hopes of a Black Widow doll magically appearing? No! She's going to dump Nat (and Marvel) and go for Wonder Woman (DC). So once again, kudos to DC for going this route and not alienating or ignoring your female fans.

What is so scary or wrong about having a female driven superhero film? As I said before, both women and men love Natasha, so where is the problem? I realize Marvel never had a Black Widow in their original master plan, but fans have been begging for one (and an Avengers type sitcom) for years. Had they jumped on it to start with they could have had a film out by now- before DC! Marvel has consistently destroyed DC when it comes to superhero films. I mean how long was the Avengers in the works before any of us even caught on? We all just thought they were trying to capitalize on a genre, but no, they were redefining this genre. Marvel worked hard to create each superhero in their own film and in their own way, only to tie them together slowly for years so that when it came time, the Avengers would make sense. But now they are losing their edge. Civil War and Batman vs Superman were (at their basic level) similar stories, and I think it's safe to say that Marvel annihilated them. Civil War made 1.132 billion dollars at the box office while Batman vs Superman brought in 872.2 billion. They both has a budget of 250 million. Now Wonder Woman is going to go on unopposed. Personally, I can't believe Marvel would just lie down and let DC take this. I'm afraid they're going to have some long term damage as a result.

As much as I want a Black Widow movie, I think it might be too late. Story wise we have been with Nat since Iron Man 2 which was released in 2010. All of these other heroes have gotten their origins told before they become too involved in the Avengers. We just met Black Panther and "Avengers" Spider Man and they're both getting stories. Ant Man got one before he joined team Cap. Nat has just been woven in to all of the other stories, with very little information on her past. She is a mystery (which makes sense because she is a spy) and if Marvel wants to keep her that way, then why can't we follow her on a mission? This would have made a lot more sense pre Winter Solider as now S.H.I.E.L.D. has been destroyed. Do you see what I mean when I say it might be too late? It makes me sad that people who only watch the films just think of her as a hot assassin. Yes she is a hot assassin, but do you know why she is so good at what she does? Do you know why she moves so quick and does the things she does? Most people assume that her quick work is just for movie purposes, but Nat's brain moves quickly and she is always anticipating the next move which is what makes her such a valuable fighter. She is always in the middle of the action for a reason. In Winter Solider she runs straight as guns are being fired at her. She's smart so she knows this is increasing her chances of getting shot, but it lowers the chances of civilians getting shot. She thinks on her feet, but movies that are so full of other major characters and their story lines you don't get to explore the nitty gritty of the "support" characters- no matter how much the fans love them.

I'm also afraid that if the Wonder Woman movie fails, then all hope for a Black Widow movie will go out the window. So please, try and support this film. It may be a roundabout way of getting our own girl on the screen as the number one star not just a support.

Sidenote: thanks to author Margaret Stohl for seeing the value in Natasha and creating "Black Widow: Forever Red" and "Black Widow: Red Vengeance" so fans can at least read about Nat. I recommend checking them.

(notice this gif above where a toy was made from this scene but the Black Widow wasn't the one on the bike- it was one of her male costars instead...isn't that nice of Marvel?)