Black Widow
Ever since Black Widow hit screens, Marvel fans have been waiting for a promised crossover, the idea that Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova would be showing up in Hawkeye, as teased by an end credits sequence with Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa Valentina.
If you’re like me (spoilers follow), when Hawkeye had its Tracksuit Mafia villain group mention “her,” I was bracing for the Yelena appearance. But instead, it was Echo, another character (who is getting her own spin-off) and we have not seen Yelena yet. But we will. The Hawkeye team made sure of it.
In a Variety interview with showrunner Jonathan Igla, he explains how the Yelena Belova crossover came to be:
“That scene came from Marvel, but it came in response to [us] begging for and making a good case for why Yelena had a place in our story.
{So you really wanted to bring Yelena in?}
Yeah, I really did. I think what I can safely say about it right now is that there is an obvious connection between Clint’s guilt over the loss of his best friend and the other person in the world who cared the most about her.”
Black Widow
That caused many to think that Yelena might be the ultimate antagonist for Hawkeye, and yet the way the show is shaping up, I’d be surprised if that turned out to be the case. Echo is already being set up as an antagonist. Jack is clearly, Jacques Duquesne, the villainous Swordsman. Rumor has it Netflix Daredevil’s Kingpin could show up. So it’s unclear what Yelena’s role may be. The idea that Black Widow was pitching was that Yelena held Clint responsible for Natasha’s death, even though we all know he did everything humanly possibly to sacrifice himself instead of her as part of the time travel anti-Thanos plan. Conversely, I’ve heard some fans fantasizing about Yelena showing up and having her and Kate Bishop fall in love, because I mean, sure why not?
Yelena’s role in the future of the MCU is quite similar to Kate Bishop’s. It seems like they could both take up the mantle of Black Widow and Hawkeye respectively, or also be a part of what Marvel seems to be assembling on the side, a Young Avengers squad. Yelena is additionally complicated, however, as she also seems to be a part of the Contessa’s anti-Avengers team, which has now recruited an anti-Black Widow (her) and an anti-Captain America (US Agent, from Falcon and the Winter Soldier). So who knows if they’re taking her full villain, or will let her become a hero. But perhaps we’ll learn the answer when she shows up in Hawkeye.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and its audiobook, and The Earthborn Trilogy, also on audiobook.
