Marvel Studios
Over the course of 11 years and 23 films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been full of iconically heroic moments.
Warning: spoilers for the Marvel Cinematic Universe will follow.
From Tony Stark announcing his identity as Iron Man to Captain America fending off Thanos with his bare hands, there has been no shortage of chill-inducing, fist-pumping, heart-stopping moments during the course of the MCU.
But of all those instantly memorable moments, the directors of Avengers: Endgame believe there is just one that stands out amongst the rest as the most heroic.
Speaking on the director’s commentary of Avengers: Endgame, Joe Russo highlighted what he thinks is the most heroic moment in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (a moment that just so happens to be in his own movie):
“At the beginning of Endgame, she wants to bring it all back because she feels like it is the strongest emotional connection that she’s ever had in her life. She’s presented with a choice, which is to give her own life to bring everyone else back and she does it, which [is] the single most heroic moment in the history of the Marvel Universe.” [CinemaBlend]
Given that Black Widow is quite literally the most human of all the Avengers, declaring her Vormir death as the most heroic moment in all of the MCU is a pretty reasonable shout — while Tony Stark may be fitted in a suit of armor and Bruce Banner has the ability to become a raging green monster, Natasha Romanoff was just a regular woman (albeit highly trained one) on a foreign planet laying down her life for the fate of humanity.
Luckily, Black Widow’s death in Endgame won’t be the last time we see the iconic Scarlett Johansson character, as she’s set to finally feature in her own solo film when Black Widow — which also stars the Stranger Things big homie David Harbour and is the first movie in the MCU’s “Phase 4” — hits theaters next May.
Eric Italiano is a New York City-based writer and editor who still isn’t sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. You can contact him at eric@brobible.com.