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Summary
One ofBlack Widow’scoolest battles in theMCUwas never register in the movies or shows . Set between the event ofIron Man 2andThe Avengers , Scarlett Johansson ’s Natasha Romanoff was tasked by SHIELD to dismantle a major vicious operation . As such , it ’s been sustain that one of Black Widow ’s most important missions in the canonical MCU need place before she became one of Earth ’s Mightiest Heroes , and yet it was never shown on - screen .
in the first place part of theKGB ’s Red Room under the direction of General Dreykov , Natasha Romanoff was a lethally efficient and condition Rusian assassinator . However , she was eventually saved and recruited by Clint Barton ’s Hawkeye , join SHIELD as an secret agent . Having first appeared in 2010’sIron Man 2 , it was later revealed thatSHIELD tasked Black Widow with dismantling a central operation belong to to the Ten Rings , the condemnable system run by the Mandarin , Shang - Chi ’s father .
Want to catch up before the next release , or just revisit the universe for a refresher ? Here ’s the orderliness to see the entire MCU timeline .

Black Widow Fought The Ten Rings Between Iron Man 2 & The Avengers
Preventing The Use Of The Jericho Missile
Despite kidnapping Tony Stark in the firstIron Man , the Ten Rings break down to obtain their Jericho Missileafter Stark built his first suit of armour and escaped before they could force him to ramp up one for them . However , the basic comic miniseriesThe Avengers preliminary : Black Widow Strikesreveals The Ten Rings still wanted their Jericho projectile even in the wake ofIron Man 2.Intending to set in motion the devastating weapon on the border between Russia and North Korea in a bid to destabilize the entire geopolitical landscape .
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The third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , Iron Man 2 , is an action - superhero film that take place six months after the original celluloid ’s events . After out himself as the hard metal superhero known as Iron Man , Tony Stark goes to large length to avoid demand from the government for his technical school . But , unluckily , the engineering Tony used to lay aside his life is begin to impact his health reciprocally - just in time for a military man named Ivan Vanko to arrive , who creates his translation of the Iron Man tech to settle a decennary - long score with Howard Stark ’s son .
regard as how Stark give up weapons fabrication after his kidnapping , the parts for the projectile stolen and obtained by the Ten Rings were in truth rip - offs made by Justin Hammer , but the crucial software system remained the same . Once recognize that all the part were headed to the Ten Rings with the goal of global destabilization , Black Widow became a one - adult female army in a high - pressure level backwash to keep WWIII . Succeeding in her mission , it ’s rather notable that Natasha Romanoff rase such a large - scale offensive orchestrated by the Ten Rings , even if she did n’t face the Mandarin directly .
Why Black Widow Didn’t Fight The Ten Rings On-Screen
A Prelude To 2012’s Avengers
Seeing as how this storey was published as a prelude to the very firstAvengersmovie in 2012 , the MCU was still quite new . At the time , only Iron Man , Captain America , Thor , and Hulk had had solo ventures , and only within a four - twelvemonth window since the firstIron Manin 2008.As such , dream were likely not as high to give Black Widow her own solo movie at the time , as Marvel Studios was more interested in getting their first true crossover off the ground .
That said , Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige did say that conversations about aBlack Widowmovie began as early as 2010 come after Johansson ’s debut as Natasha inIron Man 2.However , Black Widow would n’t finish up getting her own pic until 2020with the plastic film primarily being set between the events ofCaptain America : Civil WarandAvengers : Infinity War . irrespective , while this prelude comic is still part of the official MCU canyon , it would have been very exciting to have seen it if realized in alive - action at law and on the big screen as a much earlierBlack Widowfeature .
Black Widow : Released in 2021 , Black Widow follows Natasha Romanoff as she faces a conspiracy linked to her past . pursue unrelentingly , Natasha must face up her history as a spy and sail fractured kinship from her premature living before becoming part of the Avengers .

Why Black Widow’s Unseen MCU Story Is One Of Its Biggest Missed Opportunities
A Dynamic Foundation For A Great Espionage Movie
Having been told in the comics medium , Black Widow ’s MCU battle with the Ten Rings has sound mostly unseen and unknown by the heavy fanbase , certainly making it one of the biggest miss chance for her character . In a perfect alternate world , this preliminary comic would have been the script for aBlack Widowsolo movie , one localise before the release ofThe Avengers . Not only would it have had exciting ties to the preexistingIron Manmovies , but it also would have served as some fundamental lot - up and greater introduction for Natasha ’s graphic symbol ahead of the 2012 crosswalk as well .
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The third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 2, is an action-superhero film that occurs six months after the original film’s events. After outing himself as the heavy metal superhero known as Iron Man, Tony Stark goes to great lengths to avoid demands from the government for his tech. But, unfortunately, the technology Tony used to save his life is beginning to impact his health inversely - just in time for a man named Ivan Vanko to arrive, who creates his version of the Iron Man tech to settle a decades-long score with Howard Stark’s son.
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Black Widow: Released in 2021, Black Widow follows Natasha Romanoff as she faces a conspiracy linked to her past. Pursued relentlessly, Natasha must confront her history as a spy and navigate fractured relationships from her previous life before becoming part of the Avengers.




