Marvel fans will get one more chance to see Natasha Romanoff in action in her solo film Black Widow, and given her history with the Winter Soldier, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was included. Avengers: Endgame was the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as audiences have come to know it and gave closure to the arcs of some of the original Avengers, including Black Widow, who had one of the most heartbreaking moments in the film.

In Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow and Hawkeye travel to Vormir to get the Soul Stone. In order to acquire it, they have to sacrifice someone they love, and after a battle between the two, Natasha sacrifices herself, and Hawkeye goes back to the present with the soul stone. Hulk reveals at the end of Avengers: Endgame that he tried to bring her back when he undid the snap, but wasn’t successful. Luckily, this isn’t the end of Black Widow in the MCU as she is getting a solo film that will serve as a prequel, set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, which gives other MCU characters a chance to appear in it, especially the Winter Soldier.

Black Widow and Winter Soldier have history together in both the comics and the MCU, although they’re very different. In the films, Natasha tells Steve Rogers about the Winter Soldier in Captain America: Winter Soldier, explaining many believe he’s a ghost story, but she crossed paths with him during a mission in Iran, where he shot his target through her. Natasha also mentions she went after him but it was “a dead end”. They face each other again in Captain America: Civil War, after Zemo recites the Winter Soldier’s trigger words to activate his brainwashing. The Avengers on the spot try to stop him, and when fighting against Black Widow, she says he “could at least recognize" her.

In the comics, the story of Black Widow and Winter Soldier went through some changes but in short, Bucky was one of Natasha’s trainers in the Red Room, and they were romantically involved years later. The MCU has built their stories in a different way, one that will not include the romantic storyline from the comics as he doesn’t seem to remember her at all and she has focused on other (and more important) issues. Plus, he was put in cryogenic sleep at the end of Civil War and didn’t reunite with Captain America and Black Widow until Avengers: Infinity War, so the romantic arc is out.

This means that the Winter Soldier will be in Wakanda during Black Widow, but he could still be included in flashbacks. The purpose of Black Widow’s solo film is to explore her backstory, and with rumors of Sebastian Stan being involved in some capacity, her encounter with the Winter Soldier and her subsequent search for him could be shown. They could also expand on the connections between the two characters and reveal new links that haven’t been mentioned before and that could be taken directly from the comics.

With the upcoming MCU films now connecting directly with the series to be released on Disney+, it makes more sense that the Winter Soldier will show up in Black Widow, as whatever is revealed in it can be used in the series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, further expanding his backstory and making way for more adventures and missions both in the series and future MCU films.

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