In Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) gets a new white costume, which becomes the latest instance where the Avenger has mirrored White Canary (Caity Lotz) of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Of course, along with the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Black Widow wore a white uniform in Avengers: Endgame, but the new white suit in her upcoming solo movie sheds further light on how Black Widow and White Canary have been mirroring each other for years.

Black Widow was introduced in 2010’s Iron Man 2 while Sara Lance, who was Arrow’s original Black Canary, made her debut in Arrow season 2 three years later. Natasha Romanoff was revealed to be an Agent of SHIELD and became a founding member of the Avengers; Black Widow was a key player in every Avengers movie as well as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War before she sacrificed her life to acquire the Soul Stone in Avengers: Endgame. Sara Lance’s heroic destiny played out somewhat in reverse; she was killed by Thea Queen (Willa Holland) in Arrow season 3 and resurrected by the Lazarus Pit in Arrow season 4 (her soul was returned to her body with the help of John Constantine). Sara beat Natasha to wearing white when she took on the mantle of White Canary as she joined the Legends of Tomorrow in 2015. But the many similarities between the two superheroines don’t end there.

Both Black Widow and White Canary were trained as assassins; Natasha Romanoff was a graduate of Russia’s Red Room and became a KGB agent before she jumped to the “good guys” (or so she thought) and joined SHIELD. Similarly, Sara Lance was indoctrinated into the League of Assassins and became The Canary, one of their deadliest assassins. Ironically, they both have ‘sisters’ with similar abilities; Sara’s biological sister Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) became Arrow’s second Black Canary while Black Widow will introduce fans to Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), another Black Widow trained in the Red Room who could be considered Natasha’s ‘sister’. Further, both Black Widow and White Canary rejected the organizations that created them. Like Black Widow being haunted by the “red in her ledger”, Sara also couldn’t live with herself because of the death she reaped and she became a superhero like Natasha did.

Natasha eventually found the makeshift family she’d been searching for her whole life with the Avengers. In the process, Black Widow lightened up considerably and she mastered gallows humor before her death on Vormir. As for Sara, even though was a member of Team Arrow, White Canary found her own version of a family aboard the Waverider with the Legends of Tomorrow, where she also embraced a sunnier outlook on life thanks to the Legends’ ridiculous, time-traveling hijinks. However, neither Black Widow nor White Canary are regularly referred to by their superhero codenames. To the Avengers, Black Widow is just “Natasha” or “Nat” and the Legends know their captain as “Sara”.

In fact, both heroines also became the leaders of their respective teams who have become famous for time travel; Black Widow was the point person who held the Avengers together in the five years after Thanos’ snap while White Canary became Captain Sara Lance, the acknowledged leader of the Legends of Tomorrow in season 3. And, thanks to the Legends’ time ship the Waverider as well as Ant-Man’s time heist plan via the Quantum Realm in Avengers: Endgame, both White Canary and Black Widow became experts at saving the world thanks to time travel.

Finally, both Black Widow and White Canary have archers in their lives who they’re more than just friends with. Natasha’s relationship with Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) goes deeper than mere friendship, although they were never the romantic item Sara Lance and Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) once were. But, along with Natasha Romanoff donning a white uniform to cement their similarities to Sara Lance, it’s certainly a further irony that White Canary and Black Widow are extremely tight with the world’s greatest archers of their respective superhero universes.

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