Black Widow could actually see Natasha Romanoff completing the Avengers’ mission from the beginning of Captain America: Civil War. The third Captain America film redefined the MCU, with the Avengers torn apart after the passage of the Sokovia Accords and as a result of Zemo’s manipulation. The time period seems to fascinate Marvel, who keep revisiting it.

Black Widow will be the third Marvel movie to be set in the immediate aftermath of Captain America: Civil War. It picks up at a time when Natasha Romanoff has lost her support network, having chosen to help Steve Rogers escape during the fateful Airport Battle. She’s now one of the world’s most wanted, no longer protected by SHIELD or the Avengers. That forces her to go to her first family, comrades who she worked with under the Red Room, and she soon winds up going against Taskmaster. But right now, it’s difficult to say just what Black Widow’s mission really is. So far, the evidence suggests that the MCU’s version of Taskmaster will be pretty comic-book-accurate, including being a mercenary rather than an independent operative.

If Taskmaster is indeed a mercenary who’s been training to take on the Avengers, then he’s in good company. In Captain America: Civil War, Crossbones - a Hydra agent who’d been exposed by Steve Rogers - had begun a career as a mercenary as well. He’d run a series of high-profile, destructive missions in order to goad Captain America into a fateful confrontation. The Avengers ultimately tracked Crossbones down in Lagos, Nigeria, where he had been hired to steal an unknown biological agent from the Institute of Infectious Diseases. The Avengers prevented Crossbones escaping with the sample, but at a horrific cost, when he turned suicide bomber. There may well be an explicit connection between Crossbones and Taskmaster.

In Captain America: Civil War, Crossbones was stealing a disease sample; meanwhile, shots from the Black Widow trailers have shown Natasha Romanoff with mysterious red vials. There’s been some speculation these could be Pym Particles, but that idea can be safely discounted, because there’s absolutely no evidence of an Ant-Man connection. (Other theories suggest that the vials are used for Black Widow’s gauntlets in the movie, though that hasn’t been confirmed either.) It is possible, though, that these vials contain another biological agent - and that Taskmaster is conducting similar thefts to those carried out by Crossbones.

If this theory is correct, then Natasha Romanoff is essentially continuing the Avengers’ mission from Captain America: Civil War. The Avengers never learned who Crossbones was working for, and this unknown villain with their mystery agenda, albeit with a new pawn. Fortunately, it looks as though Black Widow and her first family will successfully deal with the threat; the trailers suggest the third act will end at a lab facility. The last loose end from Captain America: Civil War, one that’s generally been forgotten by moviegoers all over the world, could be neatly resolved.

More: Black Widow: Every Marvel Character Returning In The Prequel

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