The Black Widow film is full of emotional moments for the MCU's Natasha Romanoff - but its best one actually ended up as a deleted scene.
Black Widow is a fantastic solo outing for Natasha, but the best moment in the film is a deleted scene. While the final cut of the film itself is fantastic, director Cate Shortland shot plenty of other scenes that stayed on the cutting room floor. The deleted scene in question serves as an alternate ending, perfectly encapsulating the character of Natasha the Black Widow and most importantly her effect on the MCU as a whole. Knowing her fate in Avengers: Endgame, the film was a nice sendoff that could benefit from the deleted scene.
The film, which hit theaters in July of 2021, is the first solo outing for Natasha Romanoff, showing the titular Avenger in between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. The deleted scene shows Natasha after the events of the film, now donning her Infinity War look, complete with the vest courtesy of Natasha's comedic sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh). Driving through the Ohio suburbs in which she grew up, Natasha sees a group of kids pretending to play as different Avengers. A young girl, with Black Widow bracelets around her wrists, points them at Natasha in a playful manner. Natasha returns the favor, making a "pow" noise as she does so.
This deleted scene shows the profound effect Natasha has in the MCU, both in a literal sense and in a meta context outside of the film. Black Widow is a posthumous celebration of the character, with director Cate Shortland showing aspects of the character audiences have never seen before. From introducing Black Widow's "family" to showing her upbringing in a flashback scene, viewers get a well-rounded portrayal of her, with more depth than ever before. It only makes sense that with such a portrayal, the ending as shown in the deleted scene makes for something that could have been the best moment in the film. Moreover, this deleted scene serves as something of a better ending compared to the one audiences see in the theatrical cut of the film.
The original theatrical ending sees Natasha reunite with Rick Mason (O-T Fagbenle) from earlier in the film. The ending follows the pattern of the deleted scene, in which Natasha is now donning her Infinity War appearance. He supplies her with a Quinjet, the go-to MCU means of transportation that she and her fellow Avengers on the run use in Avengers: Infinity War. The now-iconic Avengers theme plays as fans see Natasha take off in the Quinjet. It's a good ending, as audiences know what happens to her character after. However, it pales in comparison to the deleted scene. There's hardly any emotional weight to her interaction with the character of Rick Mason in the original ending, while the deleted scene is filled with emotional weight as viewers get to see Natasha take a small glimpse at her impact and legacy.
This deleted moment in the film follows up on all of the other intimate moments that were in Black Widow as well. The consistency of making Black Widow like a family drama only enhances the deleted scene. Everything else fans get in the film, from Black Widow's flashback at the beginning of the film to the dinner table sequence, they get a lot of introspection on Natasha's part. Everything that comes before the deleted scene takes place only helps to make it the best moment of the film. Unfortunately, it's one that didn't even make it into the film.
There's also the matter of the meta-context the scene has. Not only does Natasha see her impact in her world, but audiences can see what the character has done for women and young children in real life; Black Widow is an inspiring heroine that protects rather than needs to be protected. Being a founding Avenger and the first heroine of the MCU is something that needs acknowledgment in a Black Widow film. Overall, while her impact and sacrifice are something touched upon in Avengers: Endgame, letting Natasha have a small intimate moment of introspection is the highlight of the film - though this also makes it all the more of a shame that it ended up being a deleted scene in the final version of Black Widow.
