The culmination of the first decade of the MCU,
(This post contains a mega-spoiler for “Avengers: Endgame.” For real, this is one of the biggest.)
We didn’t know much about “Avengers: Endgame” ahead of time, because of how secretive Marvel Studios has been about this thing. But we knew that Captain America and Iron Man were on their way out, because Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr had long said they were ready to get out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after this one.
With Cap and Tony on the way out, that leaves a pretty big leadership void for the Avengers going forward. And it would make sense for someone who has been around as long as they have and has played just as central a role in the franchise to fill that void.
So why not Black Widow? After the big five-year time skip early on in “Endgame” she’s the one maintaining ties between the various remaining superheroes. She is, in this film, becoming the leader that the Avengers will need moving forward.
Also Read:’Avengers: Endgame’ — Everything You Need to Know About the Asgardians of the Galaxy
But then “Endgame” sees her and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) head to Vormir in the past to retrieve the Soul Stone during the big Time Heist sequence, and they have to make a sacrifice in order to get it. And Black Widow chooses to kill herself so that Hawkeye can be with his family again after the Avengers get all the stones and save trillions of lives.
