Black Widow trailer Easter egg reveals a possible new villain

Marvel aired a new full-length trailer for the highly anticipated Black Widow solo movie during the Super Bowl, and it offered a far more complete look at the tone and plot. Specifically, a direct connection between one moment in the new trailer and a recent run from Marvel Comics could reveal the direct inspiration for Black Widow and at least one unexpected villain.

Black Widow, set to be released May 1, 2020, fills in the time immediately after Avengers: Civil War, when Black Widow is on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D and reunites with figures from her past. If the synopsis sounds familiar, that’s because it’s directly inspired by Black Widow Volume 6, in which Natasha Romanoff is pursued by S.H.I.E.L.D. and must confront her past in order to stop a villain named Weeping Lion. The series ran for 12 issues in 2016, making it relatively recent source material.t was published years after Scarlett Johannsson portrayed Natasha in The Avengers.

The Mark Waid-penned series is an obvious inspiration to the film, even down to the cinematography. Matt Wilson, the colorist, recently tweeted a side-by-side comparison of screenshots of the trailer and the original comic panels, showing the visual similarities. While some of the plot will have to differ, as Taskmaster will feature in the film, it seems that Black Widow will keep the spy thriller, almost Bond-esque tone.

We also know the film will feature other characters recognizable from Black Widow comics canon: Yelena Belova, a fellow Black Widow, appears in the trailer reminding Natasha of their shared past as trained assassins. There’s also appearances by Alexei Shostakov, also known as Red Guardian, a (seemingly washed up) Soviet equivalent to Captain America, and Melina Vostakoff, a character who hasn’t had the best relationship with Natasha in the comics: she’s also known as Iron Maiden. Maria, though not mentioned in the comic, is said to be part of a “scientific experiment” in the film: this could tie her into the creation of Taskmaster through experimentation.

One other point that will definitely be shared by the comic and movie is Natasha confronting her past in The Red Room: a training facility where young girls are brainwashed to become Black Widows. In the comic, Natasha must defeat the headmistress of the facility and her daughter Anya, known as the Recluse. Could this be something the film could explore as well?

With Black Widow still three months away, there’s plenty of time for more clues, but knowing the source material — if only for the pure aesthetics of the film’s tone — provides an idea of the new, fresh take on Natasha we’ll see when she gets the main focus of a feature.

Black Widow drops into theaters on May 1, 2020.