Following the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, massive controversy surrounding the portrayal of the character Black Widow erupted. At the time, Black Widow, or Natasha Romanoff, was arguably the main female character in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in three films prior to Age of Ultron. But, the representation of women in Marvel films was still incredibly lacking. As one reporter, Jen Yamato, wrote:

“in 11 Marvel Cinematic Universe films thus far, strong female co-leads have only appeared in the larger ensemble team-ups primarily as lethal and emotionally impenetrable femme fatales who double as love interests (shoutout to Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Gamora).”

Still, previous movies had teased Black Widow’s complicated and interesting background, so fans were excited to see her character arc during the second Avengers movie and learn more about her story, as they were promised. Natasha Romanoff was trained from a very young age to become a spy as a part of the “Black Widow Ops Program” at a Soviet training facility called the Red Room. Knowing that a flashback scene to Romanoff’s time at the Red Room was coming in Avengers: Age of Ultron, fans hoped for an explanation of the “red ledger” line in the first Avengers movie or another event that showed the complexity of her character with the sins she committed in her past. Instead, it was revealed that the final “graduation ceremony” at the Red Room was sterilization. Although this is an undoubtedly terrible and traumatic event in Black Widow’s life, the focus of her big reveal is on her reproductive abilities, and, as Todd VanDerWerff, a reporter for Vox, writes, “it seems as if she, like so many female characters, is being reduced to her reproductive choices.” This left many fans disappointed and upset, arguing that this reveal was sexist and overshadowed Black Widow’s other moments in the film. Although Romanoff had never previously expressed interest in starting a family or having children, her backstory reveal focuses on the devastation that she feels because she is unable to have children. One review of the movie’s treatment of Black Widow explains the scenario, “instead of an assassin struggling with moral lines she didn’t know existed, we got a woman who feels incomplete because she cannot have babies.”

The last sentence of Black Widow’s reveal has been the subject of massive controversy. Her mini-monolgue, which she gave to Bruce Banner (the Hulk), in its entirety says:

In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It’s efficient – one less thing to worry about – the one thing that might matter more than a mission. Makes everything easier, even killing. You still think you’re the only monster on the team?

Its somewhat difficult to tell whether she is referring to herself as a monster because she has killed people or because she is unable to have children. Although Joss Whedon stated in an interview 18 months after the film’s release that the former was his intent, it still reads as if Black Widow is calling herself a monster because she was sterilized and is equating it to the literal monster that the Hulk is.

The timing of this reveal is also very important, since it takes place within a very controversial scene. The Avengers are all safely hidden at Hawkeye’s secret family’s farm, recovering from previous events and preparing for the battle against Ultron ahead of them. In this scene, Natasha and Bruce Banner (the Hulk) have a conversation about their relationship. Although there was absolutely no evidence of anything romantic going on between them in previous movies, Natasha spends this scene flirting and making advances towards Bruce. When I first saw the scene, I was struck by how awkward and out of character it was. Bruce rejects her advances, saying that she would have no future with him because of his Hulk alter ego. When he brings up the fact that it would be impossible for him to have children, Natasha responds with “neither can I” before giving the lines quoted above. This entire scene is completely out of character for both Natasha and Bruce, who have never shown any interest in each other before and forces Black Widow into an unnecessary love interest role.