Black Widow's Life | Video Essay

Black Widow is a celebrated christmas character that is world famous for entering the dreams of young boys when they're doing their English Literature exams in December. Some say she is even based on a the real person of Scarjo, famous for being in JoJo and hanging out in dojos and watching watchmojo.
Vote on the Next Marvel character on Patreon: / implicitlypretentious
Kat and Tanner by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: www.twinmusicom.org/
C-Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Facile by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Impromptu in Quarter by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/

[@Azimii]

"that sounded a lot more poetic than i planned" homie that's your entire channel it's why we watch

[@Sam-hv7kj]

Facts

[@frankwolftown]

Frickin' ay!

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks everyone!

[@themadtitan7603]

Hell yes

[@radieschen79]

So true.

[@jorgec98]

Everyone was sad when Tony died. But what really broke me was Nat's death

[@dak4465]

She was suck a genuine and equally broken charecter looking for her true place in the world.

[@DaveKatague]

It got me even worse on second viewing. See you in a minute. EUGH

[@krp6680]

I didnt care about Tony and Nat's death much but what really broke me was Yondu's death!

[@-ejamezfictionalstudioz-4951]

It really hurts when she didn't get a proper funeral at the end of the movie but the post credit scene in black widow did remedied it

[@SlickSith]

You mention each of the Avengers visions and how they come to be in the end, but you missed that her vision was about her inability to bring life into the world rather than end it. This ends in endgame when her sacrifice allows her to bring life, albeit back, into the world. The one that could never be a mother in turn becomes mother, the life giver, to half the universe. Her legacy is not the children she never had but the children she saved.

[@ketakikadam3804]

Wow. That was so profound!

[@ROYkrysta]

This is beautiful.

[@kimberlygonzales9691]

wow. I have no words. This is just beautiful.

[@batsignal3469]

So Black Widow saves the present, Iron Man saves the future and by going to the past Captain America "dies" in the present but creates/saves the past that is the foundation of the present! NEAT!!!!

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Yeah!

[@markuskosmo]

And Thor is just a loser. By that I mean someone who's lost stuff (a reference, but to what?). You know, like his powers and worthiness (got it back), his brother (he thought), his mother, his brother again (he thought), his father, his eye, his hammer, his friends, his homeworld, half of his people, his brother (at least the post-Dark World version), his best friend and his motivation. Hopefully, Thor 4 will continue his arc in an interesting way. Anyway, I really liked this assessment of this video, and that's pretty much what I thought too!

[@ahnizos8]

the big trio

[@noelrose7419]

she was always one of my fav mcu characters for this very reason. her growth was subtle, rarely the focus and in a way that allowed it to be really fluid and natural feeling from movie to movie

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Yeah I think the space from not being as demanded in the core events all the time gave her effectively almost all the quiet scenes, so she was able to get some writing that was more gentler in spirit and more relaxed too :)

[@damionmccarthy4679]

@Snehil Shrey do u hate black widow or something

[@austonvarner9142]

@@damionmccarthy4679 Call me crazy, but I don't think people usually call characters they hate 'underutilized'

[@drackestalentorgen166]

I hate how we finally get a BW movie after they killed her. I'm ok with her noble sacrifice, but at the same time we been asking for her solo movie since avengers

[@user-Jay178]

Kinda like what they did with Han solo

[@Boundless-Boredom]

Snehil Shrey you do understand thats not how any of this works right

[@TK_Brainslug]

Back in the day Feige was under Perlmutter who thought women are not important. what a prick.

[@videovoidtv]

Snehil Shrey please stop being such a toxic fan please. This is a good community and we don’t need you here.

[@judeannethecandorchannel2153]

Very Good point

[@ThePonderer]

What a perfect Christmas present.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww flattered to be at service!

[@Bahruchnik]

Well damn, now I am never going to be able to watch her final scene in endgame without getting even more emotional. Well done!

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks!

[@shallowhound2751]

This essay has made me appreciate Natasha even more. She's one of my favourite characters and I think this video is a beautiful (and sad) tribute to her.

[@witch4255]

That I always loved about Natascha. She showed us, that Identity is not something you are. It is something you do. It is a performance, an act, but thats the point. Identity becomes real, becomes your one, something stable and content, the moment, you are in sync with the performance you play. Nat's arc is fantastic and by far my favorite in all of the MCU.

[@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim]

Absolutely started sobbing out loud when you brought this wonderful essay arcing around to the point where she is an anchor for Clint, telling him, "I don't judge people in their worst mistakes."

[@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim]

I got goosebumps when you connected her shock after first seeing the Hulk with her own fear that she herself could never be anything but a monster.

[@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim]

Thank you for this. Before watching this video I was just frustrated by the "forced" romance in AoU. Now that I understand her struggle with identity and the way she views Bruce, I realize that the romance was meant to be forced. It was a confused, desperate grab at redemption for herself and when it was taken from her she was forced to find a way forward without defining herself as the monster she used to.

[@marleyvizualz7692]

This video reduced me to tears thank you it is perhaps the best video I've ever watched

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Holy cow thanks! I wasn't sure at all if this video was any good, so that's not only relieving to hear but flattering too! :)

[@anethkiray]

I still feel like she was done wrong but this video helps to soften the blow of losing her and helps me understand her more. Thank you for making this.

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

I agree.

[@aivarizhtml]

You’ve brought me to tears of joy, nostalgia and pride over my favorite woman. Good job, you talented brat. Upd: I’m always wondering how many times you’ve already watched these movies and honestly it’s kinda scary

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks! And surprisingly I don't re watch them that much, it's more like everytime I edit one of these I have to scan through the films again and again, so certain scenes stick out and gives me ideas for the next essay! :)

[@carolinedelagarza2769]

Thank you for touching on her motive behind pursuing a relationship with Bruce in Age of Ultron. I have always kind of resented AoU for that whole arc but your explanation shows just how layered and complex her character is in that movie.

[@AnalyticalMenace]

18:56 To be fair, if I were forced to eat peanut butter sandwiches the rest of my life, I'd be in fucking tears, too.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Damn son

[@sarahirisfox]

This is an excellent video essay. I love Black Widow and I have to say that you analyzed her character arc really well.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thank you! That's incredibly relieving, because I wasn't really sure if the quality matched with my other videos!

[@sarahirisfox]

@@ImplicitlyPretentious thanks for responding!

[@MereBearScare]

Someone must have been chopping onions at the end, what a great tribute to one of my favorite characters ever :'(

[@juliec8090]

This may be my favorite one of your videos. I don’t quite have the words for it right now. I think I’ll have to sit with it a while. But... yeah, wow. Beautifully done.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thank you so much! That's incredibly flattering and relieving, because I wasn't sure at all if this one was up to the quality of my other work! :)

[@juliec8090]

Honestly you had me hooked the moment you brought up Cooley’s looking glass theory. I was familiar with it (especially in applying it to the idea of double consciousness), but in applying it to Black Widow the realization of why I love her and felt her to be so weirdly relatable hit me like a train. Most of the other characters don’t think that way, their identities are so firmly rooted in their own inner lives and values. She’s morally flexible in a way that always felt like a somewhat easily explained ‘weakness,’ but viewing it as an identity issue due to being denied the opportunity growing up to even *develop* an identity for herself... yeah, wow. Honestly, I sent this video to a bunch of my other MCU-analysis geek friends this morning cause I couldn’t get it out of my head. 10/10, would watch again. Thanks for all of your hard work and the many incredible video essays! You’re awesome!

[@claraeana3]

i always ended up crying with yours essays

[@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim]

After 9 minutes of being led on a mental and emotional journey by youn my eyes teared up when you exposed the significance of her quiet interaction with Steve and her expression after he says, "I would now."

[@OMGACKT24]

A video essay about my favorite Avenger? Merry Christmas, indeed!

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww I hope it was up to standard!

[@qemuel]

Delightful study of Natasha's character, well done. And do keep going with the "cheese" please. Happy holidays!

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks! I hope the cheese never gets too cringy! :)

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

While watching Endgame, I was still reeling and bawling from Nat that I could barely see the screen for the finale. Thanks for this and for the insight. To me, she's not a supporting character, she's a main character, they all are, in The Avengers. I still think her solo film should have been released before Endgame.

[@t7957r]

Great essay on Natasha Romanoff. I think you captured why she is so loved and central to the MCU. While technically a supporting character she is in essence the glue that holds the whole team in place thus without her there is no real presence of the whole.

[@ajwalswick4423]

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!

[@spookyman5ever]

Happy holidays!!

[@robertearhart4316]

That was an amazingly insightful retrospective on Natasha's history. I never thought of her relationship with Bruce like you described it, but it totally makes sense. I love watching your videos for the added perspective and depth you offer for so many of my favorite things. Thank you, and keep it up, man!

[@SkatKat]

Your corny speeches bring tears to my eyes, you don't doubt yourself and keep making them!

[@komang1224]

Your uploads always makes me excited to watch. you have such a cool style and informative way to deliver what u say. and the videos are always such high quality. good work as always

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thank you so much! And it's particularly relieving for this video because I wasn't sure if it was up to snuff! :)

[@InfernoBlade64]

It’s a shame black widow was retired before she got her first film

[@offgang2805]

@Snehil Shrey we all wanted a black widow film for years.

[@offgang2805]

@Snehil Shrey My old youtube channel was deleted for unknown reasons.

[@offgang2805]

@Snehil Shrey why do I have to post everything about myself on KZbin? And I hate Captain marvel.

[@billyb7852]

*Dead

[@Jay-Jones]

You've just earned a subscriber.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thanks!

[@ryanrabe]

This video made me sob again for Natasha. Now in her own solo movie will finally understand everything that she’s done and her choices in life. 👍🏼

[@duwanglover7730]

My mind is so feeble from this quarantine that I'm not sure I understood everything you said here. But even then, it was still so beautiful and profound. Thank you for this.

[@aidanvidal6736]

These videos are more than analyses. These videos are reinterpretations of stories, and they are just as beautiful as the source material they come from. Thank you for continuing to make these videos. Thank you for the 20 minutes of Scarlett Johansson footage. And a special thank you to all my Patreon supporters.

[@user-km9bx3gf3z]

ahhhhhhh a 24 minute video on my favorite avenger! awesome! And I loved your take on Nat and Steve's relationship. I always felt so happy seeing them get along b/c their opposites yet they seem to fit together like yin and yang, which makes the friendship so much more satisfying and rewarding. You described it perfectly, thanks :) And yeah I was sad that Nat died but you're so right, I can't imagine Nat just living an ordinary peaceful life. This is the perfect way to go out for her. also your video essay made me cry, thanks for that ;p keep doing this, I love your stuff!

[@masquerader101]

These character essays fill me with a sense melancholy as well as clarity.. Very well done my friend

[@martinmoran87]

Best video so far! Amazing character deconstruction!

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thank you so much! That's incredibly relieving and flattering!

[@KrazyKobold]

At about 17:26, moving into Act 3, you comment on good old Joseph Campbell's "Crossing of the Return Threshold" I feel like (without having seen Black Widow yet) that's 100% what we'll be seeing in her movie Black Widow.

[@juliamyers6101]

Beautiful video! You captured the amazing character arc Natasha has had in the best way possible. She is a character who is constantly looking for her purpose and actually found her purpose in this emotional and beautiful way. Thank you for another incredibly well done video!!!

[@ruly8153]

You got masterclass as a sponsor on your video Wow congrats

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww who was the teacher this time? 😂

[@ruly8153]

Implicitly Pretentious Awww I think it was the guy with the glasses He was taking about dialogue

[@ruly8153]

Implicitly Pretentious Aaron Sorkin actually Good job on the vid

[@miker6452]

Very well presented, insightful commentary. I'm a Marvel Comics reader going back to the late 70's and it's been very gratifying to have seen these films on the big screen and how important these characters have become to fans all over the world. Once again, well researched and very well put together, great work.

[@dautolover]

It's unbelievable the level of depth that these characters have. The MCU is truly something else.

[@mohaimanmstk2694]

Your videos are nicely descriptive. Make one for Hulk and Hawkeye. Btw do you watch TV series like Stranger Things?

[@mohaimanmstk2694]

@Snehil Shrey He could have. Marvel is great at developing characters in a subtle way.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Yeah I have one for Hulk planned out and a Hawkeye will probably depend on his new show or something :)

[@macknight2352]

@Snehil Shrey Not in the Avengers, no, but he definitely had it in Ultron, Civil War, and Endgame.

[@jkctucker]

I love your essays! Keep up the great work. :)

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thank you!

[@08gameplaya]

Love your work big fan so in-depth.

[@kiobakunawa1149]

Love hearing amazing grace in the background while you explain the intricacies of nats arc and somewhat reflects it.

[@illmatix541]

Dude, easily one of your best pieces of work....good job

[@wilsoncpuGmail]

Yet another insightful and lovely essay. Is there any chance we could get this seen by Scarlett Johansson and Kevin Feige? As the actress and the creative lead, I think they would really appreciate how the care and depth they put in this character and her development were noticed and enjoyed by their grateful audience.

[@joshuafogel1116]

This is one of the best videos you've made

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Oh wow thanks! I always have an uncertain feeling everytime I upload, so it's incredibly relieving to hear that! :)

[@thedailytruth8833]

It’s about time this video was make, thank you

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks, I was going to push it until her film comes out, but I'm glad I got it out beforehand then :)

[@thedailytruth8833]

I’d just like to say, I love your videos and it’s been a great learning experience into characters and such, so keep it up. I’m trying to think of more ones for you to do, but you’ve already done so many good ones. Keep it up man, Merry Christmas

[@user-Jay178]

Great video and also cool video essay

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thank you!

[@sonny5387]

Thank you for the Black Widow video and Merry Christmas to you and everyone else. 🍺😄

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

[@madsj_]

I’d be keen to watch an update now that black widow has come out

[@Chasing_santino]

Love this so much, I love black widow and watching a video on why she is the way she is, is so interesting, hope u make another one when her movie comes out🙏

[@mundanethings208]

Ive been waiting so long for this my dud!! 🤧😭

[@AngusStewart01]

As a marvel fanatic thank you for this video good content as always

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks for coming back always too!

[@wisemoon40]

I'd be interested to see you do an update/followup of this video after you see the Black Widow movie! Please consider doing one.

[@ThatsSoRaechel]

Thank you for this video! I needed a Christmas miracle 😂

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks!

[@heysolifehow3359]

I want to get all the 3 Shrek movies (excluding Shrek 3) and liquify them and inset them in my veins

[@nanagyambibi7426]

The only thing that I didnt like about Black Widow is that I felt in Endgame she was a total different character from how she portrayed herself to be in the rest of the movies she was in.

[@djangounchained9387]

Uhhh well to me it seems logical that she was a different character. 5 years passed, people change.

[@JeusAlprime108]

because in Endgame she in post trauma condition while in the other movies she is in her usual self. Of course that is different.

[@jumpoff3967]

Duh....

[@adamjbond]

Black Widow has been my favorite MCU character for years now. She was done dirty that Captain Marvel got a film before she did.

[@eileen8787]

Thanks for making me ball my eyes out

[@videovoidtv]

This was beautiful. Thank you for this work. Nat has always been a favorite of mine, someone I related to and now I think I better understand why.

[@js66613]

When you showed the clip of Tony and Steve arguing, instead of processing "morally impeccable" as good, my mind turned it into something more along the lines of "morally despicable." XD

[@aryansoni8415]

I have been a fan of nat since the starting, and I relate with her a lot. This video was so heart touching and truely discovered THE NATASHA ROMANOFF. I love you nat 3000

[@CharlottevdVeen]

You put it into words!!! holy shit dude

[@Vent69420]

Simply awesome.

[@MrRonk55]

How many credits do I get from watching every video? Studying the Human Comedy is sort of a hobby of mine, and so was comics for the first thirty years of my life. Now in my retirement, I find both intersecting again. A Fan.

[@maxalaintwo3578]

The self returns and I'm here for it

[@DharmaB420]

I thoroughly enjoy your corny speeches. Please keep making them! I think Scorsese should check out your videos. He could learn something.

[@maxx8362]

I look forward to your revision of this video essay in 6 months to a year from now. Prequel/midquel/sequels are irritating that way especially since I get a very strong plot twist vibe from the marketing for her solo film.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Yeah the plan is to give her solo film a separate essay and examine it both as an extension of my reflection thesis (seeing if it agrees or disagrees), while also looking at it as its own little arc too

[@devongonteski3184]

Omg, all the feels!

[@RodrigoCanchola]

This is amazing....

[@crapnuggets202]

i got the 69th like hehe nice also awesome video as always. i'm interested to see if her solo film expands on these ideas in a kind of reverse orientation, like whether what she's been through that we know of will be accentuated by her being in the inverse position.

[@macknight2352]

@Snehil Shrey How?

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks! And yeah I wonder how the two families in her life contributes to this established tension between how she sees herself vs who she wants to be :)

[@macknight2352]

@Snehil Shrey But that family was a family of trained Russian assassins, so she would still be trying to separate herself from that family, since it's linked to the red in her ledger. I'm guessing that that Russian family will die once they redeem themselves or completely betray her, still cementing that she had nothing without the Avengers. The Avengers are the only morally redeeming thing she has.

[@davidalbee5039]

Every video is better than the last!!

[@sleepninja2350]

"How many of these corny speeches have I made?" Bro you're perceptions of yourself as pretentious is harming the sincerity of your work

[@JackDanielThe7th]

Yo great video

[@keerthanap1542]

12:26 wandavisions .... nice touch

[@DavidSilva-mn4dz]

Nice, the hardest working Avenger along with Clint. Thanks for the analysis

[@tychobotter]

Nice how Tony died to safe the future, Natasha died to safe the present and Steve 'died' to safe the past. poetic

[@bigfootnintendorazr]

Awesome

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thanks!

[@lexis4490]

You are really good with these essays. Consider doing Star Wars, if you want.

[@realar]

Yeah, good luck with that.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Yeah I think I've got a couple essays planned, but I'll have to wait until everything has cooled down before I make them lol

[@TheGeorgeD13]

@@ImplicitlyPretentious It's never going to cool down, so who gives a shit? Just do 'em.

[@macmcleod1188]

@@TheGeorgeD13 he's an Entertainer. Why should he antagonize half of his potential customers and fans? It will cool down and it is cooling down. And a couple of years it will be the kind of subject that you can analyze safely without anyone getting bent out of shape at you personally.

[@TheGeorgeD13]

@@macmcleod1188 If I were him, I wouldn't want fans that would feel antagonized if they have a different opinion than me on a movie. Those kinds of people are losers.

[@JDdr86]

Holly shit man! I cried with tour vídeo. I'll subscribe for more beautifull, soulfull essays like this. Wonderfull!

[@JDdr86]

-your-, nota “tour”, sorry. XD

[@JDdr86]

Oh f*ck, now ir changed *not* for “nota”, WTF?. Anyway, beautifull work man, beautifull work.

[@JDdr86]

*it*😖, no “ir” . Upps 😶

[@user-sevxs]

Tony's fear was to fail as an Avenger and in the end, he died as the best one.

[@vagabon5130]

what she did for Clint, can't be put into words. Damn...

[@cgmshow1871]

Man this may either look different or better after her movie lol

[@cgmshow1871]

@Snehil Shrey why ?

[@suntzupup]

I've always loved how the writers were able to string black widow's character growth film to film without us being able to see what she's going through between each film. she keeps changing and growing and learning. but i feel a lot of it is off screen. and it's up to the viewers to see that.

[@suntzupup]

​@Snehil Shrey i loved the skill of the writers to make something great with her given what they were assigned to do.

[@suntzupup]

@Snehil Shrey I think you are very frustrated and assuming a lot about what i feel.

[@ME-kd1ko]

I'm pausing at 5:15 to tell you that there is a difference between "it's" and "its". Carrying on with the rest of the video from here. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

[@Bizarro69]

12:57 he knows.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thanks and yeah I was working on this mostly at night after work so I tend to have a lot of grammar mistakes from sloppy sleepiness. Derp

[@ahnizos8]

yay here am I crying again about Nat, i miss my hero

[@DuendeTortuga]

Great video!! I really like that scene from Civil War where she goes to the funeral, just to be there for Cap. Her dvelopment as a character was handled so good. Now, I have a bit of mixed feelings about her solo movie, I'm looking forward to it, it's probably going to be fun to watch, but I also think it belittles a bit her sacrifice in Endgame (despite the BW movie being set years before)..

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Yeah we'll have to see if the solo film serves as an epilogue of sorts that gives some time to reflect on her life or if it's a missing peice in her journey! And thanks!

[@soccerandtrack10]

your littery the definition of an angel,your just as angelic as dc arrow shows or 40k.

[@binder38us]

Your essay gives so much meaning to Natasha's sacrafice. Many fans that her death was cheap. But it was a good death. She gave to us all. She wiped her ledger clean. You'll probably have to revise this once the BW movie is finally released. I am curious how it will fit in tbe narrative.

[@Maria-nb4vv]

the ending of this video killed me😭

[@RamakrishnanMohanComedy]

I fucking love these!

[@jennamomenna5750]

12:25 the _Wandavisions_ ?

[@darrenhansen2418]

They are all corny speeches. Which is why I watch them.

[@AngusStewart01]

Yo I’m hyped she is finally getting a movie tho her movie is ten years late .

[@judeannethecandorchannel2153]

Leo on the opposite end of social psychology is the psychology of personality. You should consider checking out the Enneagram personality system, derived from the Sufi diagram and it's mystical meanings about human nature. In the Sufi system Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff would be a counterphobic type number 6. With a type number 7 extroverted energy wing...