Ms. Marvel Episode 2: Was that a Black Widow death joke?
Marvel/Disney+Ms. Marvel Episode 2 sees Kamala and Bruno testing the superhero’s new powers, which leads to a surprising call back to Black Widow’s fate in Avengers: Endgame.
Ms. Marvel is one of the newest MCU shows on Disney+, so naturally it has a lot of call-backs to more established Marvel heroes.
This series is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, so during the first episode audiences are shown a tribute to the fallen Avengers, Black Widow and Iron Man, on a wall during AvengerCon.
It’s a bittersweet thing to look at, but since Ms. Marvel seems to be a smaller story in terms of scale, it initially appeared that this would be the last we’d hear of their deaths.
However, eagle-eyed Marvel fans may spot that the second episode of the series potentially makes a reference to the way that Black Widow died, in a surprisingly joking way.
How does Ms. Marvel reference Black Widow’s death?
In the second episode of Ms. Marvel, we see Kamala training with her best friend Bruno, in an attempt to build her strength and broaden the horizon of her new powers.
This leads to them standing on top of a building, as Kamala is testing out a new ability, which involves using her light powers to create stepping stones in the air for her to walk on.
However, things go wrong as she steps off the roof and onto a stepping stone.
The stepping stone shifts away, leading to Kamala suddenly falling. Bruno manages to grab her hand, and she dangles off the ledge, seemingly hanging on for her life.
If this scene feels familiar, the show runners may have been intending it to be. Because in this moment, the imagery is incredibly similar to a moment in Avengers: Endgame, when Hawkeye is holding Black Widow’s arm at Vormir, before she forces him to let go, sacrificing herself so that they can gain another Infinity Stone.
Marvel/Disney+Kamala even acts like Black Widow does in her respective scene, saying to Bruno, “You have to let me go,” similar to how Natasha comforted Clint before she fell to her death.
However, Ms. Marvel is not as dramatic a project as Avengers: Endgame, so naturally this scene does not actually end with Kamala falling to her death.
Instead, when Bruno lets go, she simply falls a foot onto another roof, landing easily on her feet. It’s a hilariously anticlimactic moment, and it feels like the show is poking fun at just how dramatic Black Widow’s death was.
How have fans reacted to Ms. Marvel’s Black Widow death joke?
This joke has the potential to be quite polarising, as it is somewhat mocks a beloved Avenger’s death.
There has been no major excitement or outrange about this moment from Marvel fans as of yet, but it is certainly a surprising moment.
Ultimately, it may make fans curious about the ways in which Ms. Marvel will reference the Avengers in future episodes.
The third episode of Ms. Marvel hits Disney+ next Wednesday, June 22. Read our review of episode 2 HERE.