Black Widow
Release date: July 9, 2021
What it’s about: Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, but before the Avengers movie where Black Widow dies, it follows Widow and her family on a mission to get to the bottom of a plot where other assassins like her are being mind controlled.
Major new characters introduced (but not killed): Yelena, Red Guardian, Taskmaster.
Major new concepts introduced: Because this story is sandwiched between other MCU movies, some of its larger concepts—like an army of Black Widows being mind-controlled—have been taken care of by the end. But, they happened.
Analysis: Yelena returned almost instantly in Hawkeye and several of the other characters, like Red Guardian and Taskmaster, will come back in Thunderbolts. So we’re seeing these seeds bearing fruit as well, especially in how some of the choices here reshaped Widow’s role and mindset in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
Running Total: Three new characters here makes 19 total.
