Especially because of their mediocre box office numbers, it’s a shame that two originalAvengershad one of their biggestMCUstorylines cut short. Theoriginal core Avengersare all iconic in their own right, each leaving a lasting legacy on the franchise. However, some tended to shine more than others.
TheAvengersfilms are about the heroes working together, but each character still has their own individual arc. For Hulk and Black Widow inAvengers: Age of Ultron,their storyline centered on a shared romance. It was already a questionable storyline to begin with, but it was eventually cut short, further proving how little significance it had in the franchise.
The MCU’s Original Avengers Have A Wide Range Of Box Office Results
Several Solo Films Crossed $1 Billion
Amongthe original Avengers who have had solo movies, they’ve had varying levels of box office success.Iron Man,being the first ever MCU film, makes its eventual $585 million global box office all the more impressive, alreadyputting it in the top 10 highest-grossing films of 2008.Iron Man 3even managed to cross the $1 billion mark.
The first twoCaptain Americafilms also did well considering how early on they were in the MCU, andCaptain America: Civil Waralso hit $1 billion at the worldwide box office. TheThormovies have always had consistently good numbers across four films, with even the lowest-ratedThor: The Dark Worldraking in $644 million.
The Hulk & Black Widow’s Box Office Results Make It Even Sadder The MCU Cut Their Joint Story Short
Their Romance Was A Rough Plot From The Start
On the other hand, both the Hulk and Black Widow’s box office results are on the lower side, not just for the studio but in general. Although it’s easy to forget aboutThe Incredible Hulk, it is still MCU canon.The 2008 film only made $265 million worldwide, which came nowhere close toIron Man’s numbers.
Black Widowonly made $379 million worldwide, thoughits box office numbers were largely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since it was the first MCU film after lockdown, the film had a rocky release due to itsimultaneously streaming directly on Disney+. Even beforeBlack Widow’s box office results, though, she already had a storyline cut short.
Avengers: Age of Ultronintroduced a romance storyline between Bruce and Natasha. It was generally poorly received, and rightfully so, considering how rushed and forced it felt. It’s a shame that their time to shine in the film was reduced to that, but even if Marvel didn’t want to continue their romance, they should’ve leaned more into their friendship.
The MCU Can Still Redeem Black Widow & The Hulk’s Stories
Natasha’s Legacy Lives On In Yelena
The MCU wasted so much potential with Black Widow and the Hulk. They set up a connection that could’ve been capitalized on from a purely platonic standpoint, asNatasha was shown to be one of the few people who could get through to Bannerin his Hulk form. Doing so would’ve at least paid off theirAge of Ultronstories.
However, there is still a way for the MCU to redeem this wasted potential with legacy characters. Yelena will be Natasha’s successor, and the Hulk is still active somewhere. Having Yelena and Bruce address the connection he had with Natasha would give closure to theAvengersstoryline, and it wouldn’t be hard to make happen either.
