Welcome to Flashback Friday where I discuss pops from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anything pop related to the MCU is up for discussion including films and television series. Let’s jump right in with this week’s discussion which was chosen by Uriel. Black Widow from the Avengers: Age of Ultron set is this week’s featured MCU Pop.
Discussion: Avengers: Age of Ultron brought us a ton of awesome Marvel Pops. I think the set had somewhere between 20 and 30 figures total including multiple variations of Iron Man, Hulk, Vision, Ultron, and Captain America. There were also a couple of Black Widow. One Black Widow in particular was holding Captain America’s shield. This is a nice throwback to the movie because as Cap is battling Ultron he ends up losing his shield. Black Widow drives by on a motorcycle and picks it up to make sure he gets it back. Although she never really poses with it I think it’s a pretty cool variation for Natasha. Of course me being a huge Captain America fan I enjoyed it even more. It’s very similar to what Spider-Man is doing on one of the Civil War Pops but his is definitely a pose.
Black Widow and Captain America have a really interesting relationship going back to the first Avengers film. He doesn’t necessarily trust her 100% because he knows she lies for a living. She’s a deceptive person by trade and that comes to light during the opening sequence of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It isn’t until S.H.I.E.L.D. becomes compromised that they have to rely on each other to survive. This definitely allows their relationship to grow and I think by the end of the film they know they can trust each other. In Civil War, Natasha’s heart breaks for Cap when he loses Peggy and she goes to check on him to make sure he’s okay. At the end of the film she actually ends up helping Cap even though she started off on Iron man’s team. We’ll definitely see their relationship grow even more in Infinity War in six weeks.
If you’re a fan of Black Widow and Captain America I feel like you should own or strive to own this Pop. The good news is that you can add it to your collection for retail value. If you can find it for $10.00 – $12.00 you’re doing well. I remember picking it up during the first week of release in 2015. I have it sitting in my Captain America collection on my desk. You’ll want to check Amazon, eBay, and our Facebook group. Our group allows you to buy, sell, and trade all anything and everything Funko so definitely check it out.
Fun Facts: In this section I’ll post an interesting fact or two from the chosen film or television series.
Scarlett Johansson was pregnant during filming, so many of her scenes were scheduled early in filming, before she began to show. To help hide her pregnancy later in filming, three stunt doubles were hired. This caused a lot of confusion amongst the other actors since, according to them, all of the stunt women looked very similar to Johansson. Chris Evans stated that it got to the point where he would say hello, and start a conversation with one of them, only to realize midway, that the person he was talking to wasn’t Johansson. Ultimately, some scenes used CGI to hide Johansson’s belly.
Trivia: Welcome to our weekly trivia where you have a chance of choosing the pop for the next column. Be the first to comment with the correct answers to both questions and win. If you become the weekly champion you must choose a Pop within the MCU that has not been featured in the Flashback Friday series. This week’s questions will come from Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Q1: Which character was in a romance with Black Widow in Avengers: Age of Ultron?
Q2: Who has the most history with Black Widow?
I hope you enjoyed this week’s column. Please check back next week for a brand new Flashback Friday. Excelsior!!
Matt Norris