Black Widow: 10 Huge Questions We Still Have
5. Will Red Guardian Be Killed Off?
Black Widow looks set to be all about the titular character's past. Based in 2016, she is returning to Russia to the family she had before she joined the Avengers, to take down the Red Room that trained her as a child. However, this doesn't mean that the MCU present and future won't be affected by these events.
One of the biggest question marks is the ultimate fate of David Harbour's character, Alexei Shostakov. The Red Guardian, essentially described as Russia's answer to Captain America, is a super hero fighting alongside Natasha to bring down Taskmaster, but what happens to him post 2016?
Fast forward seven years to 2023, for the final battle between Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Thanos. Doctor Strange pulls help from all corners of the universe, including the Wakandan tribes, the Ravagers, and even Howard the Duck. Though Nat was gone by this point, if there was a super hero who could be found to help, Strange would surely have sought them out, even double checking with Wong that he got everyone.
Where then was the Red Guardian? Why wasn't he brought into this fight with everyone else? If Alexei was alive and able to help, there is no way he'd have been ignored by the Sorcerer Supreme, right? This could potentially mean that Alexei dies in Black Widow, possibly sacrificing himself for the greater good as he did in the comics. Plus the fact that Marvel loves killing off their heroes' father figures, this seems a likely outcome.