Marvel Cinematic Universe Theory: Black Widow Is A Skrull

The MCU has been known to contain an easter egg or two, and can often get really, really clever with its foreshadowing and references. On that subject, there are a number of small hints and nods that, depending on your angle, could be viewed as references to Natasha's Skrull secret, and these are worth mentioning.

This isn't really specific to one film, but just generally, Black Widow's loyalty and allegiance shifts constantly.

In Captain America: Civil War, it initially seems like she's on Iron Man's side (she attends the Vienna conference where the Sokovia Accords - which Tony signed - are to be ratified), but she later lets Cap escape at the airport, after she has him cornered with her wrist-taser (yes, she has other reasons for doing this, like her owing Steve a favour after he saved her life in Winter Soldier, but it's still an example of her erratic behaviour).

In Iron Man 2, she pretends to be Tony's trustworthy assistant, but she's really there on Nick Fury's orders, as he wants eyes on Tony at all times. And in The Winter Soldier, she didn't tell Steve what she was actually doing onboard the boat during the opening mission, when she was, again, secretly working under Fury's command.

These are all minor instances to note, but they could all be examples of foreshadowing; after all, the Skrulls are equally sneaky, deceitful and unpredictable.

Also, if it is easier and quicker for a Skrull to mimic a less-powerful individual (like we mentioned earlier), then Black Widow - out of the entire Avengers roster - is one of the easiest picks, since she lacks the genius of Stark or the sheer power of Thor, Cap, Hulk, Wanda, Vision, and others.

And lastly, Black Widow's exchange with Loki in The Avengers may have been hiding a clue all along. After Loki puts this to her: "your world in the balance and you bargain for one man?" She replies:

"Regimes fall every day... I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian. Or I was."

The human Black Widow doesn't care if the entire Earth falls victim to Loki? Or is it actually Skrull Black Widow who's not overly concerned with the fate of the planet?

That seems like a very weird thing to say.