When Does Black Widow Take Place in the MCU Timeline?
Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Black Widow. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever-expanding beast that shows no signs of slowing down, with new movies and series taking place all over its convoluted timeline. Weve known for a while that Black Widow is a prequel movie, taking place before Natasha Romanoff's demise in Avengers: Endgame. Now that the movie is finally available in theaters and through Disney+ Premier Acess, lets discuss when Black Widow takes place in the MCU timeline. A word of warning, this discussion involves a lot of spoilers for the entire MCU. Image via Marvel Studios  Even if its no surprise that Black Widow is a prequel, the movies opening scene takes us all the way back to 1995, when 11-year-old Natasha Romanoff (Ever Anderson) lives in Ohio with her family. Natasha seems to have a regular life in the suburbs, together with her father, Alexei (David Harbour), her mother, Melina (Rachel Weisz), and her younger sister, Yelena (Violet McGraw). However, it doesnt take long for us to learn that the happy family is just a cover for a three-year mission in which Alexei and Melina get to steal some mind-controlling technology from S.H.I.E.L.D. (actually Hydra at the time). Once their cover is blown, the soviet spy family escapes S.H.I.E.L.D. and meets a Russian general in Cuba. Melina goes back to Russia to develop mind-controlling chemics; Alexie is locked in a Siberian prison; and both Natasha and Yelena are enrolled in the Red Room to become forcably trained as dangerous Widow assassins. Yelena is the only family member that didnt know about their mission, making this her first visit to the Red Room. As for Natasha, its clear from this first scene that she doesnt want to go back to the training center, which means she spent some time in the Red Room before 1992. Its worth noting that this is a big year for the MCU, as the main events of Captain Marvel also happen in 1995. But lets not get hung in the far past. Instead, its time to jump forward to 2016. Back to Civil War  Image via Marvel Studios  After an introduction that makes the viewer aware of the brutal training the Widows endure in the Red Room, we are taken straight to 2016, after the Leipzig-Halle Airport battle that takes place during Captain America: Civil War. During the airport battle, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) escape in a jet while their allies stay behind to distract Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and the other superheroes who signed the Sokovia Accords. At this point, Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) betrays Team Iron Man by holding off King T'challa (Chadwick Boseman) so Steve can escape. The last we see Natasha in Civil War, shes on the run, as Tony warns her Secretary Ross (William Hurt) will hunt her after the betrayal. The main events of Black Widow start at this point, as Ross and his army surround a building where Natasha is supposedly hiding. Natasha calls Ross and tells him to back off and just leave her be. Ross, in turn, reveals theyve already captured Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), and the other guy, an obvious reference to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). Natasha is on the run simultaneously as the three heroes are taken to the super-prison known as The Raft, which means one of the first scenes in Black Widow happens at the same time as the ending of Civil War. While Natasha is on the run, Tony finds the truth about Zemo (Daniel Brhl) and goes to meet Steve and Bucky in Siberia. Natasha decides to hide in Europe, but her past soon catches her as she receives news from her adoptive sister Yelena (Florence Pugh). Yelena is also a fugitive after breaking free from the mind control of the Red Room. Natasha, who once thought she had put an end to the cruel training center, joins forces with her surrogate family to bring the Red Room down. These are the major events of Black Widow, but the movie is not done referencing Civil War. Image via Marvel Studios  Before the credits roll, Natasha dyes her hair blonde, just as we see it in Avengers: Infinity War. Blonde Natasha then meets her contrabandist friend, Mason (O-T Fagbenle), who got her a jet. And not any jet, but the same jet Steve, Natasha, and Sam use during Infinity War. Its a clever way to bridge the events of Civil War and the resurgence of Team Cap when Thanos attacks Earth, but it looks like Natasha had an even more critical job between the two movies. When Manson asks her what shell do with the jet, Natasha replies by telling him shell break some friends out of prison. At the end of Civil War, we learn that Steve had broken into The Raft to release his super friends. However, it seems Steve was not alone, and Natasha might have played a part in the prison break, offering her jet for all of them to escape. The attention to detail in the MCU is worthy of praise, and prequels such as Black Widow can help fill the gaps left behind by previous movies. But we're not done yet, as the Black Widow credits scene takes us to the future. RELATED: Black Widow Review: The MCU Never Did Right by Natasha Romanoff  After Avengers: Endgame  We dont get an exact date to Black Widow post-credits scene, but we know for sure that it happens after Natasha dies in Endgame. In the scene, Yelena is cleaning Natashas grave when shes intercepted by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the same woman who hired John Walker (Wyatt Russell) at the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We learn in this scene that Yelena has been working for the Contessa for a while, and her next target is a surprise of its own, but something that the Contessa says helps us place the post-credit scene at late 2023/early 2024. The Contessa tries to justify her presence by saying shes there just to pay her respects, which means the two women havent interacted since before Natasha died. Tony Stark's funeral took place in the Fall of 2023, so its easy to assume Natasha got a similar treatment around the same time. As new MCU movies hit theaters and the Marvel Studios shows hit Disney+, well get more puzzle pieces to fill in the gaps in Marvels cinematic timeline. Nevertheless, Black Widow already does one hell of a job in linking past and future events. KEEP READING: MCU Timeline Explained: From Infinity Stones to Infinity War to Endgame and Beyond  Share Share Tweet Email  'Fear Street': 5 Directions Netflix Should Take R.L. Stine's Horror Franchise Next The author's evil 'Cheerleaders' franchise is just sitting there, screaming for an adaptation. Read Next  Marco Vito Oddo (423 Articles Published) Marco Vito Oddo is a writer, journalist, and game designer. Passionate by superhero comic books, horror films, and indie games, he writes for Collider and develop games for Mother's Touch Games. More From Marco Vito Oddo