motivations for this choice. It spends time giving Black Widow perhaps the most well-written dialogue she’s ever had in this franchise – allowing her to reflect upon the impact the Avengers have had on her as a person. It becomes evident that her position as the only woman in the original Avengers team, coupled with her position in Endgame as the only one to remain at post in HQ – her role as facilitator-in-chief throughout this series, if you will – has given her the defacto, stereotypical ‘maternal role’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This film, therefore, has her reasoning that she has to die both because Barton has children while she hasn’t, and because she is a maternal figure sacrificing herself for her found-family. Thanks to the way this franchise has gradually...

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