The late Natasha Romanoff led quite a full life -- and that's just in the MCU. The Avengers member is still having adventures and going on missions in the pages of Marvel comics and has a solo prequel movie on the way. Which is why one thing about her needs to change.
Unbeknownst to many casual MCU fans, Ms. Romanoff began her career as a Russian assassin. Similarly to Bucky during his years in the Winter Soldier program, Natasha used to murder people on command. Unlike Bucky, Natasha wasn't brainwashed; instead, she executed people of her own free will.
Black Widow spiders get their name from the females' practice of sexual cannibalism -- killing and eating their male partners after mating. Natasha Romanoff's codename is clearly a reference to her penchant for killing men. It's not like she has any arachnid-like superpowers (like, say, Spider-Man); and she may even be a widow -- but she's not Black. The truth is, women who've murdered their husbands have long been labeled black widows; but they've never been considered heroic -- at least not by anyone with any sense of morality.
While Black Widow is a great nickname for a misandrist villainess, it's completely inappropriate for a heroine. It's sort of like having a male hero named Wife Beater. Imagine that on an MCU poster. Or a movie marquee.
If Marvel really wants to clean Natasha's ledger, the least that they could do is to give her a less offensive name.
Originally Posted 9/21/19
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