One of Black Widow’s coolest battles in the MCU was never shown in the movies or shows. Set between the events of Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff was tasked by SHIELD to dismantle a major criminal operation. As such, it’s been confirmed that one of Black Widow’s most important missions in the canonical MCU took place before she became one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and yet it was never shown on-screen.

Originally part of the KGB’s Red Room under the direction of General Dreykov, Natasha Romanoff was a lethally efficient and conditioned Rusian assassin. However, she was eventually saved and recruited by Clint Barton’s Hawkeye, joining SHIELD as an undercover agent. Having first appeared in 2010’s Iron Man 2, it was later revealed that SHIELD tasked Black Widow with dismantling a key operation belonging to the Ten Rings, the criminal organization run by the Mandarin, Shang-Chi’s father.

Black Widow Fought The Ten Rings Between Iron Man 2 & The Avengers

Preventing The Use Of The Jericho Missile

Despite kidnapping Tony Stark in the first Iron Man, the Ten Rings failed to obtain their Jericho Missile after Stark built his first suit of armor and escaped before they could force him to build one for them. However, the canonical comic miniseries The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes reveals The Ten Rings still wanted their Jericho missile even in the wake of Iron Man 2. Intending to launch the devastating weapon on the border between Russia and North Korea in a bid to destabilize the entire geopolitical landscape.

Seeing as how Stark gave up weapons manufacturing after his kidnapping, the parts for the missile stolen and obtained by the Ten Rings were in truth rip-offs made by Justin Hammer, but the crucial software remained the same. Once realizing that all the components were headed to the Ten Rings with the goal of global destabilization, Black Widow became a one-woman army in a high-pressure race to prevent WWIII. Succeeding in her mission, it’s rather notable that Natasha Romanoff dismantled such a large-scale offensive orchestrated by the Ten Rings, even if she didn’t face the Mandarin directly.

Why Black Widow Didn’t Fight The Ten Rings On-Screen

A Prelude To 2012’s Avengers

Seeing as how this story was published as a prelude to the very first Avengers movie in 2012, the MCU was still quite new. At the time, only Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Hulk had had solo ventures, and only within a four-year window since the first Iron Man in 2008. As such, ambitions were likely not as high to give Black Widow her own solo movie at the time, as Marvel Studios was more interested in getting their first true crossover off the ground.

That said, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige did say that conversations about a Black Widow movie began as early as 2010 following Johansson’s debut as Natasha in Iron Man 2. However, Black Widow wouldn’t end up getting her own movie until 2020 with the film primarily being set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Regardless, while this prelude comic is still part of the official MCU canon, it would have been very exciting to have seen it if realized in live-action and on the big screen as a much earlier Black Widow feature.

Why Black Widow’s Unseen MCU Story Is One Of Its Biggest Missed Opportunities

A Dynamic Foundation For A Great Espionage Movie

Having been told in the comics medium, Black Widow’s MCU battle with the Ten Rings has gone largely unseen and unknown by the greater fanbase, certainly making it one of the biggest missed opportunities for her character. In a perfect alternate reality, this prelude comic would have been the script for a Black Widow solo movie, one set before the release of The Avengers. Not only would it have had exciting ties to the preexisting Iron Man movies, but it also would have served as some key set-up and greater introduction for Natasha’s character ahead of the 2012 crossover as well.