Thoughts on relationships, female agency, and Ultron

[igrockspock]

Here is my non-spoilery preface: the only reason we have to debate Natasha's representation in Ultron so much is that she's the only female character in a lead role. This film gives us some awesome ladies around the periphery, like Laura, Maria Hill, and Dr. Cho. Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff is more fully developed, but Natasha is the only female

Comments

[sugar_fey]

Thank you so much for this meta! I thought a lot of the Bruce/Nat stuff was clumsily handled, but the people declaring that Natasha is reduced to a love interest (or, as one person put it, a 'sexual chewtoy'- GROSS) can take a hike. Bruce/Nat didn't work for me as a romance, but as an arc for Natasha I liked it. She wants something new, she tries it, it doesn't work out for her, she moves on. I don't think she ever thought Bruce was the love of her life, she just wanted to try having a relationship on her terms. Her agency hasn't been compromised, nor her sense of self. I don't think her portrayal was perfect (I don't think that of any of her appearances so far, including Cap 2), but it worked. I could've done without the occasional cheesy dialogue, but Natasha certainly wasn't the only character to have that problem.

I've seen many posts now claiming that Natasha was ready to run off with Bruce in the middle of battle, and that she was pining for Bruce at the end. Uh, did people miss her pushing Bruce off a cliff??? Or CO-LEADING THE FUCKING AVENGERS at the end? I'm also frustrated with other people saying that Natasha was left 'forever alone' at the end, and 'was the only one not to take an independent path.' For fuck's sake, she can't win.

Edit: I also think Natasha knew perfectly well that by pushing Bruce off the cliff, she was sacrificing the potential relationship and probably the friendship as well. She pushed him because she's a pragmatist to the end, and doing the morally questionable thing for the greater good is what she does- she makes the calls that someone like Steve won't. She puts her own feelings and desires aside without a second thought because she's a fucking hero, and I hate the way fandom has been diminishing that. When Bruce runs away in the Quinjet of Manpain, she's sad, but respects that he's made his choice, and she's made hers.