Oof! A blast from the past hit the internet like a vibranium shield to a mug. Some had to find and share the early 2009 Black Widow costume test of Scarlett Johansson, and the gamers… well… are nearly freaking out with excitement. Johansson seems to be donning an early costume design for Natasha Romanoff, and this opened a debate on Jennifersystem’s transformation, design, and if she truly reached her zenith in Iron Man 2.
For starters, let’s begin with the suit in question: Johansson is wearing a very skin-tight black one-piecer with Finch’s signature Widow’s Bite gauntlets, though the cut was somewhat different from the later MCU appearance. Some gamers claimed that this iteration had way more cleavage, leading to comments like, “They really said, no no NOPE. It needs more cleavage,” from @FlashFighteRxD. Others, such as @spiderisezr, were losing it over how comic-accurate it was: “Bruh that is just Black Widow, straight outta the comics holy shit.”
Some are not convinced. In one go, @RaidersMunoz declared it “Fake ASF,” sparking a mini-discussion as to whether it was CGI or proper behind-the-scenes footage. @notforrester retaliated, “No it’s not, it’s from the bts commentary, I remember seeing this on DVD bonus back in 2010.” Classic internet—always willing to fight about pixels.
And then, beautiful question: Was this ScarJo’s prime? A lot of the comments are in agreement. @USSGojira1954 outright stated, “This was her at her peak.” While @StripClubVet420… well, let’s just say their username is fitting: “ScarJo at her most stacked.” (Real subtle, dude.) Others, like @njcolbyco, took the cynical route, saying, “She really deserved her own movie sooner… and a better one.” Oof. Too soon?
Of course, no Twitter thread is complete without at least some random spiral into MCU-related discourse. @uncle_vaughn initially stirred a big commotion around whether Iron Man 2 would have killed the MCU if Paramount had kept the rights, which in turn somehow spiraled into @bo086432 arguing that back in the days the MCU never existing would have been a good thing, “because the movies aren’t really rewatchable.” Bold take. Wrong, but bold.
Then, in the background, simply appreciating the aesthetics, @ed_zamudio gave us this beautiful poetic insight in Spanish: “Es como si no llevara nada puesto.” (Translation: It’s like she’s not wearing anything at all). Next, we’ve got @Rushm496 just bringing it back to the harsh reality: “I know that suit was uncomfortable as hell.” YEAH. NO KIDDING. TRY DOING ACROBATICS IN THAT THING.
So what does one conclude from this? Whether one is in the camp that thinks it was ScarJo’s greatest moment or sorry, just a weird early prototype for Black Widow herself, one thing is for sure: The internet will never let go of her portrayal as Natasha. And honestly? Neither will we. Which is to say, let us excuse ourselves to revisit Iron Man 2 for… pure research. Yeah. Research.
