Like many Marvel Report members, I have a hard time ranking MCU films and TV shows. I feel like each new movie or new season of television is just another chapter in the same MCU novel — what sense would it make to rank chapters of the same book? Sure, there are definitely moments that stick out to me, like Vision lifting Mjolnir, or the team-up sequences in The Avengers, or the hallway scene in the first season of Daredevil, or when Daisy goes through Terrigenesis in Agents of SHIELD. Those moments immediately stick out to me, as do many others, but, to me it’s all in the details. That’s why this new series is titled MCU Details.
When you’re someone like me who has lost track of how many times I’ve watched each of the feature films, the moments I enjoy so much turn into the details. I’ve seen the films and I know the stories, and now I can focus my attention on the details of the films that went unnoticed before. One of my favorite details is in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Who’s the Girl?
The detail happens when Captain America and Black Widow go to the source of the signal that they’re tracking in New Jersey. The signal leads them to an old military compound which just happens to be the same facility where Cap trained before he received the super solider serum. After they arrive at the base, the two Avengers enter one of the buildings where there are photos of SHIELD founders hanging on the walls. Among those photos are Agent Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, and Colonel Chester Phillips. Cap stops to look at the pictures – particularly Agent Carter’s. Widow then asks him a surprising question: “Who’s the girl?”
Think about it. You’re telling me that one of the highest ranking SHIELD agents in MCU history has no idea who one of the founders of SHIELD even is? You’re telling me that the same Black Widow that tricked the God of Mischief into revealing his plan is unaware of the significance of Peggy Carter to the very organization that she works for? Highly unlikely. Given Widow’s background in espionage, I don’t think it’s a far stretch to assume that Widow has done her homework on Cap and his history, which means it’s incredibly likely she’s very aware of his relationship with Agent Carter. This changes her question from “who is she,” to “who is she to you?”
I really enjoy this detail because it reminds the viewer not only about Widow’s espionage background but about her’s and Cap’s relationship as friends in that it shows Widow’s comfort level when asking Cap such a revealing question. I think this is even more solidified when Widow attends Agent Carter’s funeral because she didn’t want Cap to be alone.