We went back to every film that Black Widow starred or co-starred in, and counted every time that she did "The Pose."
The funniest part of Black Widow, the latest MCU movie now in theaters and on Disney Plus, is when Yelena (Florence Pugh), emulates Black Widow's iconic pose. She doesn't go into it smoothly, however, the way Natasha does. Instead, she drops into it awkwardly and clumsily, calling attention to how impractical it is.
"You're a total poser."
"I'm not a poser!"
Black Widow is one of the most cool-headed characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even when she appears rattled, she might be doing it to get a psychological edge over the person she's targeting. But this irritated her a bit.
However, is Yelena's barb founded in truth? We went back to every film that Black Widow starred or co-starred in, and counted every time that she did "The Pose," a three point stance whilst looking upward (hair flip optional). Let us know if we missed any.
1. First Pose
Movie: Iron Man 2 (2010)
Here's the original classic shot, which has probably done more to popularize The Pose via posters, photos, coloring books, and stickers than its actual appearances in the movies.
2. Takedown #10
Movie: Iron Man 2 (2010)
This is from the same fight scene, right near the end. Happy is nearly done knocking out his one bad guy.
3. Chitauri Roll
Movie: The Avengers (2012)
This is from the climactic New York battle. Natasha rolls off the Chitauri cruiser and onto a rooftop. The editing hides The Pose a bit, but the hair flip makes it unmistakeable. It's the only Pose in the entire movie.
4. Sokovia Siege
Movie: The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
This is the first of two poses in Age of Ultron.They're both during the opening battle, when The Avengers attack the Hydra compound in Sokovia.
5. Pose-Into-First-Aid
Movie: The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Perhaps the most ridiculous example of The Pose on this list, Black Widow sees that Hawkeye is injured, and she slides towards him in a three-point stance. Impractical, but aesthetically pleasing.
6. Infiltrating Johannesburg
Movie: The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Oddly, this is the only time Natasha goes into the pose after dropping from the ceiling. Yelena emulates this moment late into Black Widow, when she infiltrates the Red Room. "Ugh. That was disgusting," she mutters under her breath.
7. Covert Pose
Movie: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
There's only one pose in Winter Soldier. Natasha does while disguised as Hawley. She infiltrates the World Security Council, takes down a security guard, and goes right into her three-point stance.
8. Disaster in Lagos
Movie: Captain America: Civil War (2016)
This one is from the opening scene, during the botched mission in Lagos. After this movie, Black Widow appears in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but doesn't do The Pose once.
9. Meeting Taskmaster
Movie: Black Widow (2021)
Natasha does The Pose four times in her self-titled film. The first time is early in the movie, when Taskmaster attacks her to steal the mind control antidote. Taskmaster also mimics the pose back at Natasha in the same scene.
10. Escape from Budapest
Movie: Black Widow (2021)
The second Pose is when she's escaping with Yelena from Budapest and running through the streets.
11. Descent from the Red Room
Movie: Black Widow (2021)
The third Pose is when The Red Room is falling out of the sky, and she hitches a ride on a piece of debris.
12. Redemption of Romanoff
Movie: Black Widow (2021)
The fourth and final Pose occurs right after the third one, when Natasha lands on the ground and releases Taskmaster from mind control with the antidote. So that's 11 Poses in nine movie appearances. We're surprised too. We thought there would be more.
How to explain its ubiquity? It really comes down to that very first, iconic Pose, during her hallway fight scene in Iron Man 2, which was the go-to Black Widow image for every media outlet for years. Maybe Yelena got caught up in the marketing blitz like the rest of us.
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