Where Black Widow’s Flashbacks Fit Into The MCU Timeline

Black Widow explores different points in Natasha Romanoff’s story through flashbacks, and here’s where each event fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. Scarlett Johansson’s long-awaited solo movie arrived after her super spy died in Avengers: Endgame. Her death on Vormir meant Black Widow had to take place in the MCU’s past, with the movie’s events unfolding during Captain America: Civil War.

Set during 2016, Black Widow picks up with Natasha Romanoff shortly after she became a fugitive for breaking the Sokovia Accords. Her time on the run leads her back to her Russian family as they team up to take down General Dreykov (Ray Winstone) and the Red Room, something Natasha thought she accomplished years before. Black Widow, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) were ultimately successful in defeating the person and organization responsible for their own pain and trauma. But they also rekindled their familial bond as they saved the world from what Dreykov had planned.

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Although the majority of Black Widow‘s runtime is dedicated to telling the story at hand, the movie does effectively use flashbacks to visit other parts of Natasha’s past. Since the movie takes place in the MCU, that means the flashbacks have to fit into the wider MCU timeline and canon. Here’s what we know about when Black Widow‘s flashbacks take place and what else was happening in the MCU during this time.

Black Widow’s Ohio Origin

Black Widow‘s first flashback happens right as the movie opens. The prologue features a young Natasha, played by Ever Anderson, as she is undercover in Ohio with Melina, Alexei, and Yelena. This flashback takes place in 1995, twenty-one years before the main events of Black Widow. Natasha has already been recruited by the Red Room at this point and understands that they are on a mission to help Russia. This fake, happy, domestic life crumbles when Alexei steals information from S.H.I.E.L.D., forcing them to flee the country and meet up with Dreykov. The most notable event happening around this time is Carol Danvers returning to Earth and saving the planet from the Kree in Captain Marvel‘s ending.

Red Room Flashbacks

The next set of flashbacks in Black Widow happen throughout the opening credits. It shows various footage of the Red Room’s training, as well as Natasha, Yelena, and many other young girls being transported to the operation. There are no official details on when these scenes take place, but the flashbacks presumably unfold throughout the late 1990s, with some possibly even extending into the early 2000s.

Budapest

The most anticipated of Black Widow‘s flashbacks was Natasha and Hawkeye’s Budapest mission. The flashback is brief and only shows Natasha watching Antonia Dreykov enter a building to meet her father before Hawkeye blew it up. It has not been confirmed exactly when the Budapest mission happened. It is clearly before Iron Man 2 since this is the mission that brought her to S.H.I.E.L.D. But, the flashback could take place around 2008 and before Iron Man.

Key Release Dates
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: Sep 03, 2021
  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
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