WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Black Widow, now in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.
Marvel Studios' Black Widow chronicles the previously unknown origins of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) in great detail. The film focuses on Natasha reconnecting with her previously unmentioned family and how they have changed, for better or worse. Of the family, her surrogate mother, Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), is introduced as the only one still willingly working for the enemy. But by the end of the movie, her story takes a heroic turn that is visually represented by her costume.
Midway through Black Widow, Natasha and her sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) venture to a prison nestled in a snowy tundra to break out their "father," Alexei Shostakov, aka the Red Guardian (David Harbour). The widows put on white versions of the black outfit Natasha is often seen wearing to blend with their environment. This ends up being her default suit until she reunites with Melina.
While Natasha was spending her time as an Avenger, Melina was hard at work developing a way to take free will away from the other widows and turn them into mindless killers. As she explains this by commanding a pig to stop breathing, her cold and calculated mentality is on full display. However, after speaking with Natasha and realizing that she is still the good person she knew as a child, Melina decides to help her surrogate family topple the Red Room. But to do this, she has to utilize deception to gain the upper hand.
As her boss, General Dreykov (Ray Winstone), sends his men to capture Natasha and Yelena, it seems as if Melina has betrayed them. She appears to Yelena wearing the classic Black Widow outfit and tranquilizes her. The ruse works because appearing in black often represents a character's turn to the dark side. However, once they infiltrate the Red Room, it turns out that she and Natasha used Nano Masks, like the one seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, to get Natasha closer to Dreykov. From this point forward, Melina is seen in Nat's white outfit, showing how she is now on the side of good rather than evil.
In cinema, the color white is representative of rebirth or rechristening of a character. This is best exemplified by Gandalf the Grey returning as Gandalf the White in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The purity associated with the color shows how Melina has absolved herself of her past sins and is ready to create a new future as a better person. This is later proven in the final act because Melina's craftiness, as well as her knowledge of the Red Room and Dreykov, play an integral role in bringing down the facility.
Black Widow ends with Melina leaving with Yelena, Alexei, Antonia Dreykov, aka Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and the widows she helped free. But her story doesn't end there, as the newly formed family agrees to work together to help free the other widows that are still under chemical subjugation. In the past, Melina used her skills to enslave and torture innocents. But now, she is reborn. Clad in all white, Melina has a second chance to make things right, the same way Natasha did when she joined the Avengers and eventually destroyed the place she once called home.
Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow is currently playing in theaters and streaming on Disney+ with Premier Access.
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