Black Widow was originally set to be released in theaters back in May, but thanks to COVID-19, it was pushed back to last week. You obviously don't need us to tell you that none of us got to see it as planned, and that's because Disney recently made the decision to shift the movie to May of next year.
That's understandable considering we're in the midst of a pandemic, but it dashed any hopes that we might get to see Black Widow on Disney+ this side of Christmas.
Despite that delay, Titan Books' Marvel's Black Widow: The Official Movie Special Book is now available, and it features plenty of new details about what fans can expect from the Marvel Studios release. We should have more content from that for you soon, but in the meantime, two new images of the villainous Taskmaster have been revealed.
The first (via MyComicShop.com) is a live-action shot of the mysterious bad guy leaping into action with his bow and arrow. We also have a hi-res piece of concept art depicting Taskmaster ready for a fight. There are plenty of theories about what the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have in store for this character, but the hope is that he'll have a future beyond Black Widow.
Check out this new look at Taskmaster below:
Find more secrets from the MCU with our breakdown
of The Wakanda Files by hitting the "Next" button below!
10. Bruce Banner's Attempts To Rid Himself Of The Hulk
In Avengers: Endgame, Bruce Banner had finally managed to come to terms with the Hulk, becoming a hybrid fans have referred to either as "Smart Hulk" or "Professor Hulk."
However, long before he managed to retain The Hulk's brawn and his own intelligence, Bruce seemingly made a number of attempts to get rid of the Jade Giant. "My recent work has yielded the creation of an anti-arrhythmic that slows my pulse to about a beat per minute. It struck me that with the right configuration, the cardiological potential of the drug might help soothe the stresses that incite Hulk incidents," his notes read, revealing it was "unsuccessful."
This lines up with the comic books, and it's no great surprise that Banner tried to destroy The Hulk, only for that not to work (he even attempted suicide, as revealed in Avengers: Age of Ultron).
9. Why War Machine Was Rebranded
War Machine has always had an active role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he became a full-fledged member of the Avengers during the events of Captain America: Civil War.
Before donning his War Machine armour again, Rhodey went by Iron Patriot in Iron Man 3, but what led to the name change? In a letter from the desk of the United States President, "optics issues" are mentioned when it comes to the "War Machine" mantle, and the decision to give him a new name was made shortly after the Battle of New York in The Avengers.
It seems the U.S government realised that it didn't make sense to have the "vanguard on the frontlines protecting" the American people being named a literal machine which brings war!
8. Tony Stark's Initial Thoughts On Spider-Man
Spider-Man's introduction in Captain America: Civil War felt a little rushed, and it was briefly explained that Tony Stark had been keeping tabs on the wall-crawler after seeing him on YouTube (presumably using his many resources to figure out that Peter Parker and Spider-Man were one and the same).
In this book, there's an entry from Iron Man that reads, "This kid in Queens that's blowing up on YouTube is a bit more interesting than a cat playing a harmonica. Get this. Some teenager gets bit by a spider and suddenly shows up some of the beset in the Avengers squad? And I don't think these are special effects: this kid is catching an in-motion vehicle traveling at 45 milers per hour. That's like 3,000 pounds worth of vehicle. How?"
It seems Tony was also fascinated by Peter's ability to create his own web fluid. "He's created this webbing from what? Over-the-counter products he's buying in a bodega? If he created all of this tech scarping together garbage, think what he could do with the playground we've built upstate." Clearly, the Armoured Avenger always had big plans for Spidey!
7. Bucky's Enhancements Are Tied To An Infinity Stone
Shuri is fascinated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe's "super soldiers," and even talks about Extremis at one point. However, she ultimately deduces that radiation is pivotal to their creation.
"[The Red Skull's] transformation failed because his serum lacked radioactive exposure," the hero deduces. "Rogers was exposed to Vita-Rays. Banner became a massive rage monster because he was exposed to gamma radiation. It is likely that Zola utilized gamma radiation from the Tesseract to enhance Barnes. [Hydra] figured out a way to expose subjects to whatever cosmic rays the Mind Stone emits and it transformed them."
That's a very interesting reveal about Bucky, because while we knew that Zola had made some changes to his physiology which made him much stronger and faster, we didn't know they were tied to the Tesseract. That's definitely something Marvel Studios could choose to explore down the line.
6. The Multiverse Wasn't Exactly News To Iron Man
Were you wondering how Iron Man was seemingly able to so easily figure out time-travel?
Well, this book alludes to Tony Stark having already discussed the existence of the Multiverse with Bruce Banner, as an excypted text Tony sent to his fellow Avenger revealed. "Altering events of the past could never affect the continuous loop. Though, it could create tangential split-timelines. Let's not worry about that for the time being, right? One reality at a time."
Looking ahead to the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's clear now that alternate realities are something Marvel Studios is planning to explore. While Tony didn't have time to fully explore what that means, the stage has been set for more time-travel, and a trip through the Multiverse itself (alongside Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch in Sam Raimi's In the Multiverse of Madness).
5. The Legacy Of The Black Panther Might Not Be Over
Focusing on what Shuri has been up to in Wakanda these past few years, one big revelation comes in the form of T'Challa's sister having found a way to recreate the Heart-Shaped Herb. Erik Killmonger destroyed them during the events of Black Panther after ingesting one and taking the throne for himself, effectively making T'Challa the final Black Panther after the villain's demise.
Shuri has found a way to create a synthetic version, and is even considering added Vibranium to it. "If we are to synthesize, and by process improve upon, an ancient Wakandan herb, we must first study supplementation where others have tried and succeeded. And also, where they have failed," the young genius explains.
That would lead to whoever ingests it also gaining the power of that mysterious element, a potential game-changer for the MCU moving forward, especially following Chadwick Boseman's tragic death.
4. What HYDRA Really Did To Bucky Barnes
So, we've established that Bucky was transformed into a super soldier courtesy of some enhancements which were made via the Tesseract, but the damage HYDRA did to his brain is shocking. Shuri describes what those scientists did to him as "an entirely other level of lunacy," revealing that "HYDRA's methods were effective in making Barnes hyperaware and highly suggestible."
"An EEG on Barnes revealed just how murky and extensive his brain damage was," she notes, revealing that the villainous organisation put Cap's best friend through the wringer. "HYDRA's Winter Soldier program subjected Barnes to electroconvulsive therapy followed by suggestive keywords and phrases to activate a brain soup knot that could take years to unravel."
Shockingly, Shuri later notes that his limbic system, the part of the brain that deals with memories and emotions is comparable to "Christmas tree on psychotropic drugs" thanks to HYDRA.
3. Spider-Man's Web Fluid Formula
By the time Tony Stark tracks down Peter Parker, he's on "V. 3.03" of his web fluid formula. The book confirms that it contains the chemicals salicylic acid, toulene, methanol, carbon tetrachloride, potassium carbonate, ethyl acetate (don't try making your own version at home).
Spider-Man's notes show that he considered a lot of different materials before creating his own web fluid, and he put a lot of thought into the web-shooters themselves based on this note.
"A device on my wrists like a bracelet with a trigger pad in the palm of my hand activated by my middle-most fingers? That way I can slice it off or keep it connected as needed," he ponders. "Wait, could I swing from it? PSI would have to be pretty high to get the webbing to the distances that I'm thinking. 10,000 PSI? Whoa, that might be too much for my wrist to handle."
Clearly, he initially planned to use it solely as a weapon before making it a means of travel!
2. Black Widow's "Widow's Bite"
Black Widow has proved on more than one occasion that she's more than capable of holding her own alongside the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heries, but her Widow's Bite is more powerful than we thought. Up until her death, it just seems the hero never decided to unleash it on any enemies!
It's said that Natasha Romanoff was using the lowest setting of the weapon (40,000 - 50,000 volts), even though she could have easily raised it to a considerably more deadly 350,000 volts.
Shuri mentions that the lowest setting would likely lead to "weakened or sore muscles, cramping, epidermal burns, temporary nerve damage, and temporary lapses in consciousness" while the highest would cause "permanent nerve damage, third-degree subdermal burns, loss of vision, even death." Perhaps we'll see her use that in Black Widow next May?
1. Steve Rogers' Amazing Metabolism
There are some very interesting facts about Captain America in the book, including the fact that, at rest, Steve Rogers manages to burn through close to 8000 calories a day! Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson eats more than 5000 calories a day to remain in shape, so that might put this into context.
This enhanced metabolism also explains how Steve managed to survive in the ice for 67 years, with Shuri going on to reveal that it led to the hero being put into a "cryogenic hibernation."
Going through the process of becoming a super soldier also means that Cap can bench press "several tonnes" and is able to "comfortably run thirteen miles in thirty minutes." That means he can keep up a speed of around 26mph on a consistent basis, a pretty incredible feat for the hero.