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selenakMore thoughts brought by all the rewatching I did in recent months: I have a headcanon re: Natasha in Civil War which I haven't found anywhere else, either in meta or in fanfiction. It's more than possible I missed something - in a megafandom like the MCU, people post all the time, after all - so if you know a story or an essay using this theory as well, pray tell. (And link!)
Also, obvious disclaimer: I'm not saying this is the only possible interpretation of Natasha's actions at a key point, just that it's the one which makes the most sense to me.
The actions in question being recruiting T'Challa for the airport fight, and later stopping him in order to let Steve and Bucky escape.
Now, for context, bear in mind who knows what at that point as well as the circumstances in terms of motivation. To back up: Bucky has gone full Winter Soldier, thanks to Zemo's triggering, fought his way out of the CIA holding facility in Berlin, said fight including skirmishes with Natasha, Tony and Sharon, was pursued by Steve and Sam, who have now disappeared with him. Here's what Natasha (or anyone else in Berlin) does not yet know: Zemo triggered the Winter Soldier, the actual psychiatrist is someone else and dead, Bucky was not the one responsible for the Vienna attack and deaths. (This is important to my theory, so I repeat: as far as Natasha knows, Bucky is responsible for the deaths of T'Chaka and everyone else in Vienna.)
Cut to General Ross fuming that he'll send the military with shoot to kill orders after the entire gang, Tony asking for 48 hours to bring them in his way instead and getting 36, exit Ross. Natasha and Tony then have their rueful exchange about Bruce ("We could use a Hulk right now." "Do you really think he'd be on our side?" "No."), state that they're underpowered and have ideas for backup. "Where is yours?" "Downstairs. Where's yours?" "Queens."
"Downstairs" means T'Challa. Here's the thing: T'Challa has made it very clear he's interested in one thing only: kill Bucky Barnes in revenge of his father. He doesn't care about Steve et al. He just wants his father's murderer dead.) And that he will stop wanting this, not just in terms of discovering Biucky didn't do it but in terms of not wanting Zemo, who did it, dead, either is T'Challa's big moment later in the finale, but there is no way Natasha could have anticipated this.
Which brings me to my theory. I think Natasha recruited T'Challa not in spite, but because he wanted Bucky dead. For everyone else involved in the air port fight, the goal was a not lethal one, the aim was to either capture the others or to escape and prevent pursuit. But not for T'Challa. And imo, Natasha, with a life time of spy ruthlessnes behind her, decided this was the solution. "It's important that we stay together, not how we stay together," she told Steve at Peggy's funeral earlier. T'Challa killing Bucky would have ended matters right then and there. (Neither Natasha nor anyone else on Team Accords has been told about Bucky's theory that Zemo is after the other Winter Soldiers for world ruling purposes, so she's not aware Steve is motivated by more than wanting to help Bucky escape at this point.) Since T'Challa is not a member of the Avengers, acting in retaliation for his father's death, not on anyone's orders, and likely to take off to Wakanda thereafter, not to be seen again, his being responsible for Bucky's death would also mean Steve not holding it against the rest of the team. Even if things went the other way around, and Bucky killed T'Challa instead: Natasha might have felt sympathy for T'Challa since meeting him in Vienna, but he's still a stranger, not one of the few people he cares about.
A lot of people transport the comics backstory invented by Brubaker for Natasha and Bucky in the movieverse, but given Natasha's age and the way Bucky is presented in Winter-Soldier-dom (basically in automaton mode), this just doesn't work for m e. So until the screen canon tells us otherwise, I'm going with: She has no connection to him and no personal feelings about him either in the negative or in the positive that would impact on her making such a choice. She simply sees it as a last resort to end her chosen family of the last few years breaking apart.
Furthermore, I don't believe Natasha changed her mind on this until really late, i.e. during the scene in front of the Quinjet. She changes it, imo, for a variety of reasons. The big one being that she's aware she miscalculated: it's too late to stop the breaking apart, it has happened now, and Steve "will never stop", even if T'Challa manages to kill Bucky. He'll just experience the trauma of Bucky dying again, and she realizes she can't do that to Steve, who other than Clint is her best friend now, especially considering it would achieve not what she'd hoped.
Another reason why I don't believe Natasha made up her mind earlier than that: she doesn't leave with Steve and Bucky. Which, if she'd planned switching sides instead of making that choice very late, I think she would have. (Not to mention she'd probably found a smarter escape plan that didn't involve trashing Leizpig-Halle airport.) Incidentally, the fact that the movie gave her one more scene instead of letting her diisappear thereafter and covering "what happened with Natasha?" in, say, a brief Ross-Tony exchange also to me plays as Natasha having far more mixed feelings in the aftermath than the "yay, finally, back where she belongs" way I found in much fanfiction. From a point of self preservation, it would have made sense for her to leave immediately. She did sign the Accords, which means her actively aiding the Steve-Bucky escape definitely gives the law a hold on her. (She had no reason to believe T'Challa would keep quiet about this, and indeed he didn't, but reported her to Ross.)
Again, imo she does not leave immediately for a variety of reasons; what happened to Rhodey (he's been a team mate, she'd want to know whether he lives or dies at least), owing Tony an explanation (doesn't go well, but she does give it, face to face)...and, in my headcanon, also having to work through the realisation that she very nearly went back to the sacrificing-expendable-people mentality she had for most of her life, which in recent years she'd been trying to get away from. In my headcanon, she takes considerable time before reuniting with Steve & friends in Wakanda, because she needs to work through that first. Also, she never talks to T'Challa about her intentions when recruiting him, but feeling that she owes him informs her attitude from this point onwards.
Thoughts? Links?
Also, obvious disclaimer: I'm not saying this is the only possible interpretation of Natasha's actions at a key point, just that it's the one which makes the most sense to me.
The actions in question being recruiting T'Challa for the airport fight, and later stopping him in order to let Steve and Bucky escape.
Now, for context, bear in mind who knows what at that point as well as the circumstances in terms of motivation. To back up: Bucky has gone full Winter Soldier, thanks to Zemo's triggering, fought his way out of the CIA holding facility in Berlin, said fight including skirmishes with Natasha, Tony and Sharon, was pursued by Steve and Sam, who have now disappeared with him. Here's what Natasha (or anyone else in Berlin) does not yet know: Zemo triggered the Winter Soldier, the actual psychiatrist is someone else and dead, Bucky was not the one responsible for the Vienna attack and deaths. (This is important to my theory, so I repeat: as far as Natasha knows, Bucky is responsible for the deaths of T'Chaka and everyone else in Vienna.)
Cut to General Ross fuming that he'll send the military with shoot to kill orders after the entire gang, Tony asking for 48 hours to bring them in his way instead and getting 36, exit Ross. Natasha and Tony then have their rueful exchange about Bruce ("We could use a Hulk right now." "Do you really think he'd be on our side?" "No."), state that they're underpowered and have ideas for backup. "Where is yours?" "Downstairs. Where's yours?" "Queens."
"Downstairs" means T'Challa. Here's the thing: T'Challa has made it very clear he's interested in one thing only: kill Bucky Barnes in revenge of his father. He doesn't care about Steve et al. He just wants his father's murderer dead.) And that he will stop wanting this, not just in terms of discovering Biucky didn't do it but in terms of not wanting Zemo, who did it, dead, either is T'Challa's big moment later in the finale, but there is no way Natasha could have anticipated this.
Which brings me to my theory. I think Natasha recruited T'Challa not in spite, but because he wanted Bucky dead. For everyone else involved in the air port fight, the goal was a not lethal one, the aim was to either capture the others or to escape and prevent pursuit. But not for T'Challa. And imo, Natasha, with a life time of spy ruthlessnes behind her, decided this was the solution. "It's important that we stay together, not how we stay together," she told Steve at Peggy's funeral earlier. T'Challa killing Bucky would have ended matters right then and there. (Neither Natasha nor anyone else on Team Accords has been told about Bucky's theory that Zemo is after the other Winter Soldiers for world ruling purposes, so she's not aware Steve is motivated by more than wanting to help Bucky escape at this point.) Since T'Challa is not a member of the Avengers, acting in retaliation for his father's death, not on anyone's orders, and likely to take off to Wakanda thereafter, not to be seen again, his being responsible for Bucky's death would also mean Steve not holding it against the rest of the team. Even if things went the other way around, and Bucky killed T'Challa instead: Natasha might have felt sympathy for T'Challa since meeting him in Vienna, but he's still a stranger, not one of the few people he cares about.
A lot of people transport the comics backstory invented by Brubaker for Natasha and Bucky in the movieverse, but given Natasha's age and the way Bucky is presented in Winter-Soldier-dom (basically in automaton mode), this just doesn't work for m e. So until the screen canon tells us otherwise, I'm going with: She has no connection to him and no personal feelings about him either in the negative or in the positive that would impact on her making such a choice. She simply sees it as a last resort to end her chosen family of the last few years breaking apart.
Furthermore, I don't believe Natasha changed her mind on this until really late, i.e. during the scene in front of the Quinjet. She changes it, imo, for a variety of reasons. The big one being that she's aware she miscalculated: it's too late to stop the breaking apart, it has happened now, and Steve "will never stop", even if T'Challa manages to kill Bucky. He'll just experience the trauma of Bucky dying again, and she realizes she can't do that to Steve, who other than Clint is her best friend now, especially considering it would achieve not what she'd hoped.
Another reason why I don't believe Natasha made up her mind earlier than that: she doesn't leave with Steve and Bucky. Which, if she'd planned switching sides instead of making that choice very late, I think she would have. (Not to mention she'd probably found a smarter escape plan that didn't involve trashing Leizpig-Halle airport.) Incidentally, the fact that the movie gave her one more scene instead of letting her diisappear thereafter and covering "what happened with Natasha?" in, say, a brief Ross-Tony exchange also to me plays as Natasha having far more mixed feelings in the aftermath than the "yay, finally, back where she belongs" way I found in much fanfiction. From a point of self preservation, it would have made sense for her to leave immediately. She did sign the Accords, which means her actively aiding the Steve-Bucky escape definitely gives the law a hold on her. (She had no reason to believe T'Challa would keep quiet about this, and indeed he didn't, but reported her to Ross.)
Again, imo she does not leave immediately for a variety of reasons; what happened to Rhodey (he's been a team mate, she'd want to know whether he lives or dies at least), owing Tony an explanation (doesn't go well, but she does give it, face to face)...and, in my headcanon, also having to work through the realisation that she very nearly went back to the sacrificing-expendable-people mentality she had for most of her life, which in recent years she'd been trying to get away from. In my headcanon, she takes considerable time before reuniting with Steve & friends in Wakanda, because she needs to work through that first. Also, she never talks to T'Challa about her intentions when recruiting him, but feeling that she owes him informs her attitude from this point onwards.
Thoughts? Links?
no subject
Date: 2018-06-28 05:12 pm (UTC)(Do people think she decided to switch sides before the airport? I haven't seen that theory, and it doesn't make much sense to me ...)
And as someone who loved the Natasha/T'Challa interactions in CA:CW, I would love to see a fic about the two of them based on this headcanon.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-29 07:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-29 03:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-28 05:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-29 07:06 am (UTC)