black widow experiments

Black Widow: Rachel Weisz Teases Pig Experiments In Marvel Movie

Rachel weisz revealed that her character, melina vostokoff, has been experimenting on pigs in black widow..

Several months ago, it was revealed that Rachel Weisz's character in Black Widow , Melina Vostokoff, was one of the leading scientists for the Red Room . By the time the story begins, she has distanced herself from the organization, but Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff finds her again. It was further stated that Vostokoff would have to decide where her loyalties truly lie.

Promotion for Black Widow is in full swing, with interviews and promotional videos leading up to its release. However, despite earlier leaks and character descriptions, not much of Vostokoff has actually been shown in trailers.

So, in a recent interview, Weisz was asked to talk more about her character, which surprisingly involved pigs.

RACHEL WEISZ' MELINA EXPERIMENTS ON PIGS

Appearing on  Jimmy Kimmel Live , actress Rachel Weisz was asked whether she was given a list of topics off-limits to discuss regarding Black Widow , which she confirmed exists, but that she "lost it:"

"Yes, there is a list. I lost it. One thing I do remember is do not say—I mean, I know the big spoilers, which I'm obviously not gonna say, but my character's second name is like [motions locking lips and throwing away key]."

When asked about what else Weisz could say about the character she's playing, Melina Vostokoff, Weisz described her not only as a spy but a scientist, too. Vostokoff runs a  "pig farm"  that she uses for various experiments:

"She's a highly skilled spy and scientist. She runs a pig farm and that's in fact where the family meet me, at my scientific lab where I also keep pigs, which I experiment on."

The segment ends with Weisz, again, mentioning not talking about Melina's "second name."

A DIFFERENT SHADE OF SUPER SOLDIER

Pigs are commonly used in animal testing when it comes to biomedical research, but what Melina Vostokoff would be trying to accomplish is the question. It could be likely that Vostokoff is attempting to recreate a variation of the Super Soldier Serum that was given to Steve Rogers using pigs as test subjects.

Some merchandise and even one special look from over a year ago have shown Romanoff in possession of red vials, which begs another question of whether Melina Vostokoff is even on their side and not still working for the Red Room.

It could have something to do with the "second name" that Weisz hinted at in her interview with Kimmel. Maybe Vostokoff could end up being Taskmaster all along with O.T Fagbenle being a red herring for audiences.

The vials themselves could be the same Red Room variant of Super Soldier Serum used on Romanoff as an infant in the comics. On the other hand, it could be that Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova will take this serum, which could be shown on full display in her follow-up appearance in Hawkeye .

Black Widow is currently scheduled to release in theaters and on Disney+ on July 9, 2021 .

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Warning: This post contains Black Widow spoilers .

While Natasha Romanoff's story ended in Avengers: Endgame , Black Widow represents a new chapter in the MCU, offering a hint at what could come next for the character. Or at least for characters with the Black Widow codename. Inevitably, the movie pulls from Romanoff's comic book lore as well as connecting to the wider MCU, despite only loose connections to other Marvel movies. As always, it's packed with Easter eggs, Marvel Comic references , and secret callbacks and gags.

Some of the teases hint to other super-soldier characters, explain moments in Avengers: Infinity War , and even nod to mutants in the MCU. While finally offering Natasha the MCU story that the franchise has so far only told in passing moments and brief flashbacks, Black Widow is also careful to balance fan service with new revelations. Even knowing Nat's fate in Endgame and the sad reality that Scarlett Johansson's time in the MCU is now up, it's a story defined by hope, resilience and redemption, so it's surprisingly forward-looking.

Related: Black Widow's Ending Explained

With a final SPOILER warning for fans who wish to hunt down these Easter Eggs on their own without any clues, let's get started. Here's every Easter egg and reference in Black Widow .

35. The Americans

The opening of Black Widow draws heavily on the same inspiration as acclaimed show The Americans , which followed a Russian sleeper cell family embedded in the US. That was based on a story from 2010, when ten Russian sleeper agents codenamed the 'Illegals Program' were uncovered by the US government. As in The Americans , Black Widow 's family is a sham, with Melina and Alexei brought together to gain intel on high-level targets. The only difference is that the children are spies too, while The Americans ' kids aren't in on the ruse. The girls are shown watching Ducktales as they're forced to flee. The reason is explained pretty quickly in the credits as the Black Widow recruits are "trained" in how to be deep cover agents by watching popular TV shows (and taking notes). In that sequence, Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are seen, to bring the cartoon ducks full circle. Incidentally, the vehicles chasing the family as they flee are, of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives as the organization's logo is on the side of each car, no doubt sent from the North Institute.

34. The North Institute & Project MKUltra

The specific mission the Red Room spy family are sent to complete is stealing key intel from the North Institute, which appears to have been named after Oliver North in perverse honor of his involvement in underhand government projects (the Iran-Contra affair) as a nod to the false-front organization that was in fact looking into mind control . Though North wasn't involved, the project Alexei steals information from is clearly based on Project MKUltra, the CIA's attempt to develop mind control techniques to use against their enemies. Even more importantly, the North Institute exists in Marvel Comics too and is the organization that sent killers after Natasha and other Red Room trainees as a front for the Red Room's replacement 2R in Black Widow Vol 3 #1.

33. The Opening Songs - "American Pie" And "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Neither of the songs used in the prolog is accidental. Yelena's favorite song " American Pie " was written as a death knell for the American Dream in the wake of JFK's death. It's a song of mourning and it's fitting it plays over images of Natasha watching her own American dream die. And opening credits song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is used as a perverse twist on that song's adoption as a teenage anthem of defiance and self-expression - the very things being conditioned out of the Red Room victims.

Related: The MCU Didn't Have A Good Plan At First - And Incredible Hulk Proves It

32. The Historical Credits Cameos

The credits themselves include a number of historical figures interacting with Ray Winstone's Dreykov, as well as shots of Black Widows in the background of major events. Notable in the sequence are cameos by Jimmy Carter, Vladimir Putin, and Bill Clinton.

31. Ant-Man Is "The Incredible Shrinking Convict"

While General Ross - returning after last being seen attending Tony Stark's memorial in Avengers: Endgame (and apparently fresh from another heart bypass) - seems to make a cheap joke at the expense of Ant-Man, his "the incredible shrinking convict" line is an Easter egg. The insult riffs on 1957 sci-fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man , which was based on Richard Matheson's The Shrinking Man. Matheson's Twilight Zone episode "Little Girl Lost" also inspired some of the concept for Ant-Man 's Quantum Realm.

30. Yelena Repeats The Winter Soldier's Knife Trick

Yelena's trick to kill her first target copies Bucky Barnes' knife trick from Captain America: The Winter Soldier as well as mirroring the way Arya Stark killed The Night King in Game of Thrones ' final season . The subtle hint here is that the Black Widows and the Winter Soldier were both products of the same training, echoing the comics, in which the Winter Soldier was actually brought in as part of Natasha's training. Elsewhere, there's a moment where Taskmaster also seems to copy the Winter Soldier's knife trick, hinting she's studied Bucky.

29. The Black Widow Serum

A. key part of Black Widow's narrative sees Yelena and Natasha protecting the serum developed by a rogue Black Widow to free other victims from Dreykov's control. While Natasha isn't enhanced in the MCU, in the comics Natasha was given the Red Room's variant of the Super-Soldier Serum , which improved her physical and mental abilities but not to the level of Captain America. The other Widows who came after her though were augmented. The idea of Widows being chemically altered to control them seems to be a nod to that comics origin.

Related: Ant-Man & The Wasp Was The MCU's Biggest Missed Opportunity

28. Taskmaster's Civil War Homework (And The Other Heroes Copied)

The first scene of Taskmaster shows her watching footage of Black Widow and Hawkeye's fight from Captain America: Civil War , which pays off twice in subsequent sequences when Taskmaster unveils her bow skills in Budapest and then shows off copycat Black Panther claws in the climactic Red Room attack. On top of those heroes, Taskmaster has also taken fighting lessons from Captain America, whose shield stamp she uses at one point and Black Widow herself (as she pulls off the same hurricanrana move Nat favors). The Winter Soldier knife trick also suggests Bucky is on her list of cloned heroes too.

O-T Fagbenle's character was largely kept under wraps prior to Black Widow's release, prompting suspicions that he was playing Taskmaster. In reality, he's playing a version of Rick Mason from Marvel comics, though with some significant changes to his backstory. Rather than being a secret agent proficient in taking down superheroes and the son of Phineas Mason (the Tinkerer, who was one of the villains in Spider-Man: Homecoming ), he's a fixer, with ties to the intelligence community who can get anything at a price.

26. Natasha Watches Moonraker

While in exile in Norway, Natasha watches James Bond movie Moonraker on TV before her power cuts out, and speaks along with the line Roger Moore's Bond quips to Hugo Drax about his deadly pet python: " I discovered it had a crush on me ." In hindsight, the choice of the film is clearly a cheeky nod to the flying Red Room being hidden from radar in the sky, as Drax's plan involves a cloaked space station hidden from radar.

25. Hawkeye's Budapest Legacy & The Die Vogel Poster

In the Budapest safe house, Yelena comments on three strange bullet-holes in the wall, which Natasha corrects her are from arrows. Clearly, this was the site of the Budapest stand-off that Natasha references in The Avengers , with the pair of them surrounded and fighting back-to-back. Also notable is the poster for opera Die Vogel on one of the walls: composed by Walter Braunfels, "The Birds" is a strange story of humans rejecting humanity to live in the society of birds. The parallels to Black Widow may not appear clear at first, but it's a story of defection and identity at its heart and it includes a society above the crowds, almost like the Red Room.

Related: How The Thor Movies Secretly Introduced The Multiverse To The MCU

24. The Civil War Call-Backs & Other Avengers Mentions

As well as answering what happened between Clint Barton and Natasha in Budapest, Black Widow has a number of call-backs to Civil War 's plot. Natasha mentions being estranged from "super-scientist" Tony Stark, for instance, and the Avengers being "divorced". On top of that, there's a mention for Thor - or " the god from space " - who Yelena says is " one of the big ones" . At the end of the movie, as Natasha jets off to reunite with the Avengers, Alan Silvestri's now-iconic Avengers theme plays.

23. The Terminator Music Cue

Though the music itself is different, there's a distinct similarity in the Taskmaster chase sequence through Budapest and Terminator 2 's river bed chase . As Taskmaster smashes through traffic like the Terminator truck, it's impossible to miss how similar the musical cues are to the bike chase scene.

22. Hawkeye's Cameo In Budapest

As well as his arrow-holes appearing in the safe house, Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye appears in the Budapest flashback. Sort of. When the death of Dreykov's daughter is revealed, Hawkeye talks to Natasha in her earpiece, wanting the greenlight to set off the explosives in the building. It's a voice-only cameo for Renner, who isn't credited in the credits.

21. Dreykov's Daughter & The Red In Natasha's Ledger

The revelation that Natasha allowed Dreykov's daughter to die is a smart call-back to The Avengers , in which Loki challenged Black Widow on the sins of her past. When talking about the red in her ledger, Loki doubted those crimes could be forgiven : citing "Dreykov's daughter" as one of the worst. Finally, Black Widow offered context. On the same subject of "ledgers", Alexei celebrates the many murders his fake daughters must have committed by praising how their " ledgers must be gushing " without the awareness that he's being inappropriate.

Related: Every MCU Movie Iron Man 2 Set Up

20. The Black Widow White Suits

As revealed by the trailer and posters, both Natasha and Yelena wear the white Black Widow costumes from the comics. They were lifted from the Black Widow: Deadly Origin miniseries, in which they were designed by the Red Room as snow camouflage. Fittingly, they wear the costumes to break Alexei out of his snowy Russian prison.

19. Ursa - "The Great Bear"

When it's revealed that Natasha and Yelena are headed to Russia to break Alexei out of prison, the former Red Guardian is showing off his strength by arm-wrestler all comers in the prison communal area. After his brags of beating up Captain America annoy a huge prisoner enough to challenge him, Alexei breaks his arm in retaliation for the suggestion that he's lying. As he does so, he calls the prisoner Ursa and refers to him as "the great bear", making the unlucky prisoner the MCU's version of Ursa Major, a mutant with the ability to turn into a bear, who was also a Soviet super-soldier in the comics. That makes Alexei's later claim to be "the first and only Soviet super-soldier" wrong on several accounts.

18. The Crimson Dynamo

At one point, Yelena refers to Alexei as "the Crimson Dynamo", which he finds insulting, but it's a clever link back to another member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers - the superteam both Red Guardian (the third iteration) and Ursa Major were members of. In the comics, Crimson Dynamo is essentially the Soviet Iron Man, and he exists in the MCU thanks to Iron Man 2 : Anton Vanko, the original Crimson Dynamo was the father of Ivan Vanko, Iron Man 2 's Whiplash (played by Mickey Rourke ).

17. Red Guardian's Tattoos

Red Guardian's prison sequence reveals that he's covered in tattoos. The most notable are the KARL and MARX across his knuckles (a love he shares with Dreykov, who has Marx's portrait hanging in his HQ) and the Russian coat of arms emblazoned on his chest. That coat of arms was also featured on Red Guardian's original comics shield , which doesn't appear here. Among his many other tattoos, he has a falcon on one arm, a symbol of power in typical tattoo meaning. The chest piece is also a redo of an infamous Russian prisoner tattoo that was chronicled by Arkady Bronnikov in his book ' Russian Criminal Tattoo Police Files Vol I '. According to that seminal work, the towers within the two-headed eagle crest are applied to criminals with at least three convictions, while eyes on the chest mean the wearer is "watching over you".

Related: The Original Marvel Studios Plan Would Have Led To A Very Different Infinity War

16. Red Guardian's Captain America Obsession

Though his story about fighting Captain America is impossible because of the timeline - as Ursa pointed out - Alexei's obsession with Cap is a reference to his singular drive in the comics to have a fair fight with Cap to prove who was superior. The pair actually did fight in comics lore in 1963's Avengers #44, which saw Cap winning the fight until Alexei's superior, Colonel Ling electrocuted him. Shostakov then reacted with disgust at the dishonorable way Cap was defeated and ultimately gave his life helping the Avengers escape Ling, sacrificing his own life in the process.

15. The Winter Soldier Program

It's revealed by Melina that the information that Alexei stole from the North Institute was the results of experiments done on Bucky Barnes as part of the Winter Soldier program, reaffirming the link between HYDRA and Bucky's Soviet controllers. Melina's explanation of the mind control experiments make it clear that Bucky was experimented on a lot more than has been revealed to date.

14. Black Widow: Deadly Origins Nanites Reimagined

In Black Widow: Deadly Origins, it's revealed that years previously, Natasha was infected with nanites that she unwittingly passed on to those close to her. The nanites then led to those secondarily infected losing their free will, much like Black Widow 's chemical manipulation of the Red Room victims, who express not being able to stop what's happening to them. The particles within the host force them into a rage by their mysterious controller. And as a second parallel, Clint Barton finds himself as the first target.

13. Melina's Pig Torture Copies Harry Potter

In the film's most disturbing moment, Melina shows off the technology developed from the stolen North Institute data by controlling one of her pigs and commanding it not to breathe. It almost dies, because it cannot refuse her demand, and it's very much a moment that echoes the scene in Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire when Mad-Eye Moody shows off the Imperius Curse by showing how he could make a cave spider kill itself.

Related: Every MCU Death Fakeout (So Far)

12. Natasha Romanoff's Mother Backstory

While Red Skull set up Natasha's father as the important parent in her backstory when he calls her "daughter of Ivan", it's her mother who is the more notable in Black Widow. Initially, it's suggested that she abandoned her in the street, but Melina reveals that Natasha had been bought as a child and her mother tried to track her down until Dreykov had her killed in fear of her revealing the Red Room. In the comics, Nat's mother also died tragically in a building collapse in Stalingrad in 1928 - at least in Deadly Origin's version of her origin - after asking Ivan Petrovitch to take care of her child.

11. Genetic Potential - A Subtle X-Men Tease & "Miracles" Call-Back

In a particularly subtle moment, Melina confirms that Natasha was chosen for her genetic potential - which is also why she succeeded as a Black Widow subject. That calls back to the reason why Wanda and Pietro Maximoff were the only successful subjects in Hydra's Miracles Program , as qualified in canon handbook The Wakanda Files, which talk of the genetic potential of people from Sokovia to such experiments. It's a pretty subtle tease, but it actually suggests that the MCU Natasha may have had the X-gene, as the comics version of her from the Mutant-X reality did.

10. The Nod To Melina's Iron Maiden Comics Past

While the Melina of Black Widow is far removed from her comics iteration of Iron Maiden, there is a very subtle reference to her alternate universe history in the armory of her pig farm. In the background of the weapon cache sits the face-changing technology that Natasha uses to dupe Dreykov. Next to the masks on their stands is a heavy helmet that seems like a nod to Melina's other alter-ego. Even the fake faces that the Veil masks sit on bear a strong resemblance to Melina's Iron Maiden look.

9. Yelena's "Many Pocketed" Jacket Is From Infinity War

Infinity War sees Black Widow wearing a new costume after her time in hiding with the Secret Avengers. The green utility vest with multiple pockets is explained in retrospect in Black Widow as a gift from Yelena. It has added meaning as it's the first outfit Yelena is able to buy for herself and thus her first chance of self-expression. The fact that Natasha wears it in the future reinforces their link as sisters.

Related: The Best Order To Rewatch The MCU

8. The Red Room Base Above The Clouds Homages Deadly Origin

The Red Room being hidden above radar in the sky is another call-back to Deadly Origins, which has been surprisingly influential on the MCU. In that comics run, the dreadnought - not unlike an MCU S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier , belonged to Ivan Petrovich, Natasha's former father figure who was driven mad and transformed into an android. The design from the comics is vastly improved upon by Dreykov's Red Room, but the concept remains the same.

7. Natasha's Face Swap Call-Back

The face-swap trick pulled on Dreykov to allow Natasha to get an audience with him has been seen in the MCU before, in the climax of Captain America: The Winter Soldier . The Photostatic Veil, or Nano Mask, first appeared as Widow duped Alexander Pierce while disguised as World Councilwoman Hawley (Jenny Agutter), but also appeared as part of the Hydra arc on Agents of SHIELD . It was developed by Dr. Selwyn and later also appeared in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier when Sharon Carter first appeared in disguise .

6. The OTHER Black Widow Hero Pose Gag

Yelena's ribbing of Natasha about the "Black Widow hero pose" she does all the time was added to Black Widow because of Florence Pugh complaining about it behind-the-scenes, but there seems to be another linked gag hidden in the Red Room sequence. When "Natasha" (really Melina) wakes up on the floor of her cell, the pose she's almost carefully laid it looks identical to the weird, unnatural pose Scarlett Johansson was photoshopped into for the Winter Soldier poster. It's also almost the same as the pose Natasha laid in after falling to her death in Endgame .

5. Dreykov's Pheromones Reference Spider-Woman & The Purple Man

Though a little contrived, Dreykov's pheromone "powers" do have some precedent in Marvel comics. While he uses conditioning in the Black Widows to make sure they cannot physically assault him as long as they can smell him, Spider-Woman has pheromones that attract men and repulse women. Killgrave - AKA The Purple Man - from Jessica Jones also controls others using his pheromones, adding an unexpected link to Netflix's Marvel shows.

4. Point Break

The climax of Black Widow sees Melina destroy the engines of the Red Room to start a "controlled crash" that is anything but and kicks off a great skydiving set-piece. Yelena ends up free-falling with no parachute, so Natasha dives to her to give her one before Taskmaster attacks and Nat ends up falling without a parachute. The sequence very much feels like an homage to Point Break 's iconic skydiving scene, which sees Keanu Reeves ' Johnny Utah jump out of a plane to catch Patrick Swayze's Bodhi.

Related: When Black Widow Is Set In The MCU Timeline (DURING Civil War)

3. The Raft Breakout From Civil War

Natasha's last scene in Black Widow sees her reunited with Mason, who provides her with the Avengers Quinjet she's later seen flying in Infinity War . That sets up her heading to the Raft prison with Steve Rogers to rescue the Avengers locked up in there - Sam Wilson, Scott Lang, Clint Barton, and Scarlet Witch (who the film forgets is locked up at that point). In hindsight, the loss of a Quinjet might be why Tony Stark felt he had to hire a new Asset Manager, Happy Hogan in Spider-Man: Homecoming 's timeline.

2. Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine Reappears After Falcon & The Winter Soldier

Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Contessa Valentina "Val" Allegra de la Fontaine was intended to appear in Black Widow before the pandemic changed the MCU's plans and she debuted in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier episode "Truth". She appeared in that show to hire John Walker as US Agent for her shady employer, and in Black Widow appears in the post-credits scene as Yelena's new boss. It seems she's building a team - possibly the MCU's version of the Thunderbolts or the Dark Avengers - for an unseen higher power (she refers to her own paycheck as an indicator), and Yelena is the second recruit (or the first, chronologically).

1. Yelena's Mission Flips Black Widow's MCU Introduction

When Val hands Yelena the ipad containing the file on Hawkeye in the Black Widow post-credits scene as her next target, she sets up Yelena's part in the Hawkeye TV show but also flips Black Widow's MCU past . As revealed in The Avengers, Barton was sent to kill Natasha and instead helped her defect and now the new MCU Black Widow will be on his trail.

Next: Every MCU Movie Ranked (Including Black Widow)

Key Release Dates

Shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings, doctor strange in the multiverse of madness, thor: love and thunder, black panther: wakanda forever, captain marvel 2, ant-man and the wasp: quantumania, guardians of the galaxy vol. 3.

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