Yelena Belova may be trading her usual flying kicks for a much bigger job in Avengers: Doomsday: keeping the superhero circus grounded. While Black Widow is known for Olympic-level gymnastics, advanced martial arts, and tactical genius, Kevin Feige has hinted that Yelena Belova could anchor the events of the next Avengers adventure. That makes her role particularly intriguing, especially after the small-potato, big-potato chaos of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

And with Avengers: Doomsday packed with characters thanks to its Civil War-sized setup, Yelena Belova serving as an anchor is quite an interesting decision, especially when you consider her family history.

Vanity Fair may have slipped in a particularly intriguing clue about Florence Pugh’s Avengers: Doomsday role. The publication noted that Kevin Feige has hinted the Marvel blockbuster will be “anchored” by Yelena Belova, suggesting her presence could extend well beyond another round of spectacular Black Widow-style combat. That wording makes her place in the enormous ensemble especially curious.

Kevin Feige already planted the seed at Bilibili World, telling fans that Yelena Belova “plays a big part” in Avengers: Doomsday while teasing that audiences might see her sooner. Before Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrived, many fans understandably connected that tease to the Spider-Man movie. Now, with Vanity Fair describing Yelena Belova as an anchor, that earlier hint suddenly feels much broader.

Yelena Belova already helped anchor the new Avengers together alongside Bucky Barnes in Thunderbolts*, bringing the fractured team together when everything around them was falling apart. That makes her potential importance, teased by Vanity Fair, in Avengers: Doomsday feel particularly fitting. 

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Chaos is practically guaranteed in Avengers: Doomsday, much like the chaos around Pugh’s rumored Visenya role, but Yelena may be following Natasha's footsteps by becoming the one keeping it all together. Apparently, this is simply the Black Widow workload.

Yelena Belova appears to have inherited more than Natasha Romanoff’s vest and family trauma; she may have inherited the Avengers’ group-chat administrator duties too. Natasha Romanoff was the original team’s steady centre, quietly connecting heroes who otherwise had very little business functioning together. Yelena Belova is now following that blueprint, becoming the glue holding Marvel’s newer heroes together.

Naturally, Yelena Belova has no intention of doing it Natasha Romanoff’s way. Where Natasha Romanoff relied on cool discipline, Yelena Belova deploys sarcasm, deadpan humor, fierce loyalty, and enough emotional baggage to fill the Quinjet. Yet that contrast makes the succession rather fitting, and Kevin Feige calling Yelena Belova an “anchor” in Avengers: Doomsday suggests the Black Widow job description has officially been passed down.

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What do you think of Yelena Belova's role in Avengers: Doomsday? Let us know in the comments!