The 'Black Widow' Character Posters Assemble Into A Hidden Symbol

For the first time since 2016, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will only have two big-screen releases (instead of the usual three) in 2020. That means no February/March release for the first time in nearly four years. The extra space means the production studio has a longer lead time to start the rollout for Phase 4, which begins with Black Widow in May. The Super Bowl started it with a "Big Game" spot. Now the film is following up with Black Widow character posters, four in all. But these posters are more than just the film's heroes.

In the Big Game spot, the titular Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), tells the audience they don't know everything about her. They have seen the Avengers as her found family, but before that group came together, she had another.

With the events of Captain America: Civil War splitting the safe place she's made for herself in America asunder, she's headed back to Europe to find that original adopted family. They are fellow Black Widow operatives Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), along with Russia's answer to Captain America, the Red Guardian (David Harbour).

Each of these characters gets a poster alongside Johansson, confirming that all four are equally important in this family.

Here's Johansson as Black Widow Natasha:

This is Weisz as Black Widow Melina

Here's Pugh as Black Widow Yelena.

And finally, this is Harbour as the Red Guardian.

But what's interesting is what happens when you put all four together. Black Widows, assemble!

If you look behind their faces, the red angles on the backdrop come together to form Natasha's trademark hourglass symbol. Much like the Avengers, this is a team that's stronger together than apart.

Natasha needs to find strength after watching her found family tears themselves apart in the events of Captain America: Civil War. Viewers know when she leaves the Avengers HQ at the end of that film, she's emotionally wounded. When she returns, this time at Steve Rogers' side in Avengers: Infinity War, she's clearly both recommitted to the team with a sense of inner peace. These posters suggest all three characters she goes home to see will be essential for the woman known as "Black Widow" to put all the parts of her life back together. It's the missing link for her in between those two films.

Black Widow arrives in theaters on Friday, May 1, 2020.