Avengers: Endgame Theory – Natasha Sacrificed Herself To Save Yelena

In Avengers: Endgame, Natasha Romanoff controversially sacrifices herself to get the Soul Stone, but now theories say she actually died for her Black Widow sister Yelena. Set after Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow introduces some of Natasha Romanoff’s (Scarlett Johansson) backstory, showing that she was part of a Russian spy program as a child and lived in the United States with Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), who posed as her sister, and Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), who posed as her parents. Though they weren’t actually related, they became a family. The group reunites in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film in a bid to take down the Red Room, a secret Soviet-Russian program where they were brainwashed and trained to be spies.

Natasha and Yelena’s relationship is at the heart of Black Widow. It’s a relationship grounded in sisterhood and shared experiences. Before their fake family was broken apart, Natasha and Yelena truly lived like sisters. Then they both suffered unspeakable trauma in their program at the Red Room. Natasha eventually escapes the Red Room, but Yelena is left behind. The pair’s relationship is strained when they reunite years later, but there’s always a hint of their past sisterly bond, which slowly resurfaces throughout the film.

With the revelation that Natasha reconnected with Yelena before the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, it seems possible that she could’ve sacrificed herself for her sister. After all, with such a strong relationship before Endgame, it would’ve made sense for Natasha to ask for Yelena’s help with Thanos (Josh Brolin). Because of Yelena’s absence from the film, she could’ve been a victim of Thanos’ deadly finger snap. The theory has an abundance of supporting evidence.

Black Widow’s Sacrifice In Avengers: Endgame

In Endgame, Natasha and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) arrive on Vormir and learn from Red Skull (Ross Marquand) that one of them has to die to get the Soul Stone. The pair struggle with the notion, and Clint even questions if Red Skull is making it up. After accepting that one of them needs to die, Natasha and Clint both vie to be the person sacrificed. They even fight each other for the opportunity, but Natasha wins out in the end. As Clint holds onto her arm while she hangs over a cliff, she tells him, “Let me go.” She eventually kicks off the side of the cliff and falls to her death, giving the Avengers the Soul Stone.

Natasha’s scenes in Endgame reaffirm how important family is to her. She’s clearly having a harder time than most with Thanos’ Infinity War snap when she’s introduced in the movie. She sits behind a desk at the Avengers’ headquarters, lamenting what’s become of the world and performing her duties in honor of her Avengers family. She says being part of the Avengers helped make her a better person. Then, before she eventually wins the battle to sacrifice herself on Vormir, she tells Clint, “For the last five years, I’ve been trying to do one thing. Get to right here.” Natasha adds, “That’s all it’s been about. Bringing everybody back.” When it comes to her family, she’s willing to give up everything.

Natasha Didn’t Ask Yelena For Help Against Thanos

Black Widow clearly has a lot of love for her family in Endgame, and that love is also visible in Infinity War. One of the best gags from Black Widow is about Yelena’s vest, which she’s especially proud of for its many pockets. At the end of Black Widow, Yelena gifts the vest to Natasha, who wears it in Infinity War. The vest gives a nod to Natasha’s love for Yelena and their renewed bond.

Given Natasha’s relationship with Yelena, it’s odd that she didn’t turn to her sister—or any of her family from Black Widow—for help against Thanos. Yelena doesn’t show up throughout Infinity War or Endgame. With billions of lives on the line, it’d make sense for Natasha to get all the help she can. Because of that, it seems possible that Yelena was missing from the films for a dark reason.

Was Yelena A Victim Of Thanos’ Snap?

There’s convincing evidence that Yelena was a victim of Thanos’ deadly snap. In Infinity War, half of all life is eliminated by Thanos and the Infinity Stones. That means Yelena had a fifty percent chance of dying. However, her absence from Infinity War and Endgame seems to increase those odds. Additionally, a post-credit scene in Black Widow shows Yelena visiting Natasha’s grave. At the grave, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) shows up and tells Yelena that her next target is Clint Barton and that he’s responsible for her sister’s death. The scene hints that Yelena may not know that Natasha sacrificed herself. If Yelena were alive following Thanos’ extermination of the Marvel universe, perhaps she would’ve been privy to the information.

Marvel has already said that fans will learn if Yelena had been dusted by Thanos or not. During a watch party for Black Widow, Marvel boss Kevin Feige answered the question about Yelena’s possible death in Infinity War, saying on Twitter, “You will find out, but not on this Twitter thread.” However, just by addressing the topic, Feige brings attention to the idea, perhaps hinting that Yelena was one of the heroes dusted in the MCU.

Theory: Natasha Sacrificed Herself To Bring Back Yelena

Natasha sacrificing herself for Yelena makes sense for both characters in Endgame. There’s obviously a possibility that Yelena wasn’t snapped away. After all, Black Widow takes place chronologically before Infinity War and Endgame, so the movie doesn’t have explicit clues that Yelena was missing. Additionally, though Natasha wears Yelena’s vest in Infinity War, Black Widow doesn’t necessarily match up perfectly with Endgame. In Endgame, Red Skull says Natasha is the daughter of Ivan, and that doesn’t seem to have any relevance in Black Widow. However, Yelena’s death would explain her odd absence from Infinity War and Endgame. Furthermore, the death would clearly factor into Natasha’s decision to sacrifice herself, showing exactly why she was adamant that it needed to be her.

Additionally, Yelena’s death would work better for Marvel. Black Widow’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame was one of the biggest controversies of the movie, with fans furious over the MCU offing its first female hero in favor of Jeremy Renner shooting his bow and arrow a bit more. But Yelena’s death would give Natasha’s sacrifice more meaning. Natasha’s line about trying to get to Vormir for “the last five years” makes more sense. Of course, she had to sacrifice herself. She did it for Yelena.

About The Author

Bill Bradley
(523 Articles Published)

Bill is an experienced reporter who’s covered entertainment and fandom since 2014. He’s done everything from unearthing the discarded Game of Thrones pilot script in a library in Texas to finding out why Steve left Blue’s Clues. He also enjoys eating Taco Bell and drinking chocolate milk.

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