Yelena’s Hidden Black Widow Easter Egg Is Secretly Heartbreaking

Yelena Belova’s (Florence Pugh) secret Black Widow tribute in Hawkeye makes her MCU journey all the more heartbreaking. Debuting in Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff’s (Scarlett Johansson) younger sister Yelena made her next franchise appearance in the Disney+ series Hawkeye. Yelena intended to seek revenge against Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) after she was made to believe that Hawkeye killed her sister during the events of Avengers: Endgame. While Yelena didn’t go through with her plan, her involvement in the show caught fans up with what she’s been up to since she was freed from the Black Widow program.

As revealed by Hawkeye costume designer Michael Crow, Yelena’s coat featured several enamel pins, including a spider—a subtle but intentional nod to the Black Widow mantle. It could be a tribute to Nat since she’s widely known by her hero name Black Widow. But, it could also indicate that she hasn’t been able to fully move on from her experience being a trained assassin from the Black Widow program. Typically, pins are a way to show support for a cause, but from people in the military, it represents rank and unit, in addition to being a visual representation for the service rendered and wars they fought. Yelena wearing a Black Widow pin could be a constant reminder of where she came from and what she did as part of General Dreykov’s (Ray Winstone) Red Room.  It’s a heartbreaking thought that she continues to associate herself with that abusive program even though she’s been removed from it for quite a while now.   

Yelena still carrying her past with her is reminiscent of Bucky Barnes’ (Sebastian Stan) struggle in the MCU. It’s been several years since he discovered how HYDRA used him to be their assassin known as the Winter Soldier, and since then, he’s been actively trying to heal his mind from the conditioning he’d been subjected to for decades. But, as seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it hasn’t been an easy road. Despite knowing that he didn’t intentionally commit the atrocious crimes he did as the Winter Soldier, he still feels immense guilt over them. Marvel Studios has yet to fully explore Bucky’s personal arc, with his last Disney+ outing more focused on setting up Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) to be the next Captain America. But, it’s imperative that the franchise properly tackle his healing journey, especially since he could play a leadership role in the MCU moving forward. 

At least now, the misunderstanding about Clint Barton supposedly killing Nat in Vormir has already been cleared up. Hopefully, it helps Yelena come to terms with the death of her sister moving forward. But if Bucky’s arc in the MCU is any indication, it’s safe to assume that she is in for a long and painful road to healing the trauma she suffered as a critical part of the Black Widow program. 

All episodes of Hawkeye are now streaming on Disney+.

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