Black Widow Could Introduce The MCU’s First MUTANT | Screen Rant

Black Widow could introduce the MCU’s first mutant – the Russian superhero called Ursa Major. Black Widow will see Scarlett Johansson joined by the world’s tallest bodybuilder, Olivier Richters, who’s nicknamed the “Dutch Giant” due to his remarkable height of 7ft 2in.

The Dutch strongman has been attempting to make his big break in acting for quite some time, with a number of small film and TV credits. In August, Richters took to social media to reveal that he’s spent three weeks in the UK filming an unknown role for ‘Black Widow. As he noted, “Marvel was kind of my end goal. Maybe knock on their door in a few years, first built a resume so I can show them what I can do. And now it is the first one on my resume… insane.” Naturally, viewers are assuming Richters was chosen for a very specific role given his height and abilities.

Related: Black Widow Trailer Proves The Movie Is Years Too Late

The most likely candidate is a Russian superhero named Ursa Major, who serves as a member of the Russian super-team the Winter Guard alongside the Red Guardian. He’s a strong-man who has the ability to transform himself into a gigantic, anthropomorphic bear. Ursa Major retains his intelligence and memories while in animal form, and possesses enhanced strength and resistance to injury – to the extent that he’s been able to go one-on-one with the Hulk. Given Black Widow features David Harbour as Red Guardian, Ursa Major would be a natural fit.

Red Guardian’s introduction into the MCU confirms that – just as in the comics – the United States wasn’t the only country to conduct super-soldier experiments. Unlike the other Soviet super-soldiers, though, Ursa Major was a mutant; one of the few to survive, because the Soviet government recognized his potential and felt he could be a useful asset. If Ursa Major does indeed appear in Black Widow, then he would be the MCU’s first ever mutant. Until the Disney/Fox acquisition, Marvel Studios had been prohibited from using mutant characters or introducing the word “mutant,” because their film rights sat with Fox.

But Ursa Major is an interesting case in point. While he’s a mutant, he’s not predominantly associated with the X-Men, and is instead typically connected to various Avengers, most recently acting as a covert informant for Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda. As a result, it’s likely that his film rights were shared between Marvel and Fox, in the same manner both studios could use Quicksilver. As such, Marvel would have been able to begin planning how to use the character well ahead of the Fox purchase; they simply couldn’t use the term “mutant” in scripts commissioned at that point. Now the deal is done, though, minor adjustments could be made to describe this gigantic Russian warrior as a mutant.

More: Black Widow Trailer Breakdown: 23 Story Details & Secrets You Missed

Crisis On Infinite Earths Was The Perfect Ending To Smallville