Yelena Belova, who holds the mantle of the MCU’s new Black Widow, just took the spotlight in her White Widow costume before making her Marvel Studios return.
Florence Pugh became one of the MCU’s first major new characters of the Multiverse Saga in 2021, debuting alongside Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow.
She would later return in a semi-antagonistic role for the Hawkeye series on Disney+, and she’s primed to take on her first headlining appearance next year as she plays the leading role in the upcoming Thunderbolts team-up film.
Marvel Comic Shows New Yelena Costume
Marvel Comics revisited an announcement from late June 2023 confirming that Yelena Belova would headline her own limited comic series, which will hit shelves and online retailers in November.
This comic run, going under the title “White Widow,” will put Yelena front and center as a solo hero for the first time in her long history with Marvel Comics, written by Sarah Gailey and drawn by artist Alessandro Miracolo.
The cover for this comic run features Yelena in her memorable White Widow costume, sitting in a huge spider web hammock as she dons her classic Black Widow gauntlets and a shotgun in her left hand.
Below is an image of Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova from Black Widow, donning her own version of the White Widow costume along with the vest that she’d later give to Natasha Romanoff before Avengers: Infinity War.
This comic will put Yelena on a new path as she gains her freedom from the Black Widow program, allowing her to pick her own path as a spy, rogue agent, or another kind of hero.
This comes after Yelena proclaimed herself to be the White Widow and an ally to the Black Widow in Black Widow Vol. 8 #6 in late April 2021.
When Will Yelena Belova Return to the MCU?
Barring any unforeseen appearances in other projects or an unexpected post-credits scene like the one she had in Black Widow, Yelena’s next time showing up in the MCU should be in 2024’s Thunderbolts.
That film will see her reunite with a couple of Black Widow cohorts in David Harbour’s Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz’s Melina Vostokoff, all while serving as a key figure on the newly-formed team of antiheroes.
While Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier will serve as something of the de facto leader of the Thunderbolts, having Yelena involved will give the group plenty of firepower along with a relentlessness that should benefit the team.
And with Marvel likely looking to put Yelena in the spotlight for years to come in the Multiverse Saga, her return in 2024 will only give her a new level of fame.
Thunderbolts is set to debut in theaters on December 20, 2024.
