Marvel Noir is home to the hard-boiled black-and-white reality of Earth-90214, with its version of Marvel’s Friendly Neighborhood Superhero, Spider-Man Noir, successfully continuing the legacy of Earth-616’s original Web-Slinger in an intriguing new way. Set to make his live-action debut in the soon-to-released Nicolas Cage-starring Spider-Noir television series, Spider-Man Noir’s comic also has a way for Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow to return to Marvel’s ever-growing multiverse in a role that’s eerily similar to her now-deceased MCU character.

Making his monochromatic debut in 2009’s Spider-Man Noir #1, by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, and Carmine Di Giandomenico, this darker take on Marvel’s iconic arachnid hero saw Peter Parker interact with new iterations of his greatest friends and foes, like Norman Osborn’s Goblin, the Vulture, Otto Octavius, Electro, and more, with his brutal and lethal tactics setting him apart from his “main” continuity counterpart.

In issue three of the second volume of Spider-Man Noir — the third Spider-Noir-related series after 2010’s Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face — Earth-90214’s version of Black Widow, Checkpoint Red, is officially introduced, giving Scarlett Johansson a way to return to Marvel’s sprawling live-action universe in Amazon Prime Video’s streaming release of Spider-Noir.

Marvel Noir’s Checkpoint Red Character Is the Perfect Way To Bring Scarlet Johansson’s Black Widow Back to the Live-Action Space

Spider-Man Noir #3 - 2020 (Margaret Stohl and Juan Ferreyra)

Following the resurrection of Spider-Noir after his death in 2018’s Spider-Geddon, Spider-Man Noir #3 sees Peter Parker looking for a way to stop Earth-90214’s Electro while dealing with the growing threat of Hitler’s Third Reich overseas. Alongside Doctor Huma Bergmann, Spider-Noir seeks out the help of Checkpoint Red, and after a long and treacherous flight to Istanbul, is finally found by her. Looking like the infamous Red Room operative in all but name, Checkpoint Red’s black clothing, red hair, and deadly proficiency with a knife make her an excellent Black Widow-adjacent character for Scarlett Johansson to return as.

Betrayed by Huma when taking Spider-Noir hostage at the end of the issue, it’s in the brawl that directly proceeds this twist that Checkpoint Red’s parallels to Black Widow are highlighted, with her general badass nature, acrobatic skills on the battlefield, and willingness to kill making her a Marvel Noir character that shouldn’t be messed with. Now, with a TV adaptation of Spider-Man Noir right around the corner, it would be genius to bring Johansson back as Black Widow one last time in a way no one expects while giving her a chance to try something new with the character.

Scarlett Johansson Could Reprise Her Black Widow Role in a Future Season of Spider-Noir

Scarlett Johansson Was Last Seen in Black Widow’s Solo MCU Film

Sacrificing herself in Avengers: Endgame to defeat Thanos, Johansson has stated that she wants to leave her Black Widow character alone post-Endgame continuity and will not be reprising her role in Avengers: Doomsday, with the pull to iterate on the character she brought to life in Iron Man 2 being as good an excuse as any to return to the role. With Spider-Noir’s pulp-influenced comic introducing Checkpoint Red, it’s proven how Black Widow can be portrayed in fresh new ways, with Johansson’s involvement in a later season of Spider-Noir being the kind of wishful thinking fans need at the moment.

Nicolas Cage also plays Ghost Rider in Marvel's Live-Action Universe.

In the same vein, Johansson could always re-enter Marvel’s multiverse in an animated capacity, with the Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse film giving her the perfect opportunity to be part of Spider-Noir’s corner of the Spider-Verse as Checkpoint Red — a far easier ask of the actress, as Scarlett has done voice-over work before, specifically as Kaa in Disney’s 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book. Whether or not Scarlett Johansson decides to return to Marvel in the future, Spider-Man Noir’s Checkpoint Red character will continue to be a great comic-accurate option that keeps her MCU Black Widow’s heroic sacrifice intact.

Spider-Man Noir #3 is available from Marvel Comics.