Why is Black Widow In Her 80s?
This write-up makes some good points, and is worth reading especially if you don’t know the history of Natasha’s history. I think it undersells two things:
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The concept of “Russian spies” is indelibly tied to the Cold War. You can look at the MCU for a clear example of this: even though Natasha in that world is only the age of Scarlett Johansson, she still namedrops the KGB, not the GRU.
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The Name of the Rose, the comic that, imo, made the best storytelling argument for having Natasha be secretly 80, is the version a lot of newer fans imprinted on.