Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for ‘Thunderbolts*'.After the mass success ofThunderbolts*on its opening weekend, people are absolutely in love (if they weren’t already) with the protagonist, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). Because of this,people find themselves thinking about all of her great momentsin theMarvel Cinematic Universe—including her awesome and heartfeltThunderbolts*scenes.
Whether it be through great writing, comedic moments, Pugh’s performance, or incredibleaction,Yelena Belova is an adorable and badass hero in the MCU and is slowly becoming the new face of it. While she has great scenes all across the cinematic universe, there are a handful that truly stand out among the rest as the best ofthe best of Yelena Belova.
Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts follows a group of unconventional superheroes who emerge in a world without the Avengers. As this new team bands together, they navigate complex missions and moral dilemmas, seeking to establish themselves as protectors while uncovering hidden threats that could jeopardize global safety and stability.
10Yelena Makes Fun of Natasha’s Pose
‘Black Widow’ (2021)
Yelena may be a badass super spy, butshe is also super hilarious, far more than her sister, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). One of the earliest examples of this in her MCU tenure is when she makes fun of her sister’s pose that she does while in action.She calls it a “fighting pose” while imitating it, and it’s a hilarious little meta joke about Natasha being more of a superhero than a super spy.
Natasha tries to deny it, but the audience and Yelena know that she absolutely does this, making it even more enjoyable.This was a great early example of Yelena being far funnier and a lot more charming than the other Widows. This made her incredibly likable right off the bat and got audiences to care about her early in the movie.
Black Widow
Natasha Romanoff confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises.
9Yelena’s Heart-to-Heart With Natasha
The heart-to-heart that Natasha and Yelena get to have close to the middle ofBlack Widowis a great scene for the both of them.Getting to see each other again after so long brought up a lot of memories and some pain for both of them, and that was established from the very start. But it’s when they’re gathering their bearings that they get to finally have a real discussion with each other.
The heart-to-heart that Natasha and Yelena get to have close to the middle ofBlack Widowis a great scene for the both of them.
The moment is really heartfelt and begins to heal the relationship between the Widow sisters. It’s where Yelena gets to start healing in her character arc. It’s also a moment where she can be seen not just as a comedic relief character, but as someone who is more compelling and interesting to the audience. Getting to see the more sincere side of her here before they really get to later in the film makes for a great moment for her.
8"Something is wrong with me…"
‘Thunderbolts*’ (2025)
The opening scene ofThunderbolts*is one of the best Yelena Belova moments. Not only is it an awesome break in sequence, but her opening monologue is super-compelling, relatable, and sets up the core emotional conflict for both her but the entire core of the movie itself.Kicking the movie off with Yelena jumping off of a super-tall building, knowing that Florence herself actually did that stunt herself, makes it even better.
With how connected to the mental health message Yelena is, the choice to begin the movie with her was a good one.
A good, thrilling action sequenceis always a surefire way to hook people, andThunderbolts*does this while getting people emotionally invested at the same time.It’s a perfect way to start the film, especially since the movie is invested in a message surrounding mental health. With how connected to the mental health message Yelena is, the choice to begin the movie with her was a good one.
7Yelena Fights Hawkeye at Rockefeller Center
‘Hawkeye’ (2021)
The inclusion of Yelena in 2021’sHawkeyewas a great decision. One of the most rewatchable Hawkeye scenes happens to be the final battle for Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) in the series, which is against Yelena herself.She was made to believe that Hawkeye had killed Natasha inAvengers: Endgame(obviously not true), so she set out to kill him.
The fight between the two is really compelling as it’s not only exciting and thrilling, but it’s pretty dang emotional.With Clint trying to convince her that he didn’t kill her sister and she sacrificed herself for the greater good, it’s tough to see her try to come to terms with that. Emotions heighten as the fight gets more intense, and it makes for a super exciting sequence to wrap up theHawkeyeseries.
Series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Hawkeye, centering on the adventures of Young Avenger, Kate Bishop, who took on the role after the original Avenger, Clint Barton.
6Yelena Fights Natasha
When Black Widow first comes across her long-lost sister after many years, they get into a heated battle, which does some great power scaling for Yelena in her first big action debut. It was also unique because fans had never seen Natasha face off with another Widow with all the Red Room training she had. To see her equally matched with Yelena was super cool to watch in theaters in 2021.
…Fans had never seen Natasha face off with another Widow with all the Red Room training she had.
There’s a good bit of dramatic irony here as the two are both unsure if they can trust the other (due to being aware of the Red Room’s mind control), but the audience knows they’re both free from it, so it’s a tad humorous in that aspect, as well. Seeing how truly equal the two are made Yelena feel far more powerful than she would have before. Immediately power-scaling a character to almost the same power level as one of the core six Avengers makes them incredibly cool.
5Yelena Comforts Bob
At the climax ofThunderbolts*, when Bob’s (Lewis Pullman) darker side, The Void, takes over New York City with his shadows,Yelena takes the chance to jump in, hoping to go into Bob’s mind and not die. When she goes in and forces her way through her past, she finds Bob, hidden away in a (somewhat) safe room. It’s there that she comforts him to try and quell The Void, and she gets a hugecharacter moment to endThunderbolts*.
…She and the rest of the Thunderbolts hug him (initiated by Yelena) to get the entire message of the film across: Healing is not shoving the pain away, but facing it with those one loves.
At the beginning of the film, she tells Bob that one should shove their darkness and pain deep down and ignore it to keep moving forward. It’s in this takeover of New York that she sees how wrong she is about that notion and must tell Bob that one must embrace the darker side of oneself to find balance. After Bob begins to beat down on The Void, she and the rest of the Thunderbolts hug him (initiated by Yelena) to get the entire message of the film across: Healing is not shoving the pain away, but facing it with those one loves.
4"It was real to me!"
Florence Pugh has easily one of, if not the best, performances inBlack Widow, and the greatest example of this is during the “family dinner” scene when she breaks down talking about their past together as a fake family. When Natasha calls all of it fake,Yelena begins to cry and tells them that what they had was real to her and that she was hurt, that it was fake, and they never told her.
It’s a very emotional scene and a true highlight of the film, because, as stated,Pugh gives one of the best performances in the movie here, and it’s really compelling. It’s one of her more famous moments, too, commonly quoted on the internet among the Marvel fandom. It’snot just a good quote, it’s a phenomenal acting moment that sticks out in the film like no other.
3The Thunderbolts vs. Sentry
When Sentry makes his big debut under Valentina’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) control in the latter half ofThunderbolts*, the team tries to fight him and get their butts whooped in the process. For the first part of the fight, however, Yelena’s true character shows, because rather than jumping into the fight with them, she initially tries to stop them from attacking Sentry.
Her knee-jerk reaction, trying to stop the fighting, is a testament to how amazing she is as a character…
This is a great showcase of how genuinely caring and heartfelt she is.She truly cared about Bob and her team’s safety at that moment.Her knee-jerk reaction, trying to stop the fighting, is a testament to how amazing she is as a character and why she deserves more spotlight in the MCU. This is what a true hero does and acts.
2Yelena Meets Kate Bishop
One of the best character dynamics in the current MCU is between Yelena and the new Hawkeye, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). The way Steinfeld and Pugh play off of each other makes for some of the most fun moments inHawkeye.The best of which is the scene in which they first get to truly meet each other after Yelena breaks into Kate’s apartment and starts eating her mac & cheese.
This conversation is hilarious, as they talk about how the assassin plans to kill Clint Barton while casually eating mac & cheese.
This conversation is hilarious, as they talk about how the assassin plans to kill Clint Barton while casually eating mac & cheese.This set up the incredible dynamic between the two of them that would go on to be absolutely unforgettable. They may have been facing off against each other for the life of Clint inHawkeye, butseeing these two team-upwould be amazing, and this scene is why.
1Yelena Opens Up to Red Guardian
After all seems lost post-Sentry fight inThunderbolts*,Yelena breaks down and gets to finally let her pent-up emotions out to Red Guardian(David Harbour). This is a huge moment for her character and arguably the biggest for her in the MCU.She breaks down to her father, and both David Harbour and Florence Pugh give the best performances of the entire movie, crafting an astoundingly profound scene.
She breaks down to her father, and both David Harbour and Florence Pugh give the best performances of the entire movie…
This scene is the culmination of everything Yelena has been feeling since her sister’s death, and that makes it so compelling. It brings the heart of the movie towards its full-circle moment to come within The Void-verse and may very well be the best scene in the movie, if not one of them. The scene itself is a definition of whyThunderbolts* is so special. It has heart, is genuine, and cares about telling a good story with a thoughtful message.
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