Since the teaser trailer for the movie “Red Sparrow” came out in September, a lot fans had speculated that the character of the movie has a lot of similarities with Black Widow, a character from the Marvel universe.

“Red Sparrow” is a movie based off a 2013 novel by the same name, written by author Jason Matthews a retired CIA agent. The movie is about a Russian ballerina named Dominika Egorova, played by Jennifer Lawrence, who faces an uncertain future after she suffers an injury that ends her career. She soon turns to Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people to use their minds and bodies as weapons. She seduces men to gather information.

Black Widow, played in several movies by Scarlett Johansson,  is a side character from the Marvel universe. Her real screen name is Natalia “Natasha” Alianovna Romanova and she was orphaned as a child when she was trapped in a burning building during an early attack on Stalingrad by enemy forces. Natasha was recruited by her government to join the Red Room spy agency as a young child. She was taught to manipulate men to  gain insight.

“Honestly i didn’t think about that, but now that you mention it, I see the similarities,” said Ty Martinez. “They’re both double agents, both trained what seems to be against their will and both are played by beautiful women.”

The main reason why Marvel fans thought “Red Sparrow” was similar to Black Widow was the way they were marketed. The trailers played up the similarities between Marvel’s most famous spy and “Red Sparrow.”

Asked whether both were similar, student Isma Ruvalcaba said, “pretty much but a lot of superheroes have similar stories.” But once told about the differences Ruvalcaba said, “ They’re side characters however Black Widow is seen as a hero because of the Avengers.”

Although both stories sound similar, the characters are not. Black Widow became a spy at a young age, but Dominika joined the Sparrow school as an adult due to her injury and had to do what was necessary to survive.

Once viewers watch the movie “Red Sparrow” they’ll see she is completely different from Black Widow. “Red Sparrow” is a dark thriller, that takes place in a dark world. The movie is more realistic than Marvel movies are. “Red Sparrow” is a Rated R movie due to strong themes. In the movie it shows a world where the struggle for power and sex go hand-in-hand, and it shows the darkness that inhabits all men and women, no matter where they are in the world. The violence is raw, gruesome, and shocking. You feel the pain the main character goes through in the violent scenes.

In the movie “Avengers” that featured Black Widow in it, there was a scene where she was being interrogated. She is being punched and can take it. The scene was there for the laughs and the scene ends with her showing off her incredible fighting skills. In “Red Sparrow,” when Dominika is interrogated, viewers can feel every blow and they will  wince at the violence.

There are many differences between the two characters. The comparisons between “Red Sparrow” and Black Widow are ill-informed.