First ‘Avengers’ clip shows Scarlett Johansson all tied up

Who needs superpowers, anyway? Certainly not Natascha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. As an agent of SHIELD, she might not wield an enchanted hammer or wear a mechanized suit of armor -- she really doesn't wear much of anything, to be honest -- but she can still pack a punch.

Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson

In the first released clip from "Marvel's The Avengers," we find Black Widow, played once again by Scarlett Johansson, in a precarious situation. Attired in a low-cut, leg-baring black cocktail dress, she's tied to a chair and surrounded by thugs. Still, she's able to take a call from fellow SHIELD agent Coulson (Clark Gregg). He tells her, "Barton's been compromised," referring to Clint Barton, better known as the expert archer Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner). This news forces her into action, and she takes out the military officer holding her hostage and his goons. While her outfit doesn't cover much of her front or her back, she's still able to kick, headbutt, and flip her way to freedom.

It's no surprise that Johansson as Black Widow is one tough customer. She single-handedly cleared out a corridor full of guards in a climactic action scene in "Iron Man 2," her first appearance as the comic book character. In that fight, though, she was outfitted in a stretchy catsuit and had all four limbs at her disposal. But here she shows she can knock guys flat with her hands tied behind her back (or at least at her side), and she proves that a revealing little black dress really is appropriate for any occasion.

Rest assured, Black Widow will be back in her skintight costume later in the film. In a report from the set on HitFix, Johansson talked about how miserable she and her costars were in their outfits, especially in the heat of New Mexico, where much of the film was shot. She said, "Everybody looks incredibly uncomfortable until the cameras are rolling and then we all look f***ing badass." And she did reveal that she wasn't wearing anything under her unitard.

[Related: 'Spider-Man' star's costume secret]

There will be more to see of Black Widow when "Marvel's The Avengers" hits theaters on May 4.

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