After being delayed for more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, stage 4 of the Marvel Comics Universe finally launches with “Black Widow.”

This origin story proves to be the perfect restart – a bit of a change of pace that feels more like a spy thriller than a comic book movie. It’s a fitting final chapter to the title character’s story arc, but it also provides fans a chance to see what lies ahead in the Marvel Comics Universe.

Scarlett Johansson reprises the role of Natasha Romanoff for the eighth – and likely – last time (it’s not really a spoiler that the character died in “Avengers: Endgame”), but this is the first time Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, gets center stage.

The film begins with a flashback that shows a seemingly ideal couple – Alexia (David Harbour) and Melina (Rachel Weisz) – living with their two young daughters in an Ohio town. It turns out the couple are actually Russian spies, whose cover is blown, forcing them to return home. The two young girls were just placed with the couple to seem like an ordinary family, so once they return to Russia they are placed into a government program that turns the young girls into cold-blooded assassins.

Those two girls grow up to be Natasha (Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh). The story then moves to events shortly after “Captain America: Civil War” with Natasha on the run. Natasha gets a message from Yelena, who informs her that the past Natasha thought she had left behind is in fact still a threat – with the head of the government program Drekyov (Ray Winstone) still active.

The pair set out to find their estranged “parents” to help them locate the location of Drekyov’s secret operation before his top assassin known as the Taskmaster finds them.

Director Cate Shortland stages this much like a James Bond thriller (there is even a nod to the series in the film). This is an action adventure grounded in reality, with some well-crafted action sequences and a globe-trotting storyline that takes time to breathe and allow the audience to get to know these characters. It’s so easygoing and effortless that it’s easy to forget how hard it really is to craft something this entertaining.

Harbour and Weisz are both very good, with Harbour providing some unexpected comic relief. But it’s Pugh’s addition, as the fierce sibling, who is the most welcome addition. In a way it almost feels like Johansson is passing the torch to Pugh, giving her character a chance to be an integral part of the Marvel Universe going forward.

It all adds up to a very solid entry in the Marvel series – a film that would make a fun companion piece with another film in the series “Captain America: Winter Soldier.”

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh

Directed by: Cate Shortland

Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, some language and thematic material

Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12, Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10, Highland Cinemas (Glasgow), Franklin Drive-In

Grade: B