I like Clint and Natasha independently of any romance, they are really strong characters. I think that they don't need a romance to keep them interesting. If it happens, I'm not opposed to it, I just think Whedon's time would be better served balancing the group dynamic and giving characters depth.

Yah. Though all of these time issues would be solved if they just had a Black Widow movie!

With you on the Daniel and Betty. I still need to watch a few episodes though.

I just got into Ugly Betty last year and I powered through that show so quickly. I hadn't realized what I had been missing. And it was fun to ship Daniel and Betty, not worrying about whether they went there or not. I saw the connection there, but I understood if the writers wanted to keep it in the friends zone, which is how I feel about Clint and Natasha.

And YES this would all be moot if we just got our damn Black Widow movie. I want an origin story so badly, and then you could tie in Hawkeye and he how he made a different call. We can only hope we get it in Phase 3.

They would have to tell the origin in flashbacks- perhaps one of her former employers or an associate of the Red Room as the current villain? A Black Widow movie would be such a great way to explore the Earth of the Marvel Universe.

Yeah, I trust Whedon to tell a hell of a story. I just don't trust him with my emotions anymore.

It's been said that the Widow cameo in Cap2 will essentially only be there to allow for an exposition of the back story between her and the Winter Soldier. So there will be Widow back story, just tied in to help tell Bucky's story at the same time. Two birds with one stone so to speak.

I hope they give Natasha more to do than that!

Well considering Cap2 is featuring Captain America, Falcon, Nick Fury (who may get some backstory), Maria Hill, Black Widow, a love interest (likely Sharon Carter), as well as rumours of Wendell Vaughn/Quasar to tie in with Guardians of the Galaxy as the good guys. Winter Soldier, Crossbones, Armin Zola returned most likely as a cyborg, and the possibility of Baron Zemo/Baron Strucker/General Lukin as bad guys. It is a little hard to imagine Widow as more than a bit part player in the whole story. The cast is big to begin with, so lots of screen time devoted to something not necessarily related to telling either Cap's or Bucky's story is unlikely.

Damn you and your logic! *shakes fist*

:P Well, that would be a criminal underuse of Scarlett Johansson, but it's not like they haven't done that before, so *shrugs*

And Hugo Weaving has been pretty vocal about not wanting to return, so they would have to get ugly to bring him back.

Likely why the chap who plays Jaimie Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is rumoured to be up for a role that would likely be Baron Zemo or Baron Strucker as the central Big Bad controlling Bucky, Crossbones and Armin Zola. He can play the cultured, Euro baddie pulling the strings in the background in what is supposed to be a political thriller where Cap works for SHIELD to help stop terrorists in Washington DC from all the rumours.
Also bringing back the Red Skull and going with the same baddie for two movies in a row, not a great idea. They could possibly set up his return for a Cap3 or A3 through Thor2, A2 or GotG as he has disappeared into the Cosmic Cube, if they could negotiate something with Weaving.

or they go the General Lukin route, a KGB General possessed by the Red Skull and in control of the Winter Soldier, which is essentially straight out of the comics. Though the cube isn't around to facilitate the possession or give Bucky back his memories.

Well I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping they follow KISS.