Similarities between Sara Lance and Yelena Belova
As I said in this post yesterday, Sara Lance and Yelena Belova are very similar characters. Of course, they aren't exactly the same, but their backstories are surprisingly alike.
They're both former assassins who (at the time of Legends season 1 and Thunderbolts*) are struggling with the guilt and regrets they have from the terrible things they've done. They both had an older sister who they were separated from for years before their emotionally turbulent reunion, and despite not being terribly close their big sisters were the most important people in their lives. Unfortunately, both of their big sisters were killed while they were on another plane of existence (Sara was time-traveling with the Legends when Laurel was killed, and Natasha died when Yelena was blipped). After their sisters' deaths, they both dedicated themselves to hunting down and killing the man responsible for her death (as they believed, at least), but ultimately they weren't able to exact revenge and they were forced to accept that there was nothing they could do to bring their sister back. Then, when they were at their lowest, they found themselves reluctantly leading a team of other D-list super-people that eventually became their found family and gave them a sense of belonging and purpose that they hadn't truly felt since childhood.
They both have a scene where they tell the other member(s) of their team that the way to cope with grief and depression is to lock those feelings away and bury them (3x09 Beebo the God of War for Sara). This is a very specific example, but it shows that not only is their trauma similar, but so is the way they process it. Also, they both took the superhero name most commonly associated with their big sister and changed it from Black (animal) to White (animal), since Sara is now the White Canary and Yelena is known as the White Widow in the comics. And they're both daddy's girls and dog people.
Now I'm absolutely not saying that Yelena is a rip-off of Sara by any means; despite all these similarities they are very distinct and original characters. But I do think that they would be fast friends if they ever met, and if Marvel plays their cards right Yelena could end up occupying the same space in the MCU that Sara held in the Arrowverse.
Sara Lance is my absolute favorite character of all time, and while no character will ever mean as much to me as she does, I'm so glad that Yelena and the Thunderbolts seem to represent the same values and lovable traits that Sara and the Legends always did. I really hope that Marvel continues to do amazing things with these characters and that maybe one day Yelena Belova can earn a spot next to Sara Lance in my own personal character hall of fame.
