Way back in February, long before many of the major players in "Iron Man 2" had been cast, "Dollhouse" actress Eliza Dushku made a public plea to play Russian spy Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow. And I have to admit, we were all pretty psyched about the idea around Splash Page HQ.

Cut to eight months later and Scarlett Johansson can be seen slinking around in the character's signature skin-tight, black costume. So, what happened?

"I think it went straight to Miss Thing," laughed Dushku when she dropped by to promote the current season of Joss Whedon's latest fan-favorite science-fiction series.

"I get it, you know? I get it. She's pretty fierce," said the actress.

Asked whether she ever heard anything from the studio after making her public call to fans, Dushku said she got the impression that things had already been settled behind the scenes at that point.

"I had read about it—I'm a huge [Robert] Downey Jr. fan and also [Jon] Favreau — but I think they had it packaged up at the studio," she explained.

So, while we're certainly looking forward to seeing Johansson make her debut in "Iron Man 2," we can't help but wonder about that alternate universe where Dushku's fan campaign won her the role—and audiences were already looking forward to seeing her take on the sexy Soviet super-spy in May 2010.

Think Eliza Dushku would've made a good Black Widow? Let us know what you think in the comment section or on Twitter!