The Black Widow wave of Marvel Legends was released in the Spring of 2020, with the movie originally planned for a Summer 2020 release. The Covid 19 pandemic delayed the film by nearly a year and without a movie to push the sales the wave did appear to hang around and peg warm for some time.
Black Widow herself was presented in the wave in her black suit, with a deluxe version also released in the white suit. Both figures shared parts, head sculpts, and some accessories.
The wave also included Black Widow movie figures of Taskmaster, Red Guardian, and Yelena Belova. It was then rounded out with comic book figures of The Winter Soldier, Spymaster, and Crossbones - with a Crimson Dynamo Build-a-figure.
The packaging artwork was themed around Cold War-era propaganda photos with strong red accent colours on the illustrations - in this case, Natasha's hair. The box features a very brief text background.
"Natasha Romanoff reunites with a group of spies from her past to stop a lethal force"
The figure uses a new head sculpt for Scarlet Johanson that is perhaps not quite as strong as the Infinity War / Endgame version but is still excellent - enhanced by the photo-real decor application. The hairpiece is a separate sculpt and looks a little odd with one side presenting lower than the other. I do get this is trying to replicate an onscreen look.
The costume utilises most of the parts from the other Widow release, the white "snow" suit, with the arms, legs, and torso all the same but repainted. The upper chest is a different piece with an added holster on the back for the batons. The colour scheme is predominantly grey with black trim and this is a good change vs most of the previous Widow figures in the MCU. The costume also has some classic comic book nods like the gold trim and stingers and red highlights on the shoulders. Everything is neat and well painted.
Widow is armed with her batons. These are cast in dark grey plastic and do arrive warped due to ot the way they are packed. They lack any real detail, but fit neatly in each hand - and when not in use they can be holstered using the backpack.
There are also a pair of handguns included. These are again a single base colour, but are crisper and better detailed. They fit in the same gripping hands, and can also be holstered when not in use via the thigh holsters.
If you want your Black Widow to be posed in a more hand-to-hand combat stance, then the gripping hands can be swapped out for the alternative pair of fists provided. This gives a further option for display - particularly when the batons and pistols are holstered. Swap in and out is easy enough and the hands are painted to match the costume with the grey panel section on the back of the hands.
When you swap the hands you can also remove the wrist stingers if you wish which are separate parts.
Articulation for Widow comes in with 16 points of articulation. This includes double-jointed knees allowing Black Widow to kneel and slide into combat positions. The arms could do with double joint elbows, but the existing solution does a pretty decent job - bending past 90-degrees - it just has a slightly tough rotation that is heavily ratcheted and can only move within the confines of the elbow shape.
This version also improves on the white suit with the shape of the upper torso not blocking the arms so they can be lowered into a natural position at the figures side. All of the joints are tight and secure, and Widow is a joy to pose and stand. She also fits onto the dynamic stand included with the white suit deluxe figure for further options.
Out of all the Black Widow figures available at launch in 2020, this is the best of the bunch. It does a great job in terms of likeness, decor, and articulation. And with plenty of accessories to choose from, there are plenty of posing options. My only builds would have been a straighter and more detailed set of batons, and perhaps double joint elbows.
It may not be the definitive Black Widow, I think that is something still to come, it does give Natasha a further representation in an MCU Marvel line dominated by Captain America and Iron-Man.
If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Checkout our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews and store reports
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, hasbro, marvel, legends, black widow, mcu