Alongside the single figure Marvel Legends releases for Avengers Endgame, Hasbro also released a two pack of Hawkeye and Black Widow in their Quantum Suits from the movie. The set was exclusive to Target in the US and had limited availability elsewhere worldwide.
Packaging 3/5
The set follows the usual packaging design for a two pack. We have the same sculpted sides as a single release, the right with an image of Black Widow and the left with Hawkeye. The black frame around the window carries the Legends logo at the top with the character names positioned at the bottom either side of the Avengers logo in a blue band. Like the other releases the box doesn't actually use the Endgame logo, just a dark blue / red trimmed Avengers logo.
The back of the box has another image of Hawkeye and Widow alongside a very short piece of text that gives nothing away.
"From the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. to the growing team of Avengers, Black Widow and Hawkeye put their expert training to use as they suit up to defend their world and universe from intergalactic threats."
The backing card is a pale blue, like the other Endgame figures, and carries a large Avengers "A" in the centre. The figures are sat into a clear inner tray with the accessories to either side and a selection of spare heads down the middle - more on these later.
Paint & Sculpt 3/5
We got a nice Black Widow head sculpt with face print technology for Infinity War, and therefore I was surprised that the Quantum Suit Endgame Widow isn't a re-use with new hair piece, and looks to be a new sculpt with arguably a better likeness to Scarlett Johansson. The face print brings out the colour of Widow's eyes, and is not overly heavy on the lip colour.
The hair piece is a pony tail swept round to one side and back over the figures shoulder. It is cast in a red colour and has no paint apps until the end of the pony tail where the last of Natasha's blond hair from Infinity War remains. This is not too successful and the hair can appear to have an unpainted end to it. It would have also benefited from a wash considering the amount of detail in the hair such as plaited segments at the front and round the back.
The body, the female version of the Quantum Suit, remains inaccurate to the white suits on screen but Hasbro are pressing on with these so at the moment it's these silver suits or nothing. The body is a proportioned well, but feels more generic and not Black Widow - it's a bit too tall and is half a head taller than the last Widow figure. The panels are sculpted and defined and the paint is neat - neater than the male buck at least.
The female body also comes with a Nebula head sculpt. This means the set can be bought multiple times to build out your Quantum Suit Avengers. The Nebula head is OK and appears to be the existing head from the Nebula released in 2017 for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 with an updated paint job.
While the sculpt on Nebula is good, the paint jobs is poor - a similar story to the male heads for Ant-Man and Iron-Man. The blue is far too bright as is the added orange panels and the silver elements around the left eye. The central panel of purple is pastel in tone and finish and looks very odd when it should be a metallic finish. This is a waste opportunity and all it needed was the same paint apps as the last Nebula release with the added orange panels.
Accessories 3/5
Black Widow comes with her batons. These are a re-use from the Infinity War Black Widow. Like that set they arrive warped and are not easy to straighten. They are cast in a black plastic with silver rings painted around the length. Like the Infinity War batons, I think these are too long by perhaps half an inch.
They fit into either hand for two stick fighting. And they can combine by means of a plug and socket to make a staff. There is sadly no built in holsters on her back to stow these when not in use.
To ensure Nebula is also suitably armed, there is a second weapon included for her. This is the same gun as the 2016 Nebula and is actually the only re-used item with a bit of an upgrade in this set with some additional gold paint apps over the original.
It fits into the right hand of the Quantum Suit but there there is no trigger finger as the hand obviously also has to hold Widow's batons. An alternative right hand would have been useful here.
Articulation
Black Widow has 18 points of articulation which is a couple more than a usual MCU female figure. The big upgrade, and one that works brilliantly for posing, is the addition of double jointed elbows. These really open up the figure for various stances and action shots.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : ball joint torso
Arms : ball joint shoulders, bicep swivel, double joint elbows, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rocker
The female Quantum suit is not as loose as the male version and all the joints feel tight. The figure stands perfectly well, but does look a little bow-legged when doing so .
The articulation works to support either Widow or Nebula, depending on how you are using the figure - allowing firing positions for Nebula and her handgun.
Summary
Like the Hawkeye (male) Quantum suit, this figure has flaws aside from the obvious screen accuracy. The body is very much sculpted to be generic and therefore is not a definitive Black Widow and with the height is more suited to be a Nebula figure.
The heads are very nicely sculpted, but let down with paint apps - Widow with that dipped white pony tail and Nebula in pastel tones and not the harsher metallic we saw on her previous release.
The figure does deliver in articulation, and is only the second female figure after Rescue, to feature double joint elbows.
This is a figure, and an overall set, that will split fans. The screen accuracy issue will turn off a lot, and those who do pick up the set will find it disappointing in a few areas. We then have availability issues, with the set not being widely available outside of the US. I suspect in the years to come we may end up seeing these figures repainted to the white and re-released in some format.
I score the Black Widow (Nebula) Quantum Suit a 3 out of 5.
Figure Hacks
Those who want to take the Black Widow head and potentially update another Widow figure will be pleased to know that the head will fit onto the Infinity War body.
It will also fit onto the original Black Widow Winter Soldier body, but due to neck shape on that figure she will end up looking like she is shrugging and the head is looking down too much.
