“The truth is a matter of circumstances; it's not all things to all people all the time.”
The first curated releases from the Marvel Cinematic Universe outside of the main Legends waves came in 2018. The ‘First Ten Years’ sets marked the 10th Anniversary of the MCU and went on to fill several gaps in our collections with figures like Red Skull, Yellow Jacket, Crossbones, and more. The series was then renamed the 80th Anniversary series in 2019 and here, alongside comic book releases, we saw more new releases including Skurge, Ghost, and Peggy Carter. 2020's releases saw a switch to the Fox movies and a set of releases celebrating both the original X-Men movies and Deadpool. And then finally in 2021, these annual releases evolved again into the Infinity Saga collection, a series of figures celebrating the first three phases of the MCU and including a mix of re-releases, and new characters such as Quicksilver, Odin, and Obadiah Stane.
The Infinity Saga would go on to skip 2022 but returned in 2023 with a set of 8 figures from the first full arc of the MCU. The packaging’s square box shape is consistent with all the movie releases dating back to 2018, while the design for the Infinity Saga established in 2021 is continued with a black window box, reflective side artwork - which is the same on every released - and the use of the movie logo on the box front, and the movie poster on the rear alongside a small piece of supporting text.
Black Widow is the first of two figures in the 2023 Infinity Saga Series taken from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier Black Widow dates back to the very infancy of the MCU figures within Marvel Legends as we know them today, and despite being 10 years old our new 2023 version is pretty much a direct re-release of that 2014 release of Natasha, albeit with some tweaks and updated paint decor.
The core of the Black Widow we receive the same as was packed into the Winter Soldier wave in 2014 and this does feature some of the more exaggerated body proportions that Legends were following at that point, applying comic book proportions to MCU real world set figures. Black Widow arrives in her black suit as seen in Winter Soldier, and prior to that in the first Avengers movie. It is cast in black with paint apps limnited to some silver on her two belts, zipper and a ring at the base of her wrist stingers. This is less decor than we saw on the 2014 version which also featured painted clasps on the thigh holsters and a more defined central zipper.
The proportions mentioned early present in the very slim waist and very shapely hips neither of which are fully accurate to Scarlet Johannson in costume. The figure retains the glued on belt with guns sculpted into the holster - there has been no attempt to update these to a working version. The arms are definitely updated from the original with a small painted S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the right arm, updated articulation, and removable stinger devices at the wrists.
We get both head sculpts as seen in the 2014 release, a long haired version accurate to The Winter Soldier, and a shorter one that was a nod to her Avengers appearance. Neither head is changed in terms of sculpting, but does now feature facial printing which improves both of them no end and also shows how good the base sculpting was when these heads were first produced. Both heads swap in and out of the neck peg easily with a small amount of force, and the auburn hair pieces are designed to flow onto and in the case of the longer haired version over Black Widow’s shoulders.
Also included with the Black Widow release are two sets of hands. The clenched fists were not part of the 2014 release, nor used for Age of Ultron when the figure got a repaint. I think they may originate with the Yelena Belova figure from 2021. We then get the original gripping hands which include an extended trigger finger. These are used to wield the twin pistols also included in the set, and also taken from the Yelena Belova release. This is both a nice addition, but also annoying when you have pistols to fit in Widow’s hands, but also a fixed pair on her hip. The fit into the gripping hands is poor, and Widow would have benefited from bringing over the shooting hands from Yelena to hold the guns more securely.
The final accessory is a pair of blue translucent effect pieces designed to replicate the electric shock feature of Widow’s wrist stingers. Again, these are donated from a prior set - namely the Black Widow in white suit from the 2021 Black Widow movie. These slot in by removing the hands, slipping off the removable stinger wrist section, and then engaging the effect. These work fine, but won’t be too everyone’s liking for display purposes.
Moving onto articulation and this remains broadly the same as 2014 with 18 points in total. The updated arms does now provide a pinless double jointed elbow which vastly improves arm movement although the shoulders still project the arms some distance out from the body. The legs are the same with pinned double joint knees. The wedged boots and slightly misaligned ankle rockers make Black Widow really difficult to stand.
There is no doubt that Black Widow was very much in need of an updated figure from her earlier MCU appearances like Winter Soldier and of course Avengers. Sadly, this release does not go far enough to make this the definitive Black Widow for your Infinity Saga collection. It really needed a full body update and new articulation to help it pose and stand, as well as enhancements to the hands and a belt with working holsters. There is no denying the updated decor to the heads looks great, and I welcome the updated arms, it just doesn’t go far enough. Widow has been selling well in the wave regardless of these issues and this shows her popularity, and no doubt driven by the realism that this is probably be the last Natasha we will see in the Cinematic Legends line with Hasbro perhaps calling time on her Infinity Saga appearances with this improved, but limited update.
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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...