Hasbro has released a lot of Marvel Legends representations of iconic Marvel Comics characters, but collectors are always on the lookout for the perfect one. The version with the best articulation, or the most accurate costume, or their favorite look from the comics they grew up with.
There have been perfect versions of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and many more in Marvel Legends form, and now it's Black Widow's turn. Seeing how collectors (me included) have been frothing at the mouth for updates of outdated molds and characters, Hasbro finally released a new Marvel Legends Black Widow in celebration of the Avengers' 60th anniversary. I actually missed out on preorders for this, so when I saw this sitting on the toy aisle I didn't think twice. Let's check out why this Black Widow might be the best female action figure in the Marvel Legends line to date!
I'm sure I'm not the only one who bought a couple of the Black Widow figures Hasbro recently released to try and kitbash the perfect version. Who knew that all we had to do was wait for them to release one! This new Marvel Legends Black Widow figure is gorgeous, with all the definitive accoutrements of the character. From her iconic zipped down bodysuit (with actual sculpted zipper!) to her golden belt and wrist gauntlets, Black Widow here looks like she jumped out of the comic book page!
The default head sculpt is absolutely stunning. Gone are the days of nightmare fuel female faces! The new Black Widow's red hair is cropped short with flyaway bangs, and the face printing tech used on my copy is well applied (thank goodness, especially now that Hasbro has switched to windowless boxes). My only issue is the chunk of stray hair in front of her face looks weird and out of place, but part it to the side and a beautiful face sculpt is hiding underneath. Looks like I'm gonna have to glue that down.
The female body mold used on Black Widow is something I've never seen before. The figure now sports butterfly joints on the shoulders, an upper torso swivel, and a new ab crunch that some of the new male Marvel Legends figures have. This gives the new Marvel Legends Black Widow an unprecedented range of motion for a female figure.
Now we're coming to the reason why you're buying this figure in the first place: the absolute ton of accessories she comes with. Two alternate heads, a bunch of alternate hands, a plethora of effect pieces and guns...the new Marvel Legends Black Widow came packing!
Black Widow's iconic "Widow Gauntlets" come in two flavors with the figure. One has red blasting effects to simulate her zapping bad guys, and the other has translucent "smoking" effects to make it look like she just unloaded on a poor henchman or two.
While the smoke effects are cast in hard plastic, the blast effects are gummy and cartoony that it looks silly. The previous Deluxe Movie Black Widow did it right the first time with actual sculpted blast effects, so I wish they gave this figure's effects the same love and attention.
There are also two guns included, which are the same Nerf gun-y pistols included in a previous Black Widow figure. I miss the days when Hasbro was able to give their action figures M16s.
The guns are cast in gunmetal gray plastic and fits into the alternate "shooting" hands the figure is included with. The fun part is they included effect pieces for the guns! One is a red plastic blast effect, and the other is a translucent plastic "smoking" effect. Both can be pegged into either of the guns' muzzle and opens up a lot of display options for the new Marvel Legends Black Widow.
Hasbro be spoiling us with not one, but two alternate head sculpts! One is Natasha Romanov with long, red hair and a beautiful face with a determined expression. I don't know where this look is from, but it's generic enough that you can use it for other redhead characters like Jean Grey or Mary Jane Watson. Talk about throwing customizers a bone...Hasbro just threw them a whole steak!
The other alternate head sculpt has Natasha's hair styled similarly to her 70's look when she first started using the black bodysuit. It's also how J.G. Jones drew her in the Marvel Knights era, so talk about flexibility! The face sculpt portrays Natasha smirking as if amused at something. Another very beautiful head sculpt!
Good things indeed come to those who wait. The new Marvel Legends Black Widow from the Avengers 60th Anniversary wave is what Hasbro should strive to give their figures moving forward: better articulation, a shit ton of accessories, and head sculpts you won't be ashamed to display. This is pretty much the perfect Black Widow action figure, and I hope other Marvel characters that need updated figures get the same care and attention as this one!
I hope you found this review helpful! What's the Marvel Legends you most want an update for? Let me know in the comments or on my Facebook page. Thanks for reading and stay safe out there!
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