Welcome to Review Rewind <– <–
Hey Towelites! Today we are going to take a look at the Marvel Select Black Widow action figure from Diamond Select! This figure was originally released as a Disney Store EXCLUSIVE (purple costumed variant) when they teamed up with Diamond Select and put out an entire Avengers line. NOW we are getting a general re-release of the figure but this one comes as a repaint and Black Widow is wearing her black costume. Imagine that! 😉
What did I think of this action figure? Does it deserve a place on your shelf? Let’s find out!
Here is Natasha Romanoff’s comic book bio (via Marvel Wiki):
Natasha was born in Stalingrad (now Volgograd), Russia. The first and best-known Black Widow is a Russian agent trained as a spy, martial artist, and sniper, and outfitted with an arsenal of high-tech weaponry, including a pair of wrist-mounted energy weapons dubbed her “Widow’s Bite”. She wears no costume during her first few appearances but simply evening wear and a veil. Romanova eventually defects to the U.S. for reasons that include her love for the reluctant-criminal turned superhero archer, Hawkeye.
Romanova grew up to serve as a femme fatale. She was assigned to assist Boris Turgenov in the assassination of Professor Anton Vanko for defecting from the Soviet Union, which served as her first mission in the United States. Natasha and Turgenov infiltrated Stark Industries as part of the plan. She attempted to manipulate information from American defense contractor Tony Stark, and inevitably confronted his superhero alter ego, Iron Man. The pair then battled Iron Man, and Turgenov steals and wears the Crimson Dynamo suit. Vanko sacrificed himself to save Iron Man, killing Turgenov in the process, using an unstable experimental laser light pistol. Romanova later meets the criminal archer Hawkeye and sets him against Iron Man, and later helped Hawkeye battle Iron Man.
Natasha once more attempted to get Hawkeye to help her destroy Iron Man. The pair almost succeeded, but when Black Widow was injured, Hawkeye retreated to get her to safety. During this period, Romanova was attempting to defect from the Soviet Union and began falling in love with Hawkeye, weakening her loyalty to her country. When her employers learned the truth, the KGB had her gunned down, sending her to a hospital, convincing Hawkeye to go straight and seek membership in the Avengers.
The Red Room kidnaps and brainwashes her again, and with the Swordsman and the first Power Man, she battles the Avengers. She eventually breaks free from her psychological conditioning. She ultimately joins the Avengers as a costumed heroine herself.
Black Widow is presented in the standard Marvel Select packaging, if you are a collector of these figures you know what that means. I love the fact that the clam shell has the image of the character on the side of it, helping to differentiate the figures. Making storage in boxes or shelves an ease. But if you want to open these figures up, that’s it, they aren’t going back into the box!
I had considered picking up Black Widow when she was previously released in her purple duds. I’m really glad that I didn’t because this release is my favorite of the two. For some reason or another I just wasn’t that impressed with the way the purple looked on the figure, but some people might like it, so you do have a choice. Black Widow stands at about 6 and a half inches and fits in perfectly with the rest of the 7 inch scale MS line. Especially if you need a Black Widow to hang out with you Captain America: The Winter Soldier collection.
I really like the sculpt on this figure, for a female figure this one looks great. From her wavy hair, to her curves, to her costume, Gentle Giant Studios did an amazing job making this figure look spot on to her comic book look. The small details like the zipper on her leg make all the difference when it comes to judging the style of a collector figure. You may ask why does something this small get praise from me? Well it could have easily been left out, but it wasn’t and it visually makes the figure look more authentic.
Another great addition is her belt, which is made out of a soft plastic. Again, a feature that could have been easily just painted on, but was separately crafted and adds a dynamic to the figure. Her hair is one of my favorites on an action figure I have seen in a long time. The length of it is perfect and while it hinders movement of the head a little, I can still get some decent motion out of it. The hair is a separate piece which I prefer in figures. Her wrist-shooters are unique because they also are a separate piece and they spin around allowing you to spin them as if they were shooting, this is just a really neat feature. What I don’t like are her hands. They are sculpted to hold guns, which would be fine if some were included with the figure. Posing looks funny, and would definitely be that much better if she had two hand guns. I’m not sure why they were left out.
Paint application on Black Widow is near perfect! The black has a great sheen to it that replicates the look of a leather body suit, or whatever she wears. The grey and red highlights on her belt, straps, and zipper really standout and the figure has really clean lines. A really nice addition was painting her fingernails, which is a really amazing and appreciated detail. At first I though her eyes were a little wonky and she came off as looking cross eyed. But as you look at the figure more you’ll notice that the there is a white dot in the eye to show reflection, and it actually works very well, making the figure’s eyes look pretty. Black Widow has this stare of intent, which actually looks better if you turn the head during display.
Black Widow has 11 points of articulation, which is considered low in the action figure market these days. BUT when it comes to collector figures I am a little more forgiving. Here’s what you get!
- ball-joined head
- ball-hinged shoulders
- swivel-hinged elbows, swivel wrists
- swivel torso
- ball-hinged hips
- front-back hinged higher and lower knees, and swivel-hinged ankles
For a figure based on a character that is supposed to be super flexible and “bendy”, I would have loved to see made a little swivel in the thighs or calves. But the choice not to do swivel biceps and instead but the swivel in the elbow is my favorite.
Accessories with this figure are OK. As usual with Marvel Select figures you get a unique base or stand. This one is a damaged environment, with Ultron pieces all over the place. Very appropriate for the next Avengers movie on the way! I’ve mentioned the lack of guns so I won’t repeat myself. Black Widow does come with an “extra” character, Ant-Man. Hank Pym is included in his tiny form and fits nicely onto the base. Since this an Avengers team release you can find The Wasp included with Hawkeye.
At first I wasn’t a big fan of the figure and didn’t want to pick it up, but this repainted release of the figure changed my mind. With the popularity of the character thanks to the movies, this version is sure to be a figure on many collectors’ lists.
I give the Marvel Select Black Widow action figure a 8 outta 10 stars
Don’t miss out on this deadly beauty, especially since this version of the character is easier to find than some other versions out there. If you want a figure that has less of a ScarJo look to her, then this one is the perfect choice!
Until later, make mine Marvel Select!
The Marvel Select Black Widow action figure shown was provided by Diamond Select Toys for this review