I’m not sure of the original use of Black Widow’s buck, but I think it was first used for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Sharon Carter and Maria Hill back in 2008. Black Widow features a new upper torso for her trademark cleavage, her classic wristbands, and two heads. The new torso piece is accurate to the regular edition black costume and isn’t quite accurate for this version, but… I’m not complaining. The wrist bands are an important addition, but they create a slight conundrum for me. They have to sit high because of the wrist articulation and it looks rather odd. They can be slid down to look good visually, but then they obstruct the articulation. Always problems, right?
The key selling point for me was the heads, specifically the short-haired one. I was really impressed by how well done it was. It’s sculpted well, but more importantly, it’s painted well. Painted heads almost always look superior to the molded plastic cousins and in the case of Widow, she really gave the impression that she was an old school, a Toy Biz, Marvel Legend. I liked that and it ultimately convinced me to pick up the 2pk. Once I got her home and saw some of my other woman MLs, I remembered those didn’t always have the greatest faces and that may make this Black Widow one of the best women MLs yet. As with the Soldier, the head sculpt is the same for both figures with separate hair pieces. For the short hair version, the new piece is just the bangs while the longer hair piece covers up the sculpted hair on the back of her head.
This version of Black Widow didn’t require much paintwork. The two spider tampos are crisp and the paint is mostly contained to the head, neck, and chest. The head is molded in the same grey as the figure, so the paint matches throughout. The small silver details on the zipper are sharp and the eyes and mouth are painted great on the short hair head and are okay on the long-haired version. I did end up with a small scratch on her left cheek – that’s the one drawback to painted heads, but they look so much better that it’s worth the risk.
Black Widow features some nice articulation – ball joints on the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles, swivel thighs, double hinged knees and the torso joint. Her head can’t move as much Winter Soldier’s because it’s just a one-piece setup, but there is still good range and she does have better side-to-side tilt . All the joints were tight and none of them gave me any real issues. I still have a hard time twisting the legs around to get the ball hips how I want them, but they work fine and the figure is capable of some great action poses.
But not all is well with my Black Widow. Her neck peg is warped to the left. I haven’t tried to heat and straighten it yet, but I think it’s an easy fix. Still, out of the package, it’s an annoyance. In a lot of the pictures here, I’ve used poses that can cover up for it, but in head-on shots, it looks unnatural. Otherwise, the set had nice quality control. It was nice to have no real paint issues and no stuck joints.
I’m not having any regret about my on-the-spot reversal to pick up this 2pk. I’ve always liked Black Widow’s alternate costume so I’m glad to have a figure of it. It was also a nice surprise to see how Hasbro has stepped up their game in regards to Marvel Legends. Black Widow is significantly better than the figures I was buying back with HML1 and HML2. The neck warpage is an odd QC issue, but hopefully an easy one to fix.
The Winter Soldier wasn’t a character that I really needed a figure for, but he’s a nice pick up too. Even though he’s built around a pre-existing figure, he’s got plenty of new pieces to make his figure uniquely his and gives him a nice, standout look on a crowded shelf. I would’ve like more out of his hands and the shoulder joints to be a little more friendly, but he’s a great figure otherwise.
I’m glad that Hasbro has a long-term plan on returning Marvel Legends to store shelves in more than just TRU 2pks and having these figures in hand makes me even more excited about what Hasbro’s going to do with the line going forward. If they’re more like this, then Hasbro will have some good things in stores for 2012.
I wish I could find these, but my TRU never gets anything. And I know they went up on TRU.com today, but I’m afraid I’ll end up with the variants.
If the online store is anything like what’s showing up in stores, that’s a very valid concern.
Great review, as always, but THANK YOU for the Flash bit. I LOVE John’s GL Rebirth, but the Flash one left me wanting more. Plus, maybe I’m just more of a Wally West fan than a Barry Allen one… (oh no, grab the pitchforks).
I also dig that short-haired head for BW. That pixie-do looks good on some women and I think it always looked good on Natasha.
WS looks good. I wish he was a bit more agreeable, articulation-wise, but ah well. Hopefully these packs do well enough that the Legends will be back in full-force someday!
Vault and I are convinced that they messed up the Flash Mythos (removing Wally, upping Bart, killing Bart, etc) just so they could make a big ‘Hal’ mess that needed cleaning up with Flash Rebirth. It felt totally manufactured unlike GL which had to work around over a decade of stories, different writers, and plots. It was really crap. I’d be buying a Wally book right now, but DC’s not interested in the money of the Wally and Kyle fans apparently…
(rant over… lol)
The short hair does look good on her. I might have bought it even if it I didn’t like Black Widow. I wish he was more TB than Hasbro, but he’s better than most!
I’m at least grateful I can get a Kyle fix in the amazing GLCorps book (which is often better than Johns’s GL). Having bought my 1st comic in the early 90’s, I grew up a Wally/Kyle fan. I totally agree, 110%, on your and Vault’s thoughts on the Flash mythos diaster leading up to Rebirth. Sigh…
K, on with the show…
the last solicits say that “Flashpoint” is starting to build steam or something.
I haven’t gotten the last Flash issue or two in my shipments from my store, and I’m not worried about missing them, either.
DiDio and Johns need to stop writing their silver Age fanwank and move on.
Ah, it’s good to get some Marvel Legends love on the IAT!
I prefer the shorthaired head that came with mine – I’ve only been able to find variant packs so far. If I decide to take the regular Black Widow, I’ll examine the eye paint on Natasha/Natalia, as the paint on my longhaired head just doesn’t look right. She looks…older.
I wonder if the Marvel Select Yelena Belova head would work on her? I always liked how that figure’s head turned out. I never cared much for Bucky before the Civil War era ( I always considered him a patriotic sidekick popsicle), But I like how gritty and spiteful Winter Soldier seems.
I am jealous of your Warbird.
My long-haired head doens’t look as good either. I think it’s the eyes.
It’d be cool if one of the Yelena heads fit on her. Did ML ever do a Yelena variant? I didn’t have it if they did…
And jealous of my Warbird…? I do believe I have two…
TB made a Yelena BW… Never saw one in Person.
I gotta say Hasbro is kicking ML up a notch Finally. I might get some of the two packs (Especially this one…) Still I feel it’s a bit too late for Hasbro…
I only hope that The 2012 Wave comes with strongly desired characters; Otherwise the Mattel Chant will be used on them…
(For the love of the toygods Hasbro: Don’t Start Wave one With Ironman, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Hulk, or Thor variants)
I’d actually like to see a modern Thor in one of the packs. Throw that in with a Bucky Cap figure. I can’t believe Hasbro hasn’t done either of them in the ML line yet.
I want to see a modern Thor and Bucky Cap as well, but I don’t want to have the NEW HML (2012) to be full of IronMan, Wolvie, Spidey, Hulk, Thor, and Cap variants.
Hasbro ML:
Wave 1 Annihilus: Planet Hulk, Ultimate IronMan
Wave 2 Blob:Ultimate Logan,Asgard Thor
Wave 3 Brood Queen:FA Captain America
Wave of the Red Hulk:X-Force Wolverine, Yet another Tiger Stripe Wolverine(as the Variant) Symbiote Spidey
Wave of Ares: Spider-Man: Ben Reilly, Heroes Reborn IronMan
I’m not counting the two packs here… Otherwise We’d have
Ultimate Cap, Yellow/Blue Generic X-Uniform Wolvie,70s IM w/Stealth IM variant, yet another standard green Hulk added to the lists.
The Holocaust wave was the only wave with none of those guys… It took Toy Biz 10 waves to have an ML Spider-Man… I don’t want to see him every 2 waves. (This is coming from a HUGE Spidey fan)
Not saying that TB were saints since they made 2 Thors, 2 Caps (4 if we count face offs) 3 Hulks (4 if we count face offs) 5 IMs (6 if we count face offs) 1 Spidey (The SMC figures do not count) and 7 Wolvies (9 if we count face offs)
BTW I am taking variants into consideration.
Long story short. In 6 waves Hasbro gave us:
1 Thor, 3 Wolverines, 2 IronMan, 1 Cap, 2 Spideys
In 16 waves Toybiz gave us 7 Wolverines, 2 Thors, 2 Caps, 3 Hulks, 5 IronMan, 1 Spidey
I know those guys are big hitters, but they shouldn’t be shoved down EVERY WAVE since there are plenty of other big hitters.
The Most Powerful Mullet in the Universe is correct; there was a TB Yelena, but the MS one had a superior mug in my opinion.
If you’re interested in selling the Warbird, please PM me via the FanEx board. I think I tried to contact you once in the same way, but it never got through.
Just so you know, Bucky and Cap fell into the ocean while trying to disarm a weapon on Baron Zemo’s experimental plane, and not just on a plane flying home. Also, the female SHIELD agent is Maria Hill, not Anita. Anita Hill was the woman involved in that Clarence Thomas scandal from the 90’s. Just wanted to clarify.
Thanks! I’ve made the corrections. I always forget the Cap retcon, substituting what I think shouldve happened for what did back in Avengers. The Hill slip up is just silly on my part! To much politics on the brain.
winter soldier’s right arm looks familiar… no way that’s x-men movie colossus’ arm, is there?
You mean left arm? I don’t think so. Movie Colossus was a pretty big honkin’ figure. His arm would look way out of place on a normal sized body.
I was wondering if it might have come from a Cable figure, possibly the one from the Wal-Mart two-pack a couple years back.
Checked Cable before the review, even the Hashbro one is much more detailed. I saw that it looked like Stryker’s but it’s different then his too.
Stryker = CyberForce dude with 3/1 arms and big ponytail?
No way would Hasbro have access to that mold, I don’t think. that line was made AFTER Hasbro bought all the TB molds for ML. On top of that, Stryker’s cyborg arms were all RIGHT arms, not left.
If you guys start covering Marvel Legends and make an ML checklist, I will be super happy!
No promises. Checklists are a lot of work and there are some great ML sites out there already. 🙂
nice reviews. I know first quick review I saw said they recognized the WS body, but couldn’t place it. My main Qs would be: can the other HML heads swap onto this one and how is the vest attached?
Didn’t they have the BLACK Widow figure? doesn’t she also have a belt? and the WS that comes with her, is he the exact same figure? It is nice that they include both heads if this is the case, and they only have paint decos to differentiate the sets.
also, you seem to state that Val comes with WARPATH? I thought it was Val/Hulk and Deadpool/Warpath?
Did they have both sets or were these swapped around? I’m really interested in the Hulk only because it is the BAF Rulk body, and I never did buy half that wave, so I’m interested if the Rulk head can still be placed on the body (and how easy Sif would be to make from Val!). Also interested in how the various DP/WP details hold up, asp TB Wade vs Hasbro Wade!
The older heads can fit. I haven’t tried them all personally, but most can.
The vest is slips over his head and shoulders like a t-shirt.
No regular figures were at TRU, but that costume does have a belt.
WS has a white shoulder star on the regular, red on the variant.
Warpath is with Hulk, I just didn’t mention Hulk or Bluepool. I might have to clarify that in the paragraph.
The bionic arm looks familiar to me too. It’s too wimpy to be colossus and too simple to be Cable though so I have no idea. Did any of the superarticulated Spideys have cyborg arms?
It kinda looks like one of Stryker’s but that wouldn’t work.
Me too, but I checked Cable & Stryker and it’s not theirs. I’m still looking around when I think of one.
You nailed it in that Flash comic. Bucky and Barry are both back and the stories are like night and day. Bucky’s was intriguing and you were waiting on his next appearance. I haven’t liked him as Cap so much, but I like the idea. The Flash has just become a gigantic mess the last few years.
Exactly! See my comments to Sephron above!
These new MLs are still inferior to the TB product. I’ll give that Natasha’s head looks better than anything so far, but the Hulk and Valkyrie set is garbage because they’re just straight up 2006 HMLs. Hasbro needs to scrap anything they did before these 2pks when making new stuff.
Widow is the most TB legends I’ve gotten from Hasbro, but some of the 2pks just repeat the mistakes from when the figures were for. I figure Valkyrie is bad because she’s just the older figure actually seeing release.
Great review! Happy to see some ML reviews here!
Thanks!
Great review. I found these last week (variant case, so no regs). WS/BW is the best of the bunch and a definite recommended buy. Variant Warpath/DP is good, but I’m more excited about the reg versions. DO NOT BUY HULK/VALKYRIE for Val. This is a horrendous figure. It can’t hold its accessories and cannot be posed in any way that doesn’t look awkward. Everything about this figure is ugly. It comes with a separate scabbard, but you can’t even put her sword in it. I feel for fans of the character as this is probably the only one that’ll ever be made for ML. Hulk is probably the best version made thus far for ML. I know it’s just a re-painted red hulk with a new head, but, sylistically, it fits in perfect with SOTAs old Streetfighter figures for some MUvsCapcom nostalgia.