Marvel Legends 3.75" Retro - BLACK WIDOW!

Marvel Legends 3.75" Retro Series Wave 6 - Black Widow - Hasbro 2022

I've grown a great appreciation for Black Widow over the years. When I was a kid, an espionage-themed character character wearing an off-the-rack jumpsuit couldn't hold my attention in a world of bright spandex and otherworldly powers. In my first real job after college, my boss was a Marvel fan and was obsessed with Black Widow. He was even buying expensive Bowen statues of her. He was a smart and insightful guy so his fascination with the character made me start to rethink my stance. About seven years later when she became an Avenger in the MCU, I was initially steamed that they replaced Wasp with someone so boring. But Scarlett Johansson's excellent cinematic portrayal slowly start to wear down my resistance and I started to see the appeal. I've gone back and read a lot of her classic comics and I'm now a fan. I still think her costumes tend to be boring, but there is something iconic about her third outfit - this 1970's look with a black catsuit, big red hair, and gold belt and cuffs.

Marvel Legends - MELINA VOSTOKOVA!

Marvel Legends - Black Widow Movie - Red Guardian & Melina - Hasbro 2021

I saw the Black Widow movie last weekend and I loved it. I have never been too shy about my general boredom with the Natasha Romanov character. In a world full of bright spandex and extraordinary superpowers, a spy in a black bodysuit just falls way down on my favorites list. Although, major kudos to Scarlett Johansson for making me appreciate the character more than I ever imagined possible. That interrogation scene from Avengers (2012) was iconic. And the new movie was a great farewell to her - I'm looking forward to watching it again. The supporting characters in Black Widow were very impressive as well. I didn't realize Melina was even in the movie until I saw this toy solicited. Melina Vostokavo first appeared in 1983 as Natasha's villain, the Iron Maiden. Her comic history had me very intrigued about her role in the MCU, but in a predictable fashion, her live-screen counterpart was heavily reimagined. Rachel Weisz was brilliant and I'm glad we got a figure of her. Let's check out Melina below!

Marvel Legends - BLACK WIDOW (Gray)!

Marvel Legends - Black Widow (90's Gray Suit) - Wal-Mart Exc - Hasbro 2020

One of the first times I appreciated Black Widow was when she appeared in the Jim Lee run of Uncanny X-Men in the early 90s. I was very picky about the hairdos on my heroines back then. And I had a strong (illogical) aversion to big, chunky red hair like Starfire, Red Sonja, and Black Widow were always sporting. I would regularly see her in Marvel Fanfare but just had no interest. But then when I saw her in X-Men, she suddenly had a modern haircut, and a costume that (although still pretty simple) was infinitely more exciting than a plain black catsuit. I also love that this costume incorporated a lot more use of the spider motif. With a name like Black Widow, I would have expected a lot more arachnid references than just a small red hourglass on her belt buckle. Although often covered by her jacket, this gray jumpsuit has a huge spider logo on the back that I always thought was kickass. This is the perfect fan figure to release with all the MCU versions. I was hoping for a blue first appearance figure, but this is a close second!

Titan Hero Series - BLACK WIDOW (Movie)!

Marvel Titan Hero Series - Blast Gear - Black Widow (Winter Stealth) - Hasbro 2020

I find it pretty surprising that we haven't seen a black-costumed MCU Black Widow in the Marvel Titan Hero Series line yet. Several years ago they released repaints of the comic versions of Black Widow and Gamora with slightly darker colors that were intended to be MCU stand-ins, but I don't count those. So far we've only seen the green vest version from Avengers Infinity War, the space suit version from Avengers Endgame, and now this winter stealth version from the Black Widow movie. I figure we'll eventually see a classic black-costume release, but hopefully it will be sooner than later since I have a hunch Scarlet Johannson will be handing over the mantle soon. Who knows, we may even see a simple repaint of this figure in time for the rescheduled theatrical release in November. I'll just add that to my long wishlist for the Titan line. Gamora and Nebula (in a standard outfit) are the most glaring MCU absences, and I wouldn't say no to a Mantis. But I know a new Natasha is way more likely. Let's check her out!

Black Widow Movie - BLACK WIDOW!

Marvel Legends - Crimson Dynamo Wave - Black Widow (Movie) - Hasbro 2020

One of these years I swear I am going to stop buying Black Widow action figures. My regular readers will know I am mainly drawn to superheroes with bright outlandish costumes and otherworldly powers. So an espionage-based character who mostly wears black is just not my cup of tea. But Hasbro has this ability to release MCU Black Widow figures at times when I am craving a new purchase. It was mid-February when I picked up my last Marvel Legends lady (Stepford Cuckoos). It's funny to think that two short months is what I consider a dry spell these days - it's truly a great era to be a collector. The presence of this Crimson Dynamo wave in the stores right now has two possible outcomes: They could be shelfwarmers for months with no movie (or standard shopping crowds) to support it. Or it could disappear like most waves eventually do and be in super high demand come November when the postponed movie will be released. It will be a fun merchandising experiment to observe. Let's check out Black Widow below!

Black Widow Movie - YELENA BELOVA!

Marvel Legends - Crimson Dynamo Wave - Yelena Belova (Movie) - Hasbro 2020

My first exposure to the Yelena Belova version of Black Widow was actually an earlier Marvel Legends figure back in 2004's Series 08. The regular Natasha Romanoff release had a blonde Yelena Belova variant that I just assumed was a classic character I knew nothing about. But it turns out she was relatively new and had just debuted in the Marvel Knights imprint in 1999. Since then she's donned a few other aliases, most notably Crimson Widow. I know in the comics she eventually became a Super-Adaptoid that could mimic the powers of her foes. I kind of doubt the MCU would allow any one character to have that much power, so I assume she is just being groomed to be the new Black Widow. Johanssen will probably retire from the MCU eventually while Florence Pugh is just in the early stages of her career. I just saw Florence in Midsommar and thought she was terrific. This face sculpt doesn't do her justice, but I have a feeling this is just the first Yelena figure of many. Let's check her out below!

Marvel Legends - BLACK WIDOW (White)!

Marvel Legends - Black Widow: Deadly Origins (Target Exc) - Hasbro 2020

I admit I don't think I'm going to be a big fan of the white-costumed Black Widow in the upcoming movie. The Infinity War blonde version with the green vest was enough a stretch and I'm kind of a comic book loyalist so cinematic reinterpretations always get heavy scrutiny from me. So when the initial white suit movie figure was revealed with the same head as the black-suited version, it was an easy pass from me. However, then this Target-exclusive Black Widow: Deadly Origin figure was unveiled and I was suddenly intrigued. The figure was clearly comic-based, and the headsculpt looked gorgeous (and original!) but I had never seen this outfit before. In 2010 there was a mini-series called Black Widow: Deadly Origin which told a modern version of her origin story. In the story, she dons this white Winter Stealth costume. I don't know this for a fact, but I'm willing to bet the story of this movie is based on this telling. Maybe i'll pick up the TPB before November. Let's check out Winter Stealth Black Widow below!

Funko Pop - BLACK WIDOW (1st Appearance)!

POP! Marvel #551 - 80 Years - Black Widow (First Appearance) - Funko 2019

It's become a standard routine for Marvel Legends and DC Multiverse to announce a few store exclusive figures in the months before theatrical release. Last year the Captain Marvel movie gave us the Walmart Binary and Target Starforce versions of the character. Then in 2017 the Wonder Woman movie gave us TRU exclusive Menalippe and Diana. (Not to mention all the Spider-Man and Captain America figures). So I knew there would be some exclusives for Black Widow announced soon. And today was the lucky day. Unfortunately I was really really hoping for this "first appearance" costume. I put quotes around that because this is really her second look. When Natasha first appeared in 1964 she just looked like a grieving widow at a funeral, complete with a black veil. A year later she started wearing this gem of a costume. She still has that matronly hair and those pearl earrings, but her veil has been transferred to a fishnet bodysuit to compliment her new mask and cape. It's so bad it's good. At least we got a POP of her!

Marvel Titan Hero Series - BLACK WIDOW!

Avengers Endgame - Titan Hero Series: PowerFX - Black Widow - Hasbro 2019

I'm excited to see Avengers Endgame this Friday. I have tickets for a 7:30 show (with some relatives who are likely to talk and text the whole time.. smh). I was honestly expecting to have more movie-related product to review before the premiere, but there have been surprisingly few female figures. I'm predicting that there will be a lot more toys known to us by this time next week. Think of how quickly the turnaround time was between us discovering the Titan Captain Marvel and finding her on the shelves - it was just a few days. So I'm predicting all the spoiler figures will be out soon. We've seen pictures of a Titan Valkyrie and a basic series Rescue, along with a slew of blurry teasers (including a few unknown characters I believe). And I think we'll see them all officially announced shortly. In the meantime I have my last figure from the first wave of products, this Black Widow Titan in her team suit. These suits are really growing on me (although I hope they aren't worn for the whole movie). Let's check her out below!

Avengers Endgame - BLACK WIDOW & NEBULA!

Marvel Legends: Hawkeye & Black Widow 2-Pack - Target Exc - Hasbro 2019

When I first saw that all the heroes in Avengers Endgame would be in matching Team Suits, I was relieved and thought how these figures would be an easy skip for me. It's not that I don't enjoy matching suits, quite the contrary actually, but I don't like them when the characters already have unique costume designs established. But like almost every proclamation of resistance I make, when I saw them in the store I caved. But before that purchase, I had already decided that I wanted to support this merchandising tactic from Hasbro. This set comes with 5 different character heads that are interchangeable on the generic-suited bodies. I love this decision. And it seems suddenly very plausible that we might someday see other teams presented in the same way: New Mutants, Original X-Men, Hellions, Academy X, etc. Of course the unplanned by-product of my altruistic purchase is that I really like these figures. They are really well made and the face-scanning technology is amazing. Let's check this set out below!

Marvel Legends Infinity War - BLACK WIDOW!

Avengers Infinity War: Wave 2 (Cull Obsidian BAF) - Black Widow - Hasbro 2018

After we got that beautiful Black Widow figure way back in 2014's Marvel Legends Winter Solder line, I honestly didn't think I would need another Scarlett Johansson figure. I thought that figure was near perfection. And sure enough the next few Black Widow figures were just simple repaints (the Amazon exclusive 4-pack and the weird Hulkbuster re-release). But then several months ago the Avengers: Infinity War promos started to hit and suddenly our Natasha Romanoff had a pretty distinct redesign with blonde hair and a green vest. I still wasn't sure if this would warrant a new figure purchase, but when early in-hand pics of this figure started popping up I knew I would cave. Her facesculpt is a subtle but significant improvement of her previous figure, and the blonde/green coloring gives her a pretty unique overall design in comparison. At this point I'm not even sure what other MCU figures I'm even wishing for. (The upcoming Sif figure is the only other one I can think of). Let's check out Black Widow below!

Power Fx Marvel Titan Hero BLACK WIDOW!

Titan Hero Series - Avengers Infinity War - Power FX Black Widow - Hasbro 2018

I've been struggling with time management recently. I'm my defense, I've been planning a wedding and it's really been stressing me out. But the one nice thing about not having time to photograph my newest purchases is that I get to clear all the older pics off my camera. I wasn't planning on posting a review of this TitanFX Black Widow figure because I had just done one for the standard release when I found her in Target. But the improvements in the sculpt of the PowerFX version were so impressive to me that I knew I would eventually have to post on her as well. While the price point of these PowerFx figures are double or even triple the cost of a standard Titan, I think the added play value of the soundbox backpacks are worth the cost. The funny thing is, if I would have posted this review right after I took the photos, I wouldn't have acknowledged the fun factor, because I didn't even pay attention until I got my Wasp Titan months later. The details are explained further down. Let's check out Black Widow below!

Infinity War Basic - BLACK WIDOW!

Avengers: Infinity War - Basic Series 01 - Black Widow - Hasbro 2018

I love that Hasbro has been getting into the Basic figure game. When the first Gamora figure came out in 2016 and surprised us all, I kind of thought it would be a one-off. But then about a year later we got a follow-up Nebula and a slightly larger scale Black Widow. Then 2018 quickly rolled out a Shuri from Black Panther and this Avengers: Infinity War version of Black Widow. Plus this same movie series has another Gamora and Scarlet Witch on the way. I wouldn't be surprised is we saw a Wasp squeezed in there as well. I love Marvel Legends figures. They have been blowing my mind for years. But there is something great about these smaller, less expensive toys filling the shelves. The collecting community usually has very short advanced notice of their release, and the quick hunt is always thrilling and reminds me of my early collecting days. Plus the quality of these figures is pretty spectacular if I must say so myself. Let's check out the Avengers Infinity War Black Widow below!

Marvel Toybox - BLACK WIDOW!

Toybox - Marvel Action Figures #6 Black Widow - Disney Store Exclusive - 2018

I really love the design of this Black Widow ToyBox figure. The Disney ToyBox series is exclusive to Disney Store and features highly-articulated action figures based on the designs of the defunct Disney Infinity game. Character assortments currently pull from Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar. The problem is, the majority of the Disney Infinity designs look very stylized and very odd (in my humble opinion). The Rey figure from last year had a pretty severe facial expression which is something a lot of characters in the game had. But this Black Widow design is great. It's unique, cartoony, and fun - and I totally dig it. Now I'm excited to see future Marvel ladies. It's a safe bet that we'll see Gamora and Captain Marvel, but I'm also hoping for She-Hulk and the Wasp and any other surprises they'll throw at us. But the actual next lady in the lineup is Princess Leia which should be out shortly. It's hard to uncover the exact release dates, but when it hits, they are usually very well stocked. Let's check out Black Widow below!

Infinity War Titan Hero Series - BLACK WIDOW!

Marvel Titan Hero Series 12" - Infinity War Black Widow - Hasbro 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War movie features a pretty drastic costume change for Black Widow. Instead of the typical red hair and solid black outfit, Natasha now sports a shorter blonde hairstyle and what looks like a green flak jacket. The hair seems like a nod to to the Yelena Belona incarnation of the character, but is likely a result of having too many redheads in one movie. The green vest seems like an original addition (and slightly atypical for her), but I kind of like it. These new 12" Marvel Titan Hero Series figures were a total surprise to me when I saw them on Instagram Monday, and luckily I found them at Walmart two days later. As much as I love these 12" figures and Natasha's new look, this is the first Titan figure I've been let down by. This is due to the fact that her head is scaled for the the newer (larger) bodies, but she has the same smaller body as the comic-style Black Widow from 2016. There is a similar figure with an action feature coming out which will hopefully be better. Let's check her out!

Marvel Legends - BLACK WIDOW & MOTORCYCLE!

Marvel Legends - Black Widow with Motorcycle Deluxe Set - Hasbro 2018

I have a preference for my comic characters to have bright costumes and super powers. But despite this it's kind of hard to ignore Black Widow when in a few short years she has become the most merchandised Marvel lady out there. Her constant exposure has made me want a really good comic-style figure of Natasha in Legends scale. This deluxe motorcycle set is probably the best we've seen so far, but I must admit I am not thrilled with the production quality of this figure. Considering that all the Marvel Legends females released in the past few years have been pretty much perfect, it's a surprise that this one somehow has completely dull facial expression(s) and hair that seems well sculpted, but poorly manufactured. The funny thing it that the solicits for this figure looked great, but in person she looks like a rush job. Granted, if this exact figure came out 5 years ago I would be over the moon, but Hasbro has raised their own bar pretty high, and this one unfortunately falls short. Let's check her out below!

Marvel Limited Articulation BLACK WIDOW!

Marvel (Avengers) - Black Widow (Limited Articulation Figure) - Hasbro 2018

Hasbro has really been impressing me with their non-collector lines. The Titans Series and the animated-style basic figures have been great. I've been waiting forever for them to include a female figure in their limited-articulation Marvel line, and it finally happened. I figured the inaugural heroine would be either Gamora or Black Widow, and I was right, Black Widow started popping up on eBay and Instagram in January. These limited articulation figures are found at places like Dollar General, Family Dollar, Walgreens, Big Lots, and the checkout lines at Wal-Mart. They look similar to the main collector lines, but they are slightly smaller and they only have three points of articulation (Neck and Shoulders). Black Widow has been elusive. She is shown on the packaging in the Wal-Mart assortments, but she doesn't actually appear to be included. I drove myself nuts hunting for a week, before resorting to eBay. Black Widow looks amazing. The sculpt is really terrific and she will make a great addition to any collection.

Marvel Legends Vintage - BLACK WIDOW!

Marvel Legends: Vintage (Toy Biz) Series 01 - Black Widow - Hasbro 2017

I'm not an in-package collector. I open everything and recycle the excess as soon as I possibly can. So that puts me in an interesting position when the coolest thing about a specific figure is the packaging. In this case, the vintage Marvel Toy Biz graphics are reinterpreted for modern 6" Marvel Legends figures. The only female of the first wave is Black Widow, which isn't a surprise, but is a little bit of a bummer because her costume is so plain. Black Widow's role in the Avengers movies have skyrocketed her to an A-list Marvel hero and coincidentally have led to a lot of toys. This one in particular is a little lackluster because she is way too similar to the recent Mary Jane figure. I'm fine with re-used headsculpts, but at least choose a character with a different color hair. The upcoming Black Widow with Motorcycle set has two unique heads and a non-generic body. So as pretty as this figure is, if you're not an in-package collector, I would suggest saving your money for the next release. Let's check out Black Widow below!

Marvel Tsum Tsum - WOMEN OF POWER!

Marvel Tsum Tsum Series 2 - Women of POWer! Walmart Exc - Jakks Pacific 2016

I can't say I really understand the Tsum Tsum trend. They started in Japan (of course) as a cute stackable line of plush Disney character collectibles. I always thought they were supposed to be gerbils or something, but apparently they are shaped this way just to be stackable. Either way, between the fact that they were plush, large (7-11"), over-stlyistic (in my opinion), and centered on characters I wasn't interested in collecting, they were just completely off my radar. Then the Marvel characters started and I began to pay attention. But I still wasn't tempted because of the plush thing. Then along comes Jakks with a license to produce small vinyl versions. I honestly wasn't planning to get any until I came across this 9-figure Women of POWer set at Walmart. Getting an instant collection like that was quite an incentive. I actually think I will try to get all the ladies in the collection now that I'm only missing a few. They're pretty cute little additions to my collections. Let's check out the Women of Power below!

Avengers 6" Action Figures - BLACK WIDOW!

Avengers 6" Action Figures - Wave 01 - Black Widow - Hasbro 2017

It's pretty rare when I'm totally caught off guard by an action figure hanging on the pegs. Especially when it comes to the big toy companies like Hasbro and Mattel. But yesterday I stopped in Target before work (I'm desperately seeking the Cheetah and Sinestro Imaginext set) and I did a doubletake when I saw this figure hanging next to the Marvel Legends. My immediate thought was "Oh, they're expanding that Guardians of the Galaxy Animated line to include the whole MCU." But there is a distinctive scale difference so this wave is a new thing all-around. This Black Widow isn't the most amazingly-sculpted figure ever, but at a price point of $7-8 it's pretty nice. I'm all about seeing a good mix of collector-quality figures and regular retail figures on the shelves, especially when they are decently articulated, sculpted, and priced. Hopefully we see a lot more figures like this in the future. And kudos to Hasbro for including a female in the first wave (of only 4 characters). Let's check out Black Widow below!