My favourite part of the MCU is without a doubt Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow herself. I've always been intrigued by her character, so it was somewhat saddening for me to see that she's basically been killed off, though lets be honest, who actually knows. I first found about the Figuarts MCU Widow figures when they announced the Infinity War version, which featured some pretty snazzy sculpting work coupled with a digitally painted face sculpt, which honestly nailed the accuracy more than any of the Hot Toys releases, though obviously not so much the realism. Since then, I've been able to find all of them, and to the shock of nobody, I also preordered the Avengers version, announced earlier in 2021, which in Japan was a Bandai web store exclusive.
Opening the brown box, you're presented with this lovely art box that houses all the goodies:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 3 x Face Plates (Honestly.. different variations of scowling)
- 1 x "Dynamic" Hair Set
- 2 x Empty Holster Parts
- 2 x Pistols
- 1 x Chitauri Weapon
- 10 x Posing/Gripping Hands
Sadly no Widows Bite effect or those electric disks she throws, despite being pretty front and center in her arsenal during the movie.
So for those who have forgotten, Widow wears her standard issue S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform and has that short hair. I think that overall, they've captured her look, with the added bonus of actually being the first action figure I've even seen of her that seems to get the curves of her hips right, though it wasn't exactly that hard to achieve, given the floating waist piece and all. Her overall body is actually more bulky than other releases, which to me a is a positive as it adds to her presence. This is a Widow with the muscle mass to beat you to death with. Detailing on both sets of hair are great, and it looks like they finally chose an appropriate shade of red this time.
I guess before we continue on, I should probably point out one of the things that bothers me about this figure. So being a smaller figure, I can appreciate that you're never going to get every single detail on the body. In that respect, Tamshii Nations did a pretty good job miniaturizing Widow and giving the suit the general linework and other bits that make up its overall look. They even picked a shade of gray for the suit that while a tad dark, isn't just black.
It would have been nice if the lines on the suit were painted a slightly brighter shade of gray for that extra bit of accuracy. Also, the positioning of the holsters seems a bit extreme to me, and they weren't THAT different in height. Not great and can throw off the suit visually, but I can live with that.
What really doesn't thrill me, however, are the boots.
To put things to the point, the only things right about these are the fact they're black, have the right cut at the cuff, and are boots. Based on my investigation, it seems almost like they sculpted an updated pair of Age of Ultron boots, then realized it was completely wrong and just went with it. They didn't paint the silver trident on the shin and left most of it black in hoes it would just blend in, but then they went ahead and added the blue lights.
It blows my mind how they completely botched this on a character whose design is about a decade old now, with lord only knows how many pieces of official artwork to choose from when using a reference.
So faceplate wise, it's an interesting story. I think for the first time, I don't really have an actual favourite, as they're all effectively the same expression but with the eyes focused on a different direction, and I've always wanted a set of scowling Nat faces. They're also all fairly equal in terms of accuracy, and in the right lighting they all photograph quite well - yes it sounds silly, but with other Widow and digital face releases, there always seems to be the one face you keep on because it looks that much more like the person because the other faces are always off. It also helps that the underlying facial structure is pretty accurate, as a pretty paint job can only take it so far.
At the end of the day, it's never going to be as realistic as a really good 1/6 or greater portrait, but it's really neat how much they can do with a mass manufactured plastic figure.
Articulation wise, it's nothing you haven't seen if you own any of the other Widows, which is to say joint choices and range of motion are generally quite good, including double jointed knees. actual waist swivel and mid torso joint, butterfly joints for shoulders, and neck movement. The waist piece can also shift upwards to maximize range of leg motion.
As there is no bicep swivel, bringing her arms closer to her body is doable, but requires more effort. Also, as she doesn't have kneepads this time around, the double jointed knee does look wonky when fully deployed.
Generally speaking, you can pull off a wide variety of action poses, which look that much better given your face and options. You can't, however, pull off the "the pose".
Most of the pose is actually there. The issue, however, is the fact this outfit features a collar, and as such you cannot move the neck into position, which is unfortunate as the dynamic hair piece actually has the clearance needed to move the head into place. So, basically the only Widow Figuart that can pull it off remains the Age of Ultron release.
Paint Apps are another funny story. I mean, with regards to the figure, most of the paint is of course on the head/face, which looks really good and as I mentioned above, the hair is an appropriate shade of Red, as opposed to just using Gold to replaced Blonde. Paint work on the body is sharp but lets be honest, it's minimal, though I will give props for the stupidly tiny gold paint app on her belt buckle. Paint on the hands is a bit thick. This is all expected.
What WASN'T expected, in a hilarious way, is for her Chitauri Weapon to be completely unpainted and made of black plastic. I mean, if you're going to not paint it, at least make it from Gold plastic or something. You'd think that given the price point and limited release nature of this figure, they'd do.. something. At least all the details are moulded in so if I get bored enough (or more precisely, get bored enough and get an extra) I may give painting it a try.
Build Quality wise, everything holds together properly and all that, but joints are a bit stiff this time around. It's my first 2021 Figuart, so maybe there was a QC change or something? It's not breaking point stiff but it's certainly noticeable. Finishes on parts are good with no noticeable nubs or other issues. No issues with wonky uneven limbs.
What's interesting is that even by this point, they still haven't figured out what skin tone to give the poor woman. While the brighter skin tone does bring out the digital painting portions more, it admittedly does kind of make the Avengers release seem less realistic by comparison. I think given the options so far, the Infinity War skin is probably the most natural looking one, as it is relatively pale but at the same time having some semblance of an actual complexion.
Overall, I liked this figure as mechanically its solid, just like the other ones, though the aforementioned issues do annoy me, especially since they're so obvious to me. I don't really think there's another Avengers Widow this size that can come close to what this release can offer. For Full Gallery, please visit:
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