I generally avoid Marvel Legends, and when I do get them I do so knowing they're not going to live up to standards of other figures I typically get. When I got the the Avengers Anniversary Black Widow, it wasn't perfect, but it was actually pretty good. I get that the number of accessories was an anomaly, but I figured that the basics would be carried forward.
Boy was I ever wrong.
Welcome to the Infinity Saga Black Widow figure. Hasbro chose to go with the Winter Solder version because I guess its the one that made the most impact.
So like the typical Marvel Legends releases, this Black Widow retailed for $25 USD, which of course after Canadian conversion is "Way Too Much". Contents are as expected - a pair of extra hands, an extra head and some weapons stuff. No Build A Figure for this wave, or maybe the whole thing is no longer an active gimmick.
The pistols and Widows Bite effects are.. pretty bad.
I've never seen one in person, but I'm told that despite being a new release Hasbro just recycled the body from the original figure. So much for using the latest and greatest. If it is indeed recycled, it certainly would explain a lot. If i's a new body, well, they really dropped the ball.
The body looks acceptable from the front and even from the back, but that side view, particularly of the abdomen section, is terrible. Like "where do all her vital organs go" terrible. Further complications are her tiny, tiny feet, which makes balancing the figure rather challenging when combined with the light weight of the figure on the whole.
Size wise, most Marvel Legends are the same size. Here she is compared to the anniversary figure, which is ever so slightly taller.
I'm guessing/hoping that the heads, at least are updated from the original toy. They look decent enough, particularly the long haired one. You know they included the short hair one not out of value but rather fear that people aren't gonna be happy with a head that is effectively fixed in place. The face seems more accurate on the long haired one (which is weird to say as I'd figured they would be the same face) and conceptually I don't mind the way the long hair is sculpted, but in terms of production values, that's another story.
Articulation is.. minimalistic. I mean, at least the double jointed elbows and knees are there, but there's no waist, no ab crunch, no butterfly shoulders, and no neck articulation. Couple this with the terrible balance of the figure, and you have a very annoying posing experience. Posing experience certainly becomes more positive if you switch to the short haired head, but to me that would be cheating. You might as well just go bald.
Paint Applications are very much minimalistic and in terms of final product, pretty typical of a Legends product. Minor paint applications on the body consisting of the buckles, zippers, and the accent on her bracelets, along with a kind of sloppy looking S.H.I.E.L.D. decal on the right shoulder. Otherwise, it's the paint on the fingers, some weathering for the hair, and of course, the digital paint on the face.
Build Quality is another area where this figure takes a hilariously bad step backwards, though again, maybe it's due to recycling. The soft plastic joints that I have seen go away in recent years (She Hulk, Anniversary Widow) are back, most notably in the knees, just like the good old days, possibly resulting in bow leggedness right out the package. This also contributes to the stability issue of the figure. The typical poor finishes and moulding detail are also present, but that's no longer shocking.
Her holsters don't connect to the belt, which I understand as it costs more and will make the articulation even worse. But what I don't get is why they made holsters with sculpted guns. They're no longer holsters, but rather, are hip ornaments.
Perhaps the most funny flub, however, are the hands. Now, typically, for whatever reason, most figures come with a pair of closed fists, and a pair of trigger hands. Makes sense for figures that use a gun, or could potentially use a guy. You'd figure after so many years, Hasbro would have this down to a science. Well, guess again. For some reason, Hasbro was able to make a pair of trigger hands that not only failed to grip the included pistols, but aren't even angled correctly.
So say this release was undrewhelming is an understatement. Several products have shown that Marvel Legends is capable of make a decent figure, even by my jaded standards. I thiought they were there, but I discounted either sheer laziness or just incredible amounts of penny pinching. On the other hand, I guess I shouldn't be shocked as they managed to penny pinch even their Haslab products, which I might add, had budgets and price points set by Hasbro with the intent of meeting the prototypes, not pulling the old bait and switch.
I'd go with the Anniversary figure before this one, and if you have to go with this one, wait for a sale.
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