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REVIEW: Hot Toys Captain America: The Winter Soldier - BLACK WIDOW (MMS239)
Back in Black...
[I]Review and Photography by David Yeh
Last week we took a look at Hot Toys’ Captain America Stealth and Steve Rogers sixth scale figures from Captain America: The Winter Soldier (see HERE). This week we thought we’d take a look at another character essential to that film: Black Widow, as played by the lovely Scarlett Johansson.
This isn’t Hot Toys’ first rodeo on Black Widow but it’s certainly one of their better attempts with an all new headsculpt that looks a lot closer to Scarlett Johansson than ever before, but some angles are certainly more recognizable than others. The rooted hair is shoulder length as it is in the film so if you’re looking for a different cut, you might want to look into the other Black Widows, possibly one from Age of Ultron.
Packaging for Agent Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow is typical of what you’d find with the other Hot Toys releases. It’s a sturdy box with a photograph of Scarlett Johansson playing the character gracing the front and the Hot Toys team credited on the back. Upon opening, you’ll find a photo of the toy version now on a sleeve with the figure and its accessories neatly displayed in a plastic tray underneath. While we take it for granted at its simplicity, it really is the best way to package these figures.
I touched upon the sculpt a little earlier but it really is a decent sculpt. It doesn’t quite capture Scarlett’s look in the film though but it’s a pretty solid likeness and they’ve done a pretty good job on the paint as well.
Her jumpsuit is an accurate representation of what we see earlier in The Winter Soldier when making the stealth run with Captain America. It features leather-like trims, belts and working holsters on the thighs. I was surprised by her ability to stand with her boots on her own.
Widow doesn’t stand nearly as tall as the other 1/6th scale figures and she uses a standard female buck that could maybe use a bit more padding in some areas to get her proportions right. This Widow is a bit too thin and not as curvy as Scarlett is.
Articulation-wise, she’s got over 28 points of articulation and her one-piece black jumpsuit is versatile enough for her to do a number of those poses with the exception of her thigh area, which becomes pretty tight.
Included in the set are nine interchangeable hands: one pair for holding pistols, another pair of fists, another pair of electric shock fists, one pair of relaxed palms, and one left palm for holding the mobile phone. The hands all swap out the same way, with two extra pegs included, although I really prefer if all the hands had their own pegs to plug in, it would be a lot less difficult.
Looking at accessories, there really aren’t a lot going on here. We have two pistols, complete with removable clips. The problem is that the clips fall out a little too easy on mine. One won’t stay in at all so I left it out. She’s shooting blanks! Also included are two different pairs of Bite bracelets, one with the electric shock effect and one without. She also comes with her mobile phone and a display base with nameplate and movie logo.
For the Marvel fans, Black Widow is a solid figure. It’s not without its faults but fits in great with the rest of the display. You can still find this version of Black Widow at many online retailers for under $200.
Review and Photography by David Yeh
Review Sample Courtesy of Hot Toys
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