Hell yeah! Figure Friday is back after a long break, but this time around we got a super cool Two-Pack from the good people over at Hasbro. We got the Marvel Legends: Winter Soldier and Black Widow fan’s choice winner! I recall seeing these figures back at Comic Con 2009. This past week ComicImpact staff member Ken found them at Toys R Us and now it’s time for an all new Figure Friday Review.
Package Description:
When the BLACK WIDOW first met the WINTER SOLDIER he was a man without a name, brainwashed into absolute loyalty to his Soviet masters. She too was a loyal soldier, fascinated by the apparently emotionless young spy. Guided by her conscience she saw past the brainwashing, and found the soul of a good man deep within the WINTER SOLDIER. It broke her heart to leave him behind when she left her life as a Soviet spy. When he reappeared, his bondage to his old masters had finally been broken by CAPTAIN AMERICA. She was more than happy to team up with him once again,this time as part of the AVENGERS.
Appearance:
Before I talk about the appearance of both Winter Soldier and Black Widow. I would like to note that I am not posting a review on the variant two pack. Here is the difference: The Black Widow; she has her gray outfit on with a spider on the back of her costume, the back is just part of the bad 1990’s redesign of some characters. Thanks Frank Miller for that one. Also the variant Soldier features his red star on his left shoulder. I like the red star a lot for a Winter Soldier figure.
Winter Soldier
I am not going to tell you that I care about the Black Widow in this two pack and I know why you’re reading this review you want to find out if The Winter Soldier is all that, so let’s start off by talking about him. When you first look at him you can see the people over at Hasbro took their time with the texture. I also love the collar piece on him. It is a small but very cool detail that gives him some bonus points in my book.
Looking at him you can tell that Hasbro has reused the Punisher sculpt from the Nemesis wave. They just added a new regular right arm and a bionic left arm. Winter Soldier comes with two all new head sculpts. The one used in the photos is his long hair. Myself, I am not a fan of his short hair. I do love the darker blue paint job that they did on his outfit. I love that you can put his pistol into the holster on the right leg. Some of the best parts though are the straps and buckles, and the boots look really sharp and sleek. He is a GREAT looking figure.
Black Widow
Holy cleavage Batman! Those are some nice breasts. Okay, now that I got that out of the way, on with the review. The Black Widow figure is the same sculpt as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Sharon Carter and Maria Hill that came with Iron Man in their two pack they did a few years back. I must say Hasbro did a good job on Widow’s trademark wristbands and belt.
The paint job is not too hard because it’s all black. Remember when I told you I saw this figure at Comic Con 2009, well I guess the people at Hasbro wanted to add some sex appeal to the figure because the one I saw had the shirt completely zipped up to hide her cleavage. I’m not complaining at all and I enjoy it.
She also comes with two head sculpts just like the Winter Soldier; the short hair version, with just the bangs showing, while the longer hair piece covers up the sculpted hair on the back of her head. For these photos I use the short hair because I found it sexier. She does look like she needs to eat a big mac because she is looking a bit ill.
Poseability:
Winter Soldier
Just like the appearance part of this review we start off with Winter Soldier. There’s something about the Marvel Legends when you look at them you can tell yourself, “Mmmmmm I am going to have a good time playing with this figure.” The Winter Soldier is a bit of a let down when it comes to that because of his bionic left arm, the hand is closed and the right is not. It’s an issue because he can’t hold the rifle and hand gun because only one hand is able to hold anything. COME ON the guy is an assassin. Although he does have one open trigger finger on the right hand.
Also when I took him out of the package his bionic arm was stuck and I had a hard time trying to move it. Finally I got it to move, it took some effort on my part with the fear that something would snap and it makes a sound every time I move his bionic arm. He does have some good ball joints at the head, shoulders, hips, wrists, and ankles. It also swivels at the bicep and thigh. And it has double-hinged knees and elbows, and the chest pivots.
Black Widow
Black Widow features some nice articulation with ball joints on the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles. It also has swivel thighs, double hinged knees and the torso joint. It’s a little bit similar to the women in the DC Universe Classics, and she is around the same size as Wonder Woman.
Final Judgment: 17/20
I am so happy that Hasbro has a long-term plan on returning Marvel Legends since they are some of my favorite figures of all time. Sure I would love a Winter Soldier that can hold a gun with two hands, but it’s not the end of the world when you see how nice this 2 pack is. Great way to start off the year and Hasbro, if you’re reading this how about a Bucky Cap with Commander Steve?
So stay tuned to Comic Impact for more Figure Friday, and also if you would like to know where my Winter Soldier is, he is right next to my Captain America omnibus.
Simon Daoudi
Simon@ComicImpact.com