Hot Toys Captain America: The Winter Soldier Black Widow Review

As a father with two young daughters, I’m often on the look out for positive female role models that aren’t fairies or princesses or fairy princesses. Believe it or not, it can be tougher than it sounds, even in 2014. As a G.I. Joe fan I often direct my girls (especially the 9-year-old) to watch some of the older Sunbow animated episodes, since they are rife with tough, strong girls that are more than just love interests.

I think that’s what initially drew me towards spending the significant amount of money for the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Black Widow from Hot Toys. It certainly helped that Captain America 2 was not just my favorite Marvel Studios film, but one of my favorite movies I’ve ever seen. A perfect blend of action, suspense, and believable dialog, it was the epitome of what I love in films, and I was extremely pleased that one of my favorite characters was the catalyst for that fantastic film.

Early on when we’d heard that Black Widow would play a role in the film, my feelings were mixed. She’s been a fixture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Iron Man 2, and besides some flashy flip-kicks and pistol-wielding, she hasn’t really developed as an effective character, even though she had a ton of screen time in The Avengers. To say I was surprisingly impressed with Scarlett Johanson’s portrayal in the Winter Soldier would be an understatement. Black Widow went from being a nice complimentary character to being an effective leading lady, working perfectly opposite of Chris Evan’s always terrific rendition of Steve Rogers. She was a spectacular addition to the film and moved way past pretty girl love interest. sure, the chemistry with Rogers was a part of her role, but it was far more understated than it could have been, and she kicked ass right alongside him, rarely needing rescue.

That’s really my long-winded way of saying that I felt strongly about dropping $200+ for a 12″ figure of Scarlett Johansson.

I own a few Hot Toys figures already, and their quality is second to none. Excellent articulation is always balanced by fantastic design and almost eerie facial sculpting and cinematic accuracy. Black Widow is no different. The resemblance to Scarlett Johanson borders on freaky, with nicely balanced hair and amazing detail on the eyes and face. Her uniform is stitched in terrific layers of different material, all complimented by a really nice looking rubber belt. The pistol holsters are great (and hold her weapons perfectly) and like the upper part of her uniform, the layered material for the boots works amazingly well.

The figure has several removable hands, allowing for any number of different combinations. One really nice touch is that she has two sets of wrist-blasters, one in normal black, and one set with blue highlights, as they might look when they’re charging or firing. The same thing with her fists. She has one set of normal fists, and one set with those same light blue highlight lines, looking like the Widow Sting is reflecting from their leather surface. Very cool.

Beyond this, she isn’t loaded with accessories, though she does come with the small touch screen device that she uses at the end of the film.

For a figure like this, however, accessories aren’t key. One look at the figure and it’s like she pulled herself from the digital surface of the film, shrunk herself down, and agreed to stand in my Detolf. It is truly impressive. I am ecstatic with the final version of this figure, and my celebration of one of the greatest films I’ve ever seen has begun. As one might expect, I’m greatly looking forward to Captain America and The Falcon joining her on display.

Fantastic figure and a wonderful collectors item. (Scroll down for a gallery of images)

Where to Buy?

Sideshow Collectibles still has the figure listed as a pre-order, but they are currently shipping it now. Get her before she’s sold out and listed on the secondary market for way more. Or, you could always try to find a deal on eBay.

UPDATE: If  you want to pick up one of these figures, you can find her on Amazon.  You can also mozy on over to eBay and search for this Hot Toys Captain America: Civil War Black Widow figure.