Review: Hot Toys Black Widow (The Avengers)!

Now this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. I’ve been excited to slowly assemble the Hot Toys’ The Avengers collection of 1/6th scale collectible figures but it should be no secret to regular readers of this site that Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is easily my favourite. Is this because Black Widow is the smartest, funniest, deadliest, most dynamic? No, it’s because I am shallow. And if we’re both cool with that, we can happily move on.

When initially revealed via Hot Toys’ official photography, this is the one that created the most mixed reaction. The Scarjo likeness has been questioned, and the rooted hair looked problematic. Since then there’s been a few changes so I’m really eager to open this up, see it in person and assess how well this figure works.

I don't think we needed to worry. Let’s reveal more Black Widow... after the jump!

The pictures are going to speak for themselves, but I'll hold your hand and walk you through them. And there are A LOT of pictures so brace yourself. Maybe make some coffee. I'll wait.

We good? OK. Here's Scarlett Johansson's box...

It's inline with all the other Avengers figures we've received so far. The only thing they keep changing up is the colouring. I still dig the huge lettering on the top...

As with the others, you remove the cardboard outer sleeve to reveal the inner box. Nothing fancy here - this is purely practical and everything is engineered towards keeping the figure safe as opposed to displaying it in the box.

And this is what we get inside...

It's just the single tray in this instance, there's nothing hidden underneath like some of the other figures. She comes with extra hands, a large alien Chitauri weapon, her two pistols, and these...

They're alternate fists and gauntlets which feature the blue glowing "widow bites". You know, those things that she vaguely shoots/stings aliens with in very quick shots. There's also some tiny discs here which I assume are explosives. She has a hand that will neatly hold one of these in between her fingers but I haven't photographed that, so this is the part where you revel in your own wonderful imagination!

Okay, let's break her out and take a look.

Considering Hot Toys' reputation I was optimistic, but even then she's way better than I thought she'd be based on her initial promo pictures. I don't know if this is a unique body sculpt specifically for Scarjo but it's far better proportioned and realistic looking than previous releases (i.e. Iron Man 2 - and I'll show a comparison shot a bit later). I'm glad because it makes her more action-figuresque and a little less dollish.

And the likeness is actually pretty great. Lighting and angles helps a lot in this regard but there's no mistaking it's her. If anything I think perhaps the eyes are just a little too intense for the character.

I've always wanted them to give her sculpted hair, rather than the rooted "real" hair, and I've seen photos where her hair looks pretty wild. I was actually pleasantly surprised that for now, at least, it's holding together very well. I can only assume that Hot Toys trialled both versions and had their reasons for opting for this one.

This is a spot-on profile. If you don't believe me, Google it...

And I'm impressed with the detail here. Different paint on the eyes and lips give it a more glossy realistic work. Somewhere in Hong Kong some dudes studied Scarlett Johansson's face for a REALLY long time. Hopefully in person.

The attention to detail, of course, extends to all other aspects of the figure. This is often the first time that we really get to see exactly what these costumes actually look like. Check out these crazy boots for example...

And here are all the belts and pouches (plus check out the blue piping and the texture on the costume)...

The vinyl/leather clothing can be restrictive on figures of this scale but she actually moves pretty well. My only fear would be wearing out the material at her joints - her elbow vinyl is already quite creased just from bending her arm.

The twin pistols fit in holsters on her thighs or can be held in an alternate set of trigger-finger hands...

Hard to resist twin gun poses...

And as you can see she is relatively flexible. Not that I have the space in the cabinets to display her in a crazy way. Which is the same problem I have with Hawkeye. He looks cool shooting an arrow but he's just too wide...

Actually I think that this is definitely a specially sculpted body for Black Widow... none of the other Hot Toys I own have this shape...

Another problematic display item is the Chitauri weapon...

It's well sculpted but too damn big to do anything with really, and I don't think it's very iconic. These are cool though...

They don't light up, sadly, it's just blue paint. Hot Toys have squeezed LED lights into figures in the past but not this time. There's only one set of these hands so it's more likely that they're expecting people to display her with the guns.

If you need any further convincing that this is a vast, vast improvement on the Iron Man 2 version then check out this comparison...

The Iron Man 2 Widow is taller and far clunkier - her proportions are all over the place. Her boobs are gigantic and her torso is long. It looks like they just went with whatever they had at the time. The hair is a disaster and they didn't get her face shape right at all. Look at the difference, which highlights how well they nailed the likeness this time around....

It also goes to show how much better the new body is. The one on the right is a crazy doll and I'm shocked at how far Hot Toys have advanced in just a couple of years. I liked their original Widow when it was released and now it's embarrassing. They've revisited other figures (like the amazingly update Heath Ledger Joker figure) so perhaps they'll fix this one up in the future.

And here she is assembled with some other Avengers, to give you an idea of the scale...

They've put a lot of care into this line to get everything right....

It really is shaping up to be an incredible set of figures. If something better comes out in a couple of years that makes these look like crap then I will be horrified. This is some of the best work Hot Toys have done (alongside the Dark Knight Rises line)...

And one more...

I don't feel like I've said much, but the photos are going to sell this one. Hot Toys continues to exceed all expectations and I eagerly await the next one (which I think will either be Thor or Loki - I'm not sure). Black Widow is highly recommended - if you've had your doubts or have been holding back to see more, then trust me - relax!

And if you haven't bought her yet, it's not too late if you're quick! Our good friends at Sideshow still have her available for pre-order now, expected to ship next month. Grab her here:

Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series Black Widow Sixth Scale Figure - The Avengers