It was the early 1970s and the Mighty Marvel misappropriation of archetypes was in full swing. The House of Ideas found room under its roof for new trends like sword and sorcery (Conan) martial arts (Shangi Chi: Master of Kung Fu) and “buddy cops” (Power Man and Iron Fist). And while the MU already had its poor man’s James Bond in the form of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury, it was their female super-spy readers wanted to see more of. A lot more.
When she was first introduced in Marvel’s Tales of Suspense #52, Soviet agent Natalia Alianovna “Natasha” Romanova wore the somber veil of a grieving widow, but soon updated her modus operandi to include cutting edge spy-tech like suction cups, wrist-mounted “Widow’s Bites,” and a bodysuit so tight I’m not sure how she got into it without help. She’s been a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, an Avenger, a Champion, and an action figure.
So… what happened here? And I mean that in the most respectful way possible. The process of sculpting a head like this can’t be an easy task. Using only a handful of comic book illustrations, the artist is left to work out what a character would look like in three dimensions. Too many inconsistencies in the source material add up. You may end up with a head that is overly generic. You may end up with a face sculpt that’s nice in profile, but flat and lifeless head-on. You may end up with something that looks like Dolph Lundgren in drag. Black Widow may have ended up all of these things.
Okay, it’s not quite that bad, but it’s rough. The abrupt jaw line, swollen cheeks, and heavy-lidded eyes make ‘Tasha look like she’s in desperate need of a Claritin. The choice of expression is puzzling. I’m used to seeing her make faces like these:
The figure looks like she’s waiting on a bus.
I’d wager this face didn’t start life comatose, but something was lost between the original prototype to the final production piece. The severe mold line along her length of her jaw doesn’t help matters any. Dave Cortez has done some amazing work over the years and to pin this entirely on him seems unfair. Then again, he did sculpt this thing, so the jury is out.
The raised collar causes some serious issues. For a start, it forces the hair into an unnatural shape, making it appear wig-like. The exaggerated volume pushes the head past the point of conventional barbell attachment. To compensate, ToyBiz added a flat plateau of neck beneath the jawline, drilled a hole into its center and attached the head to the neck with a hinge joint, transforming ‘Tasha into a bewigged, granite-jawed, Pez-dispensing horror of Lovecraftian proportions. It’s a scene, man.
The chest piece is the same as every Legends female before it — seriously, I checked. Collectors gripe about reuse today, but the practice has been with the line since day one. The chest lacks the volume and mass needed to support the lower trunk, giving her torso an oddly-distended quality.
Fortunately, ‘Tasha receives some improved legs. The straddle-stance all previous female figures sported is completely eliminated here, and she can stand like a normal person instead of someone whose water has just broke. In spite of the spindly arms and long trunk, the figure’s overall silhouette is more pleasing than the attempts that came before. It’s not perfect, but there’s clear improvement.
‘Tasha features an exhausting 40 points of articulation: pin and hinge neck, pin shoulders, upper and mid-swivel biceps, double-jointed elbows, upper wrist swivels, hinged lower wrists and fingers, hinged torso, swivel waist, ball-hinge hips, upper thigh swivels, double knees, swivel lower leg, hinged rocker ankles and single-hinged toes.
‘Tasha’s botched face does not benefit from the heavily applied paint. The work on her eyes, brows and lips is inexplicably nice and clean, which magnifies the effect of cheap pancake makeup. The bulk of the figure is cast in black but features a slightly opalescent overspray to suggest leather. The belt and wrist overlays have some hit-and-miss applications: some bits are gold, others silver.
‘Tasha comes with a circular flight stand that features a red spider [a “black widow”] motif. The metallic red paint used on the base is eye-catching and the clear articulated plastic arm allows the figure to strike lots of characteristically-acrobatic poses. ‘Tasha also came packaged with a reprint of Daredevil #81.
This figure received a lot of heat from collectors, not necessarily for what it was, but what it wasn’t. While falling short of expectations, Black Widow was a step in the right direction, improving on certain issues while faltering on others. Now, because I think we all need some closure, I give you this:
Hel-lo, Nurse!
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