Marvel Legends Black Widow and Winter Soldier (Variants)

Presenting: Marvel Legends' Black Widow and Winter Soldier! These two are the results of a Fans Choice Poll asking fans which characters they would love to see as Marvel Legends. This particular pair is the variant version as it presents the Black Widow in her gray, belt-less outfit that she used to wear back when she spent time with Daredevil. For some strange reason though, SM's ToyKingdom was able to hoard these variants and they actually do not have the regular version out for sale. This particular pair was supposed to be released in 2010 - ending a long Marvel Legends drought - but it was delayed probably because Marvel realized that they can make more money with the Marvel Universe series - crappy tiny versions of Marvel Legends that they can sell for the same price. 

The box says: "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 broker 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." So yes, the Black widow is bonking the current Captain America.

James Buchanan Barnes, AKA Bucky (WHAHAHAHAHA! I wouldn't call that to his face), AKA Captain America (Boo! Cheap replacement - the only reason he can use Cap's shield is because of his bionic left arm. The only others who have been able to manipulate the shield like the original Cap were Taskmaster and Hawkeye, so he cheats). He was thought to have died in World War II. Turns out he gets captured by the Russians who - with the aid of the Red Skull - brainwash him and make him their perfect assassin. He's an expert in hand-to-hand combat, advanced weaponry and remains at peak physical strength and performance. And he obviously has a bionic arm which gifts him with superhuman strength and heightened reflexes - which allows him to use Captain America's shield. 

You have to credit Marvel for keeping a character like Bucky on ice (Literally since the Russians kept him in Cryogenic storage when they did not need him). In all those years no one ever wondered what the hell happened to Bucky and here he finally is. Unfortunately he didn't take up his place at the side of Captain America - true the name Bucky was kinda whimpy so I can't blame him - instead he takes the place of Steve Rodgers in a uniform whose shiny metallic design points straight to his groin. Worse, he does not seem to have Captain America's commanding presence or leadership skills. At best he's a Cap-lite. 

The Winter Soldier figure comes with two hair designs - pre-brain wash(long) and after brain wash (Short - his hair shriveled?) The figure lacks articulation most notably in the hip-area. 

In terms of accessories he has a small 9mm that fits neatly into a holster in his side and he can use either of the rifles included in the two pack. Unfortunately his other hand is in a permanent fist and he doesn't have any alternate fists included. 

His chest-area is decently articulated. The joints are hidden behind the rubber chest piece of his uniform.

The Black Widow: Natalia Alianova Romanova, AKA Oktober, Tsarina. Former squeeze of several Marvel men, including Daredevil and Tony Stark. In fact I'd like to see Daredevil take on the Winter Soldier. This former ballerina/spy has enhanced physical conditioning, advance weaponry training, bio-technology enhancements that have retarded her aging and given her a certain degree of immunity to disease. She is armed with bracelets that fire close-ranged energy bursts aptly named "Widow's Bite". She used to be married to Alexei Alanovich Shostakov AKA the Red Guardian - Russia's answer to Captain America. His death was faked twice so I suppose they're still technically married and she really is and isn't a widow.

She is also, now, without a doubt one of the sexiest - if not the sexiest, Marvel Legend in the market second probably only to Shana the She-devil. Her figure comes with a Mauser looking pistol and two optional rifles that she can share with Winter Soldier. She also has a variant head but as you can see, it doesn't really look good here as it makes her hair hang above her shoulders. 

I'm not really happy with her lower leg joints and I think that she could have done with another joint at the hip, but still, flexibility is good and she's great to look at.

Now sit back and enjoy more zipper popping cleavage :)

Here is the Black Widow with the original Black Widow and the "other" Black Widow Yelena Belov from Marvel Legends Series 8. 

The Twin-Pack sells locally for PhP 1,799.99 at ToyKingdom. On the black-market expect to pay around PhP 1,799.99 for each.