"Before I kill you, I need to ask you one question."
After her debut in the MCU during the events of Black Widow, Yelena Belova returned in the 2021 Hawkeye series on Disney+ sporting a new look and initially seeking revenge on Clint Barton who she blamed for her sister's death. This updated look for Yelena was released in the Marvel Legends line in 2023 as part of the Hydra Stomper BAF wave which also included Kingpin from Hawkeye and figures from WandaVision, Secret Invasion, and What If?
The wave was released during the plastic-free packaging era so the box is fully enclosed and features photos of the figure to depict the content, with the BAF checklist shifted to one of the side spines. The figures inside are wrapped in wax paper which can lead to warping in the box, and an issue I have found with this figure's legs in particular as we will see later.
The figure depicts Yelena in the black suit she dons in the events of the Hawkeye finale, and therefore not the more tactical suit and mask from her earlier appearance. This includes repurposed parts from her original 2020 figure release with both legs and arms directly carried forward, although now coloured in black rather than white and with the legs now missing their thigh holsters. The hips and torso are new and a textured vest finish with a central seam and extended collars. The vest isn't quite right vs the onscreen costume and looks more like a puffer jacket than a tactical vest. Paintwork is limited but has been added in a brown trim down the vest and the upper thighs. Her stingers on each wrist are also painted with grey and red details.
The head sculpt is a much-improved likeness to Florence Pugh but goes very heavy on the makeup with dark, almost black, lipstick and eyeliner. This is very similar to the promo poster for Yelena but is perhaps too heavy in terms of what Pugh was actually wearing on set. The skin tone also looks wrong, too pale, and that throws the figure overall. The hairpiece is impressive with the hair drawn up to a top bun and then down in a plaited ponytail.
Yelena comes with her batons as used in Hawkeye but features hands (carried over) that were designed to hold pistols. While they still work with the batons, the grip is not great and the extended trigger finger can look a bit off. There are no holstering options for the batons.
Articulation is a mix of pinned (legs) and pinless (arms) with the same 16 points of articulation as her first figure from 2020. There is sufficient movement in the arms and legs for action posing with or without the batons thanks to the simplicity of the outfit. As mentioned earlier, the way she - and most other windowless figures - are packed does result in the warping of parts that would usually be secured in an inner tray. For Yelena, this has resulted in quite a bit of leg warping on my figure which I have been unable to correct.
While another figure from the Hawkeye series is very welcome, for me there are a few poor choices made with Yelena that has resulted in quite a bland and uninteresting figure. There were no issues with re-using arms and legs from the original movie figure, but that torso needed to be a closer march to the tactical vest with better colouring than the grubby yellow used. The hands needed an update to match the batons rather than come with trigger fingers, and there is a missed opportunity for the mask she is wearing in the earlier scenes as an added extra. Yelena Belova certainly isn't a disaster, but is a figure that could have delivered much more.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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