Beatrix Kiddo

Having dispatched the first two people on her death list, the Bride continues her path of bloody revenge on the hunt for Bill. From the streets of suburbia and the seedy side of Tokyo, it's into the desert for her next target. Former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Former lover of Bill and mother to his unborn child. Upon learning she was pregnant, the Bride left her life as an assassin for a fresh start. She was tracked down by Bill and left for dead at the Two Pines Wedding Chapel. After awakening from her coma, the Bride seeks revenge on her former squad. She will make them pay. We got a Bride in the first series of NECA's Kill Bill figures, but come on: she's the main character! Were they not going to put her in Series 2? Last time we got the Bride, she was wearing her Bruce Lee bee suit - this time, she's donned civvies. Taken from her assault on Budd's mobile home, Beatrix is barefoot and bloody. She's wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a cream-colored blouse. She's barefoot both because of her ordeal at the lonely grave of Paula Schultz and because of Quentin Tarantino's foot fetish. NECA did a good job on the sculpt, of course. Tiny wrinkles, realistic folds, all that. At this point, it would be more surprising if a major company delivered a sculpt that was completely terrible. The face doesn't really look like Uma Thurman (thank goodness), but it does look like Beatrix, if that makes sense. Her eyes are narrowed to slits and she's looking warily to her right. The hair actually looks like hair, which is more than NECA could manage for most of its Sin City figs. The pose is much more reserved than the Series 1 figure, and while there's less articulation in the Series 2 version, what we do get is better. Beatrix moves at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, combination waist/belly balljoint and ankles. So the only joints missing are thighs: what's better this time around? Well, to begin with, her shoulders are balljointed. That means a wider range of motion and thus, more poseability. Instead of stupid swivels, the elbows are normal joints, hinged for your pleasure. Finally, a movie figure that's not a damn statue! Paint apps are decent, but not spectacular. The clothes are nice and the skin tones are good, but the blood still looks more like red paint than smeared bodily fluids. The level of smearing varies from figure to figure, so take a look before you buy to find one you like. The Bride's accessories are great. To begin with, we have a 3x5" display base detailed to look like generic beige carpet. The rug, from Budd's trailer, is strewn with the splinters of destroyed furniture, an issue of Car Times magazine (detailing some great reasons why 1957 was a very good year) and an Oak Ridge Coffee can that's half-filled with tobacco juice. Bet it still tastes better than the coffee would. The base has an irregular edge, much like the Series 1 House of Blue Leaves bases, and like those, that's so it can be made into a diorama. Beatrix's base connects to the base included with Elle Driver so the two can have one tense face-off. This set includes a sword, but we'll get to that in a minute. The first weapon Beatrix grabbed to defend herself against attack was improvised: she snapped one of the telescoping antennae off a tv. The 3" long antenna is vac metallized, and designed to look like it really could collapse down into itself. It's too thin for the figure to hold it securely in either hand, but you can manage a decent pose with her holding it - just tuck the end into one of her sleeves for a workable anchor. After getting thrown through a wall into Budd's bedroom, Beatrix spied something in his closet: the sword he claimed to have pawned in El Paso. In case the coloring didn't tell you this isn't the sword she picked up in Okinawa, NECA included the tiny inscription near the hilt: "To My Brother Budd, The Only Man I Ever Loved - Bill." Now that's damn impressive detailing. The final accessory in this set is a wonderfully creepy little thing that makes perfect sense, but would have been easy to overlook; it's a bright blue eye, plucked from its socket and trailing a bit of optic nerve. Eww! This and the antenna will both be way too easy to lose, so take care. This version of Beatrix may be less iconic than the Series 1 Bride, but she's a better toy and her extras are cooler. And if you're planning to get the Elle Driver figure, then she's got to have somebody for to fight - after all, they have unfinished business. Kill Bill 2: better or worse than the original? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.

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