Scarlet Witch

Look, it's that mutant that Joss Whedon has specifically said will be in Avengers 2. Sorry, there are just some people who still seem confused about that. This powerful mutant has the unique ability to control the probability field, the force that guides everything in the universe. By focusing her energy and creating a hex-sphere, Scarlet Witch is able to alter reality, causing objects to move, melt, rot, and change in ways her enemies can't defend. She can alter the course of any battle, conjuring objects out of nowhere or wiping them out of existence in an instant. The last time someone made a Scarlet Witch figure, it was the Marvel Legends abomination. Jesse Falcon promised that ToyBiz would take another crack at her, but they didn't get the chance before the Marvel license was sold to Hasbro. Now that Hasbro's finally making her, it's in the 4" scale, rather than the 6". But let's get to the important stuff: how is she? Well, for one thing, there shouldn't be any complaints that she looks like a man, this time: this face may be small, but it's definitely feminine. Her headdress is wider than most artists usually draw it, which suggests it's based on the art of Mark Brooks (the same guy who designed the cute statue Sideshow put out). Good choice. She looks like an adult this time. Another Mark Brooks-influenced element? Her boots. Everybody else draws them stopping below the knee, but as seen on the statue, he makes them thigh-high. Rather than just having the tops of her boots be painted on, the toy gets new thighs that have the upper edge of the boots sculpted. Other than that, the body is mostly the same one used to create Lady Deadpool, though with the adition of high heels and "hex hands" - hands with the fingers posed in an appropriately comicbooky "spell-casting" way. The high heels are pretty much a must-have, here; in fact, they should really be higher. As it stands, her cape is slightly too long for her body, even with the heels, so it drags on the ground behind her. That would be fine if it were actual cloth, but this is PVC - it's flexible, but it's still stiff enough to push her over. But hey, silver lining, you can get a really neat "floating" pose because her cape acts as a tripod. Wanda has a balljointed head, hinged neck, swivel/hinge shoulders and elbows, swivel wrists, swivel/hinge torso, balljointed hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, swivel shins, and swivel/hinge ankles that allow her to tilt her feet in wide poses. The plastic of the hips is very "grippy," so they don't turn very easily, and the newly sculpted thighs don't leave enough room above the knee joint for the leg to be straightened out completely. It's just a question of a few millimeters. Unlike a lot of recent Marvel Universe figures, Scarlet Witch actually has an accessory: a blob of pink energy designed to fit over her fingers. Considering that Wanda's hex bolts are usually depicted as hollow circles (think "hula hoop"), why do toys always try to depict them as a glob of cotton candy? Hey, at least she doesn't have a hover sled this time. Scarlet Witch is another nice 4" figure, even with the gummy hips. And the too-long cape. And the pink hand-cloud. Okay, so she's definitely not perfect. But she's good enough that we want to see Hasbro take a crack at a full-size version, to finally give the old Marvel Legends one the replacement she deserves. -- 10/14/13

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