Marvel Legends Elektra figure review

Thanks to a terrific role in Daredevil Season 2 and a surprising role in Defenders, Elektra has become a key figure in the Marvel Netflix universe. And it’s almost enough for us to forget about that awful Jennifer Garner movie. With newfound media exposure comes the opportunity for Hasbro to make good on another figure.

Back in the dark days, we were just happy to get a new Elektra in Hasbro’s early two-pack phase of Marvel Legends. It was an improvement on the Toy Biz version, which didn’t say much. Fortunately with this version, it looks like we’ve got a winner that won’t seize the crown by default. Let’s Hand (sorry) it to Hasbro for another superb update to a figure in desperate need of improvement.

Packaging:  Although she’s part of the Spider-Man wave, Hasbro gave her distinct elements on the packaging from the Elektra logo at the front and her logo on the top. That’s a nice touch. The drawing on the side is a great action shot. I’d love to know Hasbro’s approach to these. Some waves have tight shots like this while others are from a distance. Even the bio is pretty comprehensive save the lack of any mention of Daredevil.

I like the arrangement of everything here as her sais are on opposite sides of her head and the Build A Figure piece is off to the left. It’s a nice presentation. The white webbed inner packaging helps Elektra stand out.

Likeness:  I didn’t hate the old Hasbro Elektra, but the last two or three years haven’t been kind to her. The body looked too gangly and the movement was bad, but worse of all the headsculpt just lacked any kind of character or intensity. That’s not a problem with this update.

Elektra looks intense and ready for action. Some of that is the paintwork, but the head sculpt is really well done giving her an attractive, exotic portrait while still conveying that deadly assassin vibe. I love how the hair is sculpted to flow in various directions while conveying some sense of movement. It really completes the look of the assassin perched on a rooftop waiting to make her move.

Another cool aspect of the figure is the right hand is sculpted in a way so Elektra can hold her sai in multiple ways beyond just the handle. That’s very cool.

The only thing I don’t love about the figure is the long draping waist piece as it gives more of a dress impression. I’ve always thought that skirt ended right above or at the knees. There’s space in the belt for Elektra to hook the sais, which is a nice touch.

As usual, I’d love for Hasbro to sculpt the arm and leg wraps instead of relying on the paint job to handle those details.

Scale:  Eletra uses the slim female buck like Invisible Woman. She won’t be towering over your figures like Scarlet Witch so that’s a good thing for us scale freaks.

Paint:  I mentioned earlier the paint job helped make Elektra’s face stand out. It’s the darker lipstick, which really looks fantastic and realistic at this scale. The paint has to accomplish a lot to make up for the lack of sculpted elements.

Some of the wraps around the wrists don’t look as clean as a result and look more like the paint is missing instead of by design. Beyond that there’s not a ton of paint issues.

Articulation:  This is the biggest improvement over the previous figures. Elektra can actually be posed without some janky positioning. That allows for some very fun posing.

Elektra has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• biceps
• elbows
• wrists
• torso
• hips
• thighs
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories:  I’ve talked about them a bunch, but the sais look great. Hasbro sculpted wraps on the handle and painted a red on the top. It’s the level of detail I wouldn’t have missed, but really appreciate it in hand. The sais are big enough that they won’t have the same looseness of other versions.

Additionally, Elektra comes with the left leg of the Build a Figure SP//dr figure. I’m so mad at Spider-Verse for making me interested in building it.

Worth it?  I paid $24 for Elektra. Maybe I’ll regret it when I see her on sale for $15, but I suspect Elektra is going to be a very hard figure to track down so I’m glad I avoided the hassle.

Rating: 10 out of 10

This is how you update a figure. Hasbro has released a lot of make good figures lately from their earlier efforts, but this might be the best one yet.

Where to get it?  Gamestop has stepped up immensely in Toys R Us’ absence and got this wave in before some other retail competitors. Amazon.com does not have them yet, but you can buy from secondary sellers.