Well, look at this! I’m on track with Marvel Monday for three weeks in a row! I feel like I’m finally getting back in the (web) swing of things. Once again I’m tossing randomness in the wind, as I have a hankering to finish me off a Kingpin Build-A-Figure. And I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the wave we’ll be looking at until I complete him. I’m also in a very catty mood as having just adopted a pair of kitties, so let’s check out Black Cat!

I first dipped my toe into this wave when I opened Silver Sable waaaaay back in February. Ah, February. It feels like ten years ago. Before everything in my life started breaking down. What a simpler time that was. Anyway… as already mentioned, today I’m opening up the other femme fatale of the wave, Black Cat, and also adding a Kingpin arm and cane to the mix. We last saw a nice classic version of Black Cat back in the 2014 Ultimate Green Goblin Wave. This time Hasbro is serving up Felicia in her more modern costume.

And, oh boy, I am not fond of this look for her. Felicia still dons a black bodysuit with furry fringe on the lower legs, forearms, and collar, but this time the fringe is left black and it just doesn’t have that same great pop as her classic look. This costume also adds a pair of yellow cat eyes above her chest, and to me these just look dopey. All I can say is the new and longer style of the fur fringe gives her an interesting silhouette, but I do prefer the curvier look of Classic Felicia.

The costume is rounded out by the gray whip, which is coiled around her waist as a belt and hangs down behind her like a kitty tail. I love the idea here, but I’m not a fan of the whip being just bare grey plastic. Now keep in mind, all of my criticisms here rest firmly in the suit design. As far as the figure itself goes, Hasbro did a nice job bringing it to plastic form. The sculpted fur fringe all looks good and the attention to detail shown in the tiny cat-head zipper is fantastic.

The head sculpt here is also worthy of kudos. Is it better than the previous Black Cat. Mmm… not really, but it is good. Here Felicia sports a big toothy grin as if she’s flaunting her latest stolen bauble. Her white hair is sculpted to be straighter and more form-fitting to her head. I also like that the domino mask is sculpted as well as painted. This portrait is definitely a solid piece of work, and easily my favorite thing about the whole figure.

Articulation is identical to Silver Sable, but since it’s been forever since I reviewed her, I’ll go ahead and do the rundown again. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The legs have ball joints at the hips, swivels at the thighs, double-hinges in the knees, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. She has a ball joint under her chest and both a ball joint and hinge in the neck. It’s mostly the same old stuff, but I will say that this figure’s elbows have a better range of motion than the previous Black Cat.

Black Cat comes with one accessory, her whip, and once again I am not a fan. The segmented silver plastic makes it look more like one of Omega Red’s tendrils than it does a whip. It’s also sculpted in a fairly generic curvy pattern that doesn’t lend itself all that well to posing. And isn’t the whip and belt supposed to be the same? If that’s the case, why didn’t they make it so that it can be removed from her waist with a peg or something? It just looks silly with her wearing it and wielding it at the same time. Harrumph.

This is one of those instances where I have to come away with a resounding Meh. This figure is mostly well done, but it’s not my Black Cat. I just don’t like the costume at all and with that being the case it’s hard to really enjoy the figure. Indeed, if it weren’t for the BAF parts, I probably would have given this kitty a pass. And that’s really saying something, because y’all know how much I love cats.