REVIEW: Hasbro Iron Man Mark II

Released 2008 

Hasbro off to a rocky start with their Iron Man Movie line

It's all downhill from here

   This isn't going to be an easy review to remain objective while writing.  You see Hasbro has come a LONG way since taking the reigns of Marvel based figure production from Toy Biz in 2007, and it's difficult to put that in context when viewed through the lens of present day quality.

  To put it simply, Hasbro is kicking out some nice figures these days... but that wasn't always the case.  When looking back, it's hard to not judge Hasbro's early efforts harshly.  Early figures are absolute crap by comparison.  

Back of Packaging

  What makes this especially painful for me is my love of the Iron Man films and ILM's spectacular work on updating the look of the armor for a 21st century audience.  I want to LOVE the Mark II and III (review to come) figures... but I don't.  Even considering their original retail price point, they suck.  So how do they fail and why?  Let me explain.

SCALE and HEIGHT

This is an approximately 6 inch figure, but comes off as being a bit short for the scale.   It fits more closely with Hasbro MARVEL LEGENDS figures than the older Toy Biz figures.  But it's close enough to not really matter.

 I wouldn't recommend it to be used with the larger scale MARVEL SELECT figures since they are in a 7 inch scale.  The difference would be glaring.

Sclupt

  As I mentioned in my HEROIC AGE Iron Man review, Hasbro's sculpting chops were in a sad state (as was their Quality Control, apparently) when this figure was released in 2008.  Only a year had passed since the release of their horrendous Emma Frost figure, and there was still a good deal of road ahead before they would get their act together.  The overall look of the sculpt resembles the film, but it falters under close examination.

Front View- Anorexic Iron Man

  One of the first things you notice when looking at the Mark II is how sickly and anorexic it looks proportionately.  Tony Stark would have to look like Christian Bale did in THE MACHINIST to fit inside this armor.  90 pounds of pallid virility.  Having re-watched the first film today for good measure, I can say definitively that this was NOT the case onscreen.

Rear View

  Making things worse is inaccurate detail (flare launchers on the hips spring to mind), womanly hands (that look more like fitted gloves than armored gauntlets), and pencil thin wrists.  Add to that spots all over where you can see where each part was crudely ripped away from the sprues of the mold.

  There are even areas intended to be smooth and armored that look like regurgitated concrete bits sprayed in big globs across the surface.  One of the rear heel plates is particularly guilty.  I wish I could chalk this up to damage from a previous owner, but I got this figure fresh from new packaging in this condition.

And I may be asking too much here but one detail that sets the Mark II apart from the Mark III is the inclusion of visible rivets all over the armor (especially evident in the chest).  That detail is nowhere to be found on this figure.  Guess I'll have to wait for the Revoltech Mark II if I want a film accurate sculpt.

  

Paint Apps 

I've got two issues with the Paint Apps on this figure.  First, the paint is simply NOTHING like the Mark II appeared in the film.  Those expecting a mirror polished chrome sheen are going to be sorely disappointed.  Then again, when this figure was released it had an MSRP of about $15.  At that mass market price point you can see Hasbro's dilemma.  True metallic chrome finished paint likely isn't cheap.  So they painted it in a semi-metallic sliver where you'd find gold on the Mark III and dark grey semi-metallic where you'd find red on the Mark III.  Not a bad solution, but again, a far cry from how it *should* look.

Sloppy Paint Apps and scuffs

  The paint that IS there is sloppily applied as well as being thin so you can see the underlying plastic through it.  Would it have been so hard to add a second layer of paint?  Seriously.  There are also scuff marks right out of the packaging.  And paint bleed can be seen ALL over this figure.  The end result is exactly what it seems like... a cheap way to crank out a bazillion figures to cash in of the films release.  I guess they figured that kids wouldn't care or be able to tell the difference, but collectors will find the work here disappointing.

Yellow Markings

  One detail that wasn't present in the film but that I do kind of like is the inclusion of yellow "test" or "safety" type markings on the legs.  This adds a bit of a "Prototype" feel, and helps break up what otherwise is a pretty monotonous look.  Again, not film accurate, but better than nothing.  For those wanting paint apps that are screen accurate, you'll need either a Revoltech Mark II or to bite the bullet and step up to a HOT TOYS figure.

Articulation   

Articulation is not this figures strong suit

  Here too, this figure under performs.  To call the articulation here "limited" is perhaps too generous.  And again, maybe I'm expecting too much from a 2008 figure.  But it's not just that the points of articulation are lacking, but that the range of motion of each joint is especially limited in some crucial ways.  Looking to strike that awesome "Ground Pound" pose?  Well too bad.  Pretty much any dynamic pose you'll try will be undermined somewhere by the articulation on this figure.  In the end I just gave up and posed the armor as if it was standing in the Hall of Armor.

  And here's a simple one that boggles my mind:  For some reason, ALL of Hasbro's movie based Iron Man figures have No WAIST joint.  It's not like this is a difficult or complex joint to manufacture.  You cut the damned figure in half at the waist and put a peg in there.  The amount of bang for your buck that this joint gives collectors is immense, and it seems like pure penny pinching to leave it out.

Forget that Flight Pose

  Instead you get not an ab crunch but a crap diaphragm rib pivot joint.  This is the ONLY way to get the Mark II's shoulders to rotate off axis from the waist.  As for any sort of forward or backward bending, your options are pretty limited. Forward bending is nigh impossible and you can eek out *maybe* five degrees or so of backward bending. WEAK-sauce.

Re-seating the head on the ball to get a few more degrees out of a crap joint

  The head is mounted atop a basic ball joint that's range of motion is so limited that trying to tilt his chin up or down whatsoever results in the head popping OFF.  You *might* get a whole 5 degrees of play out of this joint.  TOTAL.  So you can forget about that flight pose, even if you pop the head off and lightly seat it back on the joint.  His head does rotate left and right.  Whoop-ee.

POP goes the shoulder armor-- expect to see this often

His shoulders rotate and raise just like most MARVEL LEGENDS do, however this is again limited.  This time the limiting factor is poorly designed shoulder armor which pop off when his arms are raised above say 75 degrees.  Shoulder armor is held in place by a shallow "bump in dimple" type setup which seems to lead to the loss of these pieces on nearly every used example I've seen.  Crap.

Mangled Elbow Joint: EPIC FAIL Hasbro

Biceps swivel nicely as this is nearly impossible to mess up and elbows are double jointed.  But here too, my figure amazed with its mediocrity.  Fresh out of the package my figure contains a major factory defect.  His right elbow is horribly mangled with the forearm being splayed open so far at the joint that it barely touches the joint securing peg.  This is an EPIC FAIL on the part of Hasbro's Quality Control and never should have left the factory.  I'm going to attempt to crush this joint into place with needle nose pliers, but you'd probably need a small vice to be sure.  Shame on you, Hasbro.

Who thought limiting the wrist pivot to THIS was a good idea?

But c'mon, this figure couldn't possibly fail in other areas right?  Well you'd be wrong there too.  You see on paper, the Mark II DOES swivel AND pivot at the wrists, just not in any way that is useful.  Wrists flex but don't extend thanks to an overzealous hand armor sculpt.  This makes Iron Man's iconic Repulsor poses physically impossible, forcing limp-wristed poses instead.  And that's not particularly heroic looking or in keeping with the way Stark likes to bust a pose.

  Both hands are pre-posed... (into not fists, gripping hands or a Repulsor friendly position, but instead) into a weak looking pointing pose.  Again, not especially useful.

  His lower body articulation is similarly limited.  Hip joints are bizarre.  In their default position his legs can be raised to the side but CAN'T move forward (dorsiflexion) without first rotating the hip joint by 90 degrees or so.  Even then, his leg motion has a slight arc to it and you have to use the upper thigh swivels to get his knee joint top side again.  What the hell was Hasbro thinking?

Hip Joints designed in Bizarro world

  Knees (like the elbows) are double jointed and work surprising well, though I do notice that they get loose easily.

Which brings us to the ankles and feet... which SUCK.  5 degrees seem to be the magic number of rotation on many of this figures joints, and that's about how much vertical pivot you can expect from the ankles.  Want some camber out of those feet to support a wide heroic stance?  Well forget about it.  But hey, the ankles allow the feet to ROTATE!!! (Which is basically useless).

This doesn't make the Mark II a particularly stable figure, nor easy to stand in any position aside from a stiff standing position.

Special Features

SUCKING especially hard.

Who needs Foot Peg Holes?  Not YOU, biotch.

  Want some Foot Peg holes to offset that ankle instability with a stand?  Well me too.  But this figure doesn't have them.

Accessories 

"Sperm Launchers"

Being that Hasbro was clearly targeting this figure at kids, they decided to spend part of their budget on an included "Action Feature" instead of making a figure that didn't suck.  That feature is not one, but TWO spring loaded projectile weapons known affectionately in collector circles as the "Sperm-Launchers" or "Snot-Launchers".  GO Hasbro.

Other versions

Save your money and buy THIS instead

One company that took the Mark II seriously in this scale was Japan's Kaiyodo.  They produced a Mark II in their REVOLTECH line that looks vastly superior to this piece of trash in every way.  It's got a better sculpt, stellar articulation, accurate paint, and even an LED that lights up the Arc Reactor in the chest.  Yes, it does cost at least double the price of Hasbro's figure.  But you're getting 10x the figure for 2x the cost.  I hope to have one soon to review for you guys.  When I do, I'll spend some time comparing the two.

Size Comparison

The only difference is the paint

I've shown the Mark II along side one of Hasbro's other efforts to produce a quality Movie based Iron Man figure (note, sarcasm).

Opinion, Value and VERDICT 

For completionists, it might be worth adding this figure to your collection.  I know I was bitten by the bug to collect all of Hasbro's movie armor figures.  But now I'm regretting that.  If you can get this guy loose, in good shape on ebay for cheap, then by all means consider it.  But had I to do it again, I wouldn't drop more than $10 on this figure... NEW... in the package. 

Closing thoughts

  It's clear that Hasbro knows how full of FAIL this figure is based on how much improvement later figures (Starting with their Mark IV) displayed.  And these days, Hasbro has really corrected much of what made this figure such a wasted opportunity.  It's a bitter pill to swallow to see a figure that could have been awesome, suck so much.

  For more REVIEWS like this one, keep checking back on yer' old pal Evotaph and GEEKISH PURSUITS.  In the meantime, please COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE!

REVIEW: Toy Biz LEGENDARY COMIC BOOK HEROES Judge Dredd

Released 2007 

I am the LAW!

   Back in 2007, Toy Biz had a bit of a problem.  They had effectively lost the license to produce comic book figures based on Marvel's line and DC was tied up elsewhere.  So they launched a new line of figures based on characters from 3rd party indie publishers like 2000AD, Image, and Dark Horse.  It was a bold move and one that I wish had served them better (only lasting 3 series' before ultimately being cancelled).  I still dream of what they could have done with GRENDEL had they been able to produce figures from those books.

Front View

Instead, they started Series 1 out with a character popular enough to headline their new brand.  That character, was everyone's favorite futuristic clone cop, JUDGE DREDD!

  And even now, this figure remains popular.  So popular in fact that I opted to get mine used via eBay due to the cost of a new Dredd.  It's not cheap being "THE LAW".

SCALE and HEIGHT

Sizing up Judge Dredd

  This is an approximately 6 inch figure.   It fits in well with both Toy Biz and Hasbro MARVEL LEGENDS though not being a Marvel Character, Dredd might display better on his own or with characters like the DCU Batmans (which he has appeared alongside in comics).

Sculpt

  Any fan of the comics will tell you... THIS is a good sculpt.  It perfectly captures the man's trademark 'chin of justice" and stiff upper lip that gives Dredd his character.  He actually has a FACE under all that Visor.

He's got a FACE!!!!

  And details like a sculpted chain from his collar to his badge are so well done that I had to really scrutinize it to tell it wasn't a REAL chain. It's a vast improvement over previous efforts (see "Other Versions" below) especially when you consider this was produced the same year that Hasbro released it's horrendous Emma Frost sculpt. Toy Biz was definitely ahead of the game during this period, and nowhere is that distance in skill more evident than here.

  

Paint Apps 

Since we're talking Toy Biz, you can expect to see a lot more love in the paint application than you'll find in modern day Hasbro figures of the same scale.  He sports Metallic paint for trim like his badge, zipper and metal bits.  Also present is shading which adds depth to his body suit and makes it look a bit more like leather.  Rough worn areas like his boots and knee pads feature dry brushing which perfectly captures the gritty MEGA CITY ONE look of Dredd's world.  He even has the trademark "lightning bolt" patterns over the eyes of his visor.  That's serious attention to detail that hardcore Dredd fans will appreciate.  

Somebody at Toy Biz wasn't paying attention...

  But not all is perfect.  While I wouldn't peg Toy Biz as being lazy, somebody wasn't paying close attention to Dredd's color palette in the comics.  The figure has YELLOW Elbow Pads.  In the comic these are green to match his knee pads, gloves and boots.  Whoops.  (If I can summon the courage, I may paint these in the future).

Articulation   

  Being a latter day Toy Biz release, Dredd is a bit of a mixed bag when in comes to articulation.  While his articulation is pretty good, you're not gonna get him busting any Wu Shu poses or anything.  And that's fine.  Dredd isn't that kind of guy.  If anything, he's meant to stand there looking hard.  The poster boy for lines that "you don't want to cross, citizen".  Sure, he's a fascist.  But at least he's a fascist that YOU get to control instead of the other way around.

He is the Posture KING

  His weakest point of articulation has got to be his head, which is mounted (neck and all) atop a weak swivel joint.  This means that he can look side to side, but is blind to lawbreakers above or below.

The only way Joe Dredd can look down

Fortunately he's got a good waist swivel (cleverly hidden under his belt) and Ab Crunch which should help him draw a bead on the lawless.

Oops

His shoulders rotate and raise just like most MARVEL LEGENDS do, but this is pretty significantly limited by his massive shoulder pads.  In fact, I accidentally popped one off while taking photos for this review.  Thank goodness for LOCTITE glue.

FLEX!!!!!

 His arms include the bicep swivel and double jointed elbows that Toy Biz pioneered with earlier figures.  Joints that have proven so successful as to be standard equipment of most MARVEL LEGENDS figures to this day. He swivels at the forearms (again, cleverly concealed by his gloves), and has a wrist hinge (which can flex but not extend).  Hands are pre-posed (one gun holding hand and one hand that could hold a club or other similar accessory).

  As I mentioned in my HEROIC AGE Iron Mann review, you won't find pose-able finger joints here, but I don't really find myself missing them too much.  It's great to have the option, but a good set of hands can offer enough flexibility to get by with. 

Mid CURB STOMP

  His lower body articulation includes ratcheted ball-hinge hip joints which have a wide enough range of motion to allow Dredd to goal kick thugs in the junk AND the face.  Nice.  This holds true for mid level side kicks as well.  Also present is an upper thigh swivel and double jointed knees.  And he's got shin swivels hidden under his boots.  This allows you to rotate the feet inward or outward.  

ROCK that ankle joint!

Making Dredd even more planted are ankle PIVOTS (up/down), ROCKERS (camber) and even Toe Joints.  No corners were cut here and fans are sure to appreciate it. 

  You really have to give credit to Toy Biz... they did a GREAT job hiding the joints on this figure.

Special Features

Had I bought this figure new it would have included the right leg of the PITT Build-A-Figure (BAF).  The PITT BAF looks pretty epic and may be something I seek out and review in the future.

Helping citizens stand tall since 2066

  Unlike some figures in this scale, Foot Peg holes are included.  This figure doesn't come with a Toy Biz or Hasbro modular stand, but should be compatible with them. 

Accessories 

Dredd comes with exactly the kind of accessories that you'd expect:

Tools of JUSTICE.

  He's got his traditional looking LAWGIVER mk.I pistol which can be holstered in his right boot as well as a LAWGIVER mk.II which fits in a holster in the small of his back.  And lastly, he has a trusty BOOT KNIFE.

The only thing I wish had been included was some kind of police club, since he's often seen using that in the comics.

Other versions

Judge Dredd by REACTION FIGURES (1997)

Back in the 90's (1997, I believe) Reaction Toys released a 6" Dredd (and DEATH and ANDERSON) figure as part of the 2000AD line.  I used to own one of those, and I can definitively say that Toy Biz's effort is superior in every way.  Sculpt, paint, articulation and accessories.  (Who puts a boot knife BEHIND the knee?!)  And even those can go for $50+ these days. 

  If you're only going to own one DREDD, make it a Toy Biz.

Size Comparison

Dredd has zero tolerance for VIGILANTE PUNKS!

For the sake of consistency, I've used the same Hasbro symbiote Spiderman figure in most of my Size comparisons.

Opinion, Value and VERDICT 

A new LCBH Dredd can run you well over $100.  That's a lot of money for six inches of plastic.  But for those willing to put in some time searching, a used (but complete) Dredd with firm joints (that's important) and new looking paint can be had for about $30 on ebay.  Sure, it's unlikely that you'll get that BAF leg for PITT, but is that really worth $70, when you can buy a complete PITT for about $100?

Dredd and Psi-Judge Anderson (Reaction Figures)

  In most cases all it takes is a little common sense, patience and a bit of effort to find a good deal.  And that can be part of the fun.  Or if you've got all that extra cash to burn you could send the extra to me.  Just sayin'.

Closing thoughts

They are the LAW!

  The best Dredd figure ever produced.  Get one.

Simon Bisley's version of Dredd

  For more REVIEWS like this one, keep checking back on yer' old pal Evotaph and GEEKISH PURSUITS.  In the meantime, please COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE!

COMMENTARY: So why all the focus on MARVEL LEGENDS?

  For those of you that have been reading my blog recently, you'll notice that I spend a lot of time talking about MARVEL LEGENDS.  And this may create the impression that they are all I'm interested in or plan to review.

  In reality, I love all kinds of collectibles and would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to review them.  But I'm not really in a position to do so.  This is twofold really.  First, I don't (yet) have the kind of readership that would make me a viable source of promotion to the companies that produce these figures.... So I don't receive any free promo copies of toys, nor am I paid for my time.  (The upside of this is that YOU, the reader, get unbiased reviews.  BY a geek, FOR geeks)

  Which leads to the second reason: I have to buy every item that I review out of pocket.  The economy is in the toilet, and (without going into too much detail) I'm on what you might call a fixed income.  Every dollar I spend on toys is a dollar that doesn't keep me fed.  What this also means is that I UNDERSTAND you guys and gals out there who are passionate about collecting, but have limited funds to chase that dream.  You APPRECIATE your collection, because many of you sweat to get it.  So I review the figures that I personally own, and try to pass any insights onto you guys.

Since I'm actively collecting Marvel Legends at the moment, you can expect that a lot of my reviews are going to be of those figures.  Marvel has been on a hot streak for the past several years now, so also I suspect that there is a lot of interest in figures based on Marvel Properties and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't aware of that interest as a Blogger.  And truth be told, I just have more personal interest in Marvel characters than DC.

  But from time to time you can expect reviews of Japanese collectibles like the Medicom RAH Neo Evangelion, Figures from Kaiyodo and hopefully even Figma / Mafex.  Since these tend to be more expensive though, I won't be in a position to bring you those reviews as frequently.

  I also hope to reach into the vault now and then, and bring you guys older figure reviews of toys that I've amassed over the years.

  And while I can't make any promises, I'll TRY to review figures that you guys request. One thing is for sure... I'm just getting started around here.  So please, spread the word and I'll do my best to keep the good stuff coming.

REVIEW: Hasbro MARVEL LEGENDS Heroic Age Iron Man

Released 2013 

MARVEL LEGENDS debuts the latest Comic Book Iron Man!

Front View of Packaging

   One of the things that I find myself having a real weakness for these days is figures of armor based on the Iron Man films.  ILM just knocked it out of the park when they brought Iron Man's design into the 21st century, and it's only gotten better since then (peaking with the Mark IV in my opinion).  I've even warmed up to the new direction of the Mark 42 armor, and it's one of the figures that I'm most anticipating this year.

Rear View of Packaging

  But to be honest, I've never been a huge fan of Iron Man's look in the comic books.  It never would have worked in the real world.  And it never incorporated the "mecha" look, so perfected in Japan.  But Mecha-look or not, I gotta say that I really like the direction that Marvel has taken their latest HEROIC AGE Iron Man design.  So it was with a sense of glee that I received it as an early birthday present from my friend Isaac.  What can I say...? Dude knows what I like. 

  Being that this suit is supposed to be the product of nanotechnology, it's a much more sleek design than we are used to seeing.  It conforms to Tony's silhouette, and since the fiction supports it (nano-scale materials), it's no longer constrained by the notion of rigid plates that overlap to form a carapace design.  It's not just modernized plate mail, so I can get with how the armor is designed without blowing my suspension of disbelief.  Maybe I just think too much.

SCALE and HEIGHT

Front View

This is an approximately 6 inch figure.   It fits more closely in scale with Hasbro MARVEL LEGENDS figures than the older Toy Biz figures.  But it's close enough to not really matter.

Rear View

 I wouldn't recommend it to be used with the larger scale MARVEL SELECT figures since they are in a 7 inch scale (with the possible exception of their smaller AMAZING SPIDERMAN figure).

Sculpt

Hasbro "sculpting" circa 2007

  Hasbro has really upped their game in recent years and nowhere is this more evident than in the sculpts.  You have only to Google a gander at the "face" of the Emma Frost figure they released in 2007 to see how far they've come.

Solid Sculpting from head to toe

  Which brings us to this Iron Man figure.  What's on display here is remarkably sharp and detailed.  Sure, it's maybe not on par with some of the offerings from Japan (Figma, Mafex, etc), but then, it's a fraction of the cost.  What you're getting here is value for money.  Great work at a great price.

  

Paint Apps 

You have to hand it to Hasbro... Their reach doesn't exceed their grasp.  In the Toy Biz days, they really went hog wild with their paint apps.  It was common to see shading in the paint work along with a liberal use of dry brushing.  Hasbro's approach is more conservative... It's less art and more manufacture.... but that isn't necessarily a bad thing when it comes to quality control and the end result.  Recent Hasbro figures start with plastic that's molded in the base colors of the figure and then flat colors are used for variety and detail.  No shading, no dry brushing.  But what IS there looks very clean and well done.

 Being Iron Man, this figure features thick metallic paint that doesn't bleed the base color through (a problem that was common in earlier Iron Man figures like the Mark V).  Edges are  sharp and there's no noticeable paint bleed anywhere.    

BEFORE: Hasbro being lazy with the glowing area paint apps

There's just one glaring problem: Somebody got lazy with the numerous glowing surfaces like the Arc Reactor.  This might be okay in little seen areas like the palm of a closed fist, but this figure has glowing spots all over, and slapping some blue paint in these areas just doesn't cut it.  Nearly every previous (Hasbro) Iron Man figure has had a nice white that fades to a light blue around the edges... a treatment that much better approximates a glow.

AFTER: Painting in the white that should have been there in the first place.

  Not being content to let this stand, I busted out some white paint and set about adding white centers to each of the glowing rings on the figure and while it isn't a smooth fade it still looks miles better than the blue on it's own.  I'd recommend doing the same to yours if you pick this figure up.  

Articulation   

  The Heroic Age Iron Man, is a great example of Hasbro's modern articulation, and I hope we continue seeing this set up (plus pec joints) in all of Hasbro's figures to come.  You'll find enough flexibility in the engineering to get old shell head into pretty much any basic pose your black heart desires.  What you shouldn't expect is the kind of flexibility you might find in a Revoltech or Figma figure... but then again, you're not comparing apples to apples there.  A six inch Revoltech Iron Man can set you back between $30-$100+.  Here you are getting 80% of the figure for about 15% of the cost.  That makes Hasbro's offering a GREAT deal for all but the most hardcore collector.  So what does that 80% get you?

STIFF NECK: Much like dogs, this Iron Man is incapable of looking up

  Well for starters a head mounted atop a ball hinge joint.  That gives you a wider range of motion than a standard Ball Joint.  Still, his head doesn't rotate back far enough to get him into a good flight pose, even if you pop the head off and lightly seat it back on the joint.  Since I plan to display mine getting his repulsor blast on, this isn't really an issue.

LEANING BACK: This is the closest to a flight pose you're gonna get.

One thing that's been missing in a few Hasbro figures in recent years (I'm looking at YOU Mark V Iron Man) is a good waist swivel and fortunately this figure includes such a joint. Pair this with an Ab Crunch (which leans surprisingly far back) and your halfway to many dynamic poses.

LEAN FORWARD: This armor was clearly not designed to allow for sitting on the can

His shoulders rotate and raise just like most MARVEL LEGENDS do, along with the familiar bicep swivel and double jointed elbows. He swivels at the wrists, and unlike some previous Hasbro Iron Man figures (Shame on you, Mark II and III) has a wrist pivot that allows for IM's iconic repulsor blast pose.  Only one hand is open to do this pose, but (in the Immortal words of Tenacious D) like "c*ck push-ups"... all you need is one.

  What you won't find here is pose-able finger joints as were common on the older Toy Biz MARVEL LEGENDS figures.  Say what you will about Hasbro's finger-free stance, but I don't really find myself missing them too much.  It's great to have the option, but a good set of hands can offer enough flexibility to get by with. 

Ankle Rockers FTMFW!

  His lower body articulation is textbook "Modern Hasbro".  I'm not sure exactly what to call the thigh joints that they are using on their most recent figures, but they replace the previous standard ball-hinge hip joints.  In my opinion, these look much better (no odd "ball" between the thigh and the hip) and seem to have about the same range of motion.  So that can only be an improvement.  Also present is an upper thigh swivel and double jointed knees.  But from there down, it's (again) a newer design.  

Ankle Eversion

The feet for example, don't rotate like previous figures did... and there is no toe joint.  But I'd gladly trade those in for my favorite.... ANKLE ROCKERS.  These allow for foot Inversion / Eversion.  What this means is that the figure can keep his feet flat on the ground even when busting out a wide stance.  It looks great, and I love it!

Special Features

Being a Hasbro release, there really aren't any special features to be expected.  This is not targeted at kids looking for gimmicks and action features.  Instead, Hasbro put that effort into a solid quality core figure with a sharp sculpt, clean paint and modern articulation.  For most adult collectors, we'd rather have that than the wacky shooting thingees that were packed in with earlier Hasbro Iron Man figures like the Mark II and III.

  It would of been nice to get a few extra hands as were included with earlier movie Iron Man figures, but the lack of their inclusion isn't a deal breaker.

"Oooooh.... SPEED HOLES."

  One nice touch that IS included are Foot Peg holes.  This figure doesn't come with one of the Hasbro modular stands included with previous figures, but should be compatible with them. 

Accessories 

The Heroic Age Iron Man figure includes the left leg of the Comic Book Style IRON MONGER Build a Figure.  Currently, only three BAF pieces have been released.  The rest will ship with the Iron Man 3 Movie Mark 42 and Iron Patriot figures in May 2013.  

Included IRON MONGER Left Leg BAF piece

  Being that I vastly prefer the Iron Man movie (2008) version of Iron Monger, I may end up selling off my BAF piece.

Other versions

To my knowledge there are no other versions or variants of this figure.

Size Comparison

Side by Side with Spidey

For the sake of consistency, I've used the same Hasbro symbiote Spiderman figure in most of my Size comparisons.  You can see here that Iron Man just inches out the web-slinger height wise, as should be the case.  I've heard that many of the Hasbro (Movie Version) Iron Man figures were a bit under scale so it's nice to see an Iron Man figure that stacks up to the expectation of him. 

Opinion, Value and VERDICT 

For the $15 or so that this guy is going for at retail he really is a good value for the money.  Sure, he isn't jam-packed with awesome extras like the old Toy Biz figures were, but sadly... those glory days are over.

Getting his Repulsor Blast on

  If you like Iron Man, this should be a no-brainer.  Get him now for cheap, or expect to pay a markup on eBay a few years from now.  You're gonna want him in your collection or display one way or another.  

Closing thoughts

You know you wanna...

  Why are you still here?  Don't you have a figure to go buy?

  For more REVIEWS like this one, keep checking back on yer' old pal Evotaph and GEEKISH PURSUITS.  In the meantime, please COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE!