Iron Man Mark-03

Height: 16cm to top of head.

Articulation: 31 total points: ball neck; 7 points each arm - universal shoulder, bicep swivel, double hinge elbow, universal wrist; mid-torso universal joint; 7 points each leg - universal hips, thigh swivel, double hinge knee, universal ankle.

Colors: Molded pearly white, maroon, and translucent light blue ("Repulsor Blast" missile). Painted metallic red, gold, silver, light blue, and bluish gray (Arc Reactor).

Accessories: clip-on "Repulsor Blast" launcher with missile.

Release Data: Released March 23rd, 2008 at suggested retail price of $9.99.

Gallery: 10 images.

Author: RAC

 
I think a lot of action figure fans who aren't all that keen on movie-based superhero figures would be fine with them if they hewed as close to the source material as this one. While this armor is the movie's Mark-03 suit, it's definitely patterned closely after the armor that Tony Stark currently wears. Which is good- it's the best-looking suit of Iron Man armor they've had in the comics for many years. And unlike the previous Marvel Legends attempt, this figure is much more in the streamlined, panel-etched style of artist Adi Granov, who also designed the armor for the movie. Of all the superhero movies done in recent memory, Iron Man's is the only costume which looks to me as though it could have stepped right off the comics page. Between this and the Mark-01, I applaud Jon Favreau for knowing which ideas need tweaked and which don't.

The Figure

The helmet is much sleeker than older Iron Man armors, but still distinctly Iron Man-like in its design. Most of the features are essentially shallow panel lines whose detail is softened by the paint. The exception of the very sharply-defined cheekbones. The neck ball is a little shallow, which will make looking up for flight poses difficult- you may need to call on the mid-torso joint to help out. The range on the neck really could be better, and looking too far down results in instantaneous decapitation. The shoulder armor is really the biggest weak point here, as it doesn't quite have the same range as the shoulders and likes to pop off if the arm is at any angle more severe than 90 degrees relative to the torso. You will probably be chasing these around your floor. Otherwise, the arm has great range courtesy of the classic Legends double-jointed elbows. Hasbro's articulation model reasserts itself at the wrist, using a universal joint instead of a forearm swivel for the turning of the hands. Unfortunately, this suit of armor shares the Modern Armor's gauntlet problems: though they're not quite as pronounced here, good luck managing a "firing repulsors" pose. And the hands are inexplicable, especially the right hand. What's he trying to do? Push the firing button on his own missile launcher? Ordering a drink? The possibilities are all kind of silly, especially for a guy whose main weapons are in his palms.

The big difference between the comic-equivalent armor and this film version? Instead of the angular Unibeam projector, the movie suit has a round port for the Arc Reactor which keeps Tony Stark alive and powers the armor. Gold details on the back as well as some silver around the neck help to break up the monochrome sameness of the torso. Thanks to the pretty nicely-defined ribcage on the armor plating pattern, the mid-torso joint is both unobtrusive and very effective. Which is good, since it's the only way you'll get a decent flight pose out of that neck. Hasbro's been using this joint on practically all their action figure lines in place of a waist and it works well enough. I'd really prefer both a waist and the ribcage joint, though.

As ExVee mentions in his review of the Stealth Operations suit, it takes some doing to get the hip joints turned in the direction you want. I've found this to be true of most of the Hasbro-produced Marvel figures I've owned, incidentally. The thigh swivel is just as tight on my figures as well, so posing the legs can be a frustration. The knees don't add to this frustration, though- they work pretty well, and have as good a range as the shape of Iron Man's leg will allow. They don't quite double over perfectly, but with the range of the hips and ankles you don't really have to worry about it because you'll never get him into a squat anyway. The ankles aren't bad, though, especially considering the shape of the ankle and all its protective flaps. Those flaps have a tendency of warping, unfortunately, and the outside of Iron Man's right ankle flares out a lot more than the rest of those points.

Paint and Deco

The big story here is the full-body paintjob- twisting off Iron Man's head reveals that the bulk of the figure is cast in a pearly silver, with the exception of a few maroon pieces like the shoulder armor and joints, and the hip joints. Overall this makes for a pretty splendid finish, though as I note above the smaller helmet details look a little soft compared to the torso. The only spots where red and gold slop together are small, not terribly noticeable spots on the elbows and kneecaps- everything else is clean. While not as off as ExVee's War Machine, my Iron Man still appears to be assessing some threat to his immediate right. You can see it most clearly on his left eye, where the line that should mark the eyeslit is pretty obviously off by a bit.

Articulation- 7/10
Sculpt and Deco- 8/10

Accessories

-"Repulsor Blast" Missile Launcher

A big gun-shaped thingy attached to a cuff which (sort-of) locks onto Iron Man's arm as you slide it up. This is the only possible justification for the trigger-finger hand... and not much of a justification since there's no handgrip or visible trigger. The launcher itself looks a bit out of place, since the whole point of the Iron Man armor is built-in rather than external weaponry. But really, this is about the best action feature for this kind of toy, since it has absolutely zero impact on the figure itself. And it does what it's supposed to do quite well- the missle launches a good ten feet. However, the cuff is worrisome- it doesn't lock all that firmly, and it's a bother to get into a passably-secure position as it is. Since I personally don't care all that much, it doesn't bug me, but this could be done better.

Accessories- 6/10

Closing Remarks:

It's obvious Hasbro spent a lot of time and effort getting this one right. As well they should, since they've already used this body four times, and have more variants scheduled for later in the year. It's not the most flexible Iron Man figure yet made, but it's one of the best-looking, and will sub for the gangly, duck-faced ToyBiz Modern Armor figure nicely. Keep your eye on the eyes when you buy yours, but otherwise I recommend this Very Good figure for fans of the comic, film, or anybody else who just plain likes the look of the figure.

-RAC, 5/13/2008