Iron Man Mark V (Iron Man 2 Movie Series)

Height: 10.5cm

Articulation: 24 total points - Ball joint neck; 5 points each arm: Universal joint shoulder, pre-eblow swivel, hinge elbow, swivel wrist; Mid-torso ball joint; 7 points each leg: universal joint hip, thigh swivel, double joint knee, double jointed ankle.

Colors: Painted cherry red, silver, blue, white; Molded metal-flake grey, light grey (accessory only)

Accessories: Missile launcher "Briefcase", missiles x2, extra hand, stand, Iron Man Armor Cards.

Release Data: Released in the second assortment of Iron Man Movie Series figures in March of 2009 at a SRP of US$7.99

Author: ExVee

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You don't have to know a lot about Iron Man to know that one of the most common gimmicks is to carry the armor around collapsed into a briefcase. Whether or not realistic (seriously, are we going there?) it's a classic idea that with a few exceptions has spanned the course of Iron Man's history. It seems only reasonable that with the second Iron Man movie where we get to expand on the world a little bit that this idea would turn up in some format or another. It's been tailored a bit to fit this continuity, but I have to appreciate the (extra) nod to comic fans with this.


The main thing about this armor design is that it's very streamlined. It lacks almost all of the solid plating the other versions have, instead being largely composed of numerous strips and bands that are obviously made to overlap easily for storage. It leads to a great deal of molded detail on the figure, and even some increased visual interest over some of the other armors that have more in the way of smooth, flat surfaces. The only place this is still true is on the boots, which look very much like any other armor revision.

Mark V has the standard array of articulation for the movie figures. Since the design is so slimmed down, most of the joints get to work to their full potential. Of course things like the giant neck ball joint and the bizarre construction of the universal hip joints still work their hardest to resist any interesting sort of posing. Still, particularly noteworthy in this case is the torso joint, which is among the best examples of this style that I can think of. There's undoubtedly some Spider-man figure or something at this scale that has at least equal performance in that regard, but I don't have it and it's not so remarkable as it is on an Iron Man figure. The one huge point of fail on this Iron Man is the shoulder joints. No Iron Man figure I've gotten so far has had great shoulder articulation, but this is without a doubt the worst so far in this regard. The already stated slim nature of the armor design necessitates the requisite shoulder pads be integrated. Might not be a problem, except that the choice was made to preserve the appearance of the shoulder armor rather than cut a channel far enough in to allow the arms to swivel out from the body by more than a few degrees. Description in words may not do this problem justice, but I'll be sure to demonstrate it in the gallery.

I'm not sure why the movie version Iron Man figures are so hit and miss on paint quality, but the Mark V is no exception. I had to choose between three copies for best overall paint job. Upon looking again later, I notice that one upper arm is a completely different shade of red than its opposite. I imagine that's particular to my individual figure, but that still isn't setting down a good example for the figures in general. ...that and I found a sizeable red paint chip on my finger a little while ago that can only have cracked off of the figure someplace. But, if you can find one with generally good paint work, it does have a reasonably impressive paint job. There's even some small details and fine lines that end up painted with a surprising level of accuracy. On the upside too, at least these Iron Man figures don't seem to have the severe eye paint misalignment the first movie toys were generally plagued with.

One other note is that Hasbro is already planning ahead toward some sort of reuse of this figure. There's a peghole on the back that is unmistakably to be used as a hard point for some kind of addon piece later on. Maybe I'll get my real wish for this figure. (see Closing.)



Accessories

-Suitcase

In one way of thinking, you get two copies of this armor. That is to say, the suitcase accessory is based upon the storage/transport form of the Mark V. Of course being that the world is not a place where CGI constructs can stand in for physical reality, it's not possible, nevermind practical for the suitcase to expand into a movie-accurate suit of armor. Shame. So for this instance of the Mark V, the suitcase exists alongside the armor and has now become a missile launcher.

...really?

It's decently powerful and launches two missiles at once over the space of a few feet. But just to tease you with the gimmick you can never have, the side of the suitcase opposite the trigger button has a hinged panel which reveals machine detailing, probably supposed to resemble the collapsed armor. In truth I think it looks more like a head-on view of an engine block.

I'm not sure if this is part of the screen design for this or not, but the bottom of the suitcase has what looks like a couple of sockets, like the piece is supposed to attach to something else.


-Hand

Possibly the only Iron Man figure at this scale that has an extra option hand. It's a replacement for the left hand that's made to carry the suitcase. It doesn't work that well. The grip is kind of loose, due in part to the space between the palm and fingertips being relatively shallow. It also has a completely different sort of wrist connector than the right hand, and actually seems to be more difficult to remove and replace. That makes perfect sense for the hand that's supposed to swap out, right?



Closing Remarks

My thought is that the suitcase accessory should have disassembled to form add-on armor pieces rather than simply being a large, awkward missile launcher. Such a gimmick would have been more consistent with the spirit of this armor design, as well as giving a better approximation of the function to be seen in the movie. However, this figure does have potential to be the best IM2 figure on articulation merits since the slim design offers little to inhibit the range of the toy's joints. Besides those shoulders. What the hell, man?

I was only interested in this toy because it is based on the classic notion of carrying the Iron Man armor in a briefcase, albeit with a bit of modernizing. It's not bad, but I could have gone for a more compelling special feature to support the idea the toy is based on. I really want to give this figure a grade up, but I'm going to have to just call it at Good. If it had a gimmick that was more interactive with the figure than just a missile launcher, I'd be ready to give it some extra points. As it is, it seems like it stopped short.