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By the time he joined the AVENGERS, Tony Stark had already modified the IRON MAN armor several times.  This version incorporated the latest in transistor and magnetic repulsor technology, and even allowed IRON MAN to fly!

I’m not really quite sure that that is accurate, as the armor version I’m about to show you is not the armor he wore when he joined the Avengers.  When he joined the Avengers, he was still running around on roller skates.

For this week’s “Gotta Have It! Figure Edition“, we’re going to take a gander at Iron Man 2 Comic Series: Iron Man!

Product Line: Iron Man 2: Comic Series
Series: Series 1, #26
Company: Hasbro
Released: February 2010
Packaging: Blister Card Packaging
Where to Buy: Pretty much any retail store with a toy department.
Price: US $8.99 (K-Mart)
Points of Articulation: 22
Height: 3 3/4 inches.

Paint Job: This classic Iron Man is painted with metallic red and yellow.  If you didn’t open the package and play with examine him, he looks as if he were made of die-cast metal.  Hands down, this is the worst paint job on an action figure that I have reviewed to date.  There is a black speck on the side of his head and on that same side, there is a tiny unpainted spot.  The red of his head bleeds onto the yellow of his face.  There is a black smudge, when viewed at certain angles, that makes him look like he has a nose on the armor.  On his right leg, the red of his boot bleeds onto the yellow of his leg.  The same problem is seen on the left leg.  There are unpainted parts where gloves meet arms.  Lastly, the blue of his rocket boot “blasters” appears to have just been dripped on.  They are very off-center.

Sculpt: Aside from being painted poorly, the sculpt of this Iron Man is quite awesome!  It is very textured and detailed.  As mentioned, he has rocket boots!  His gloves, boots, and underoos are good with the lines.  There is also a repulsor ray in each palm!  When it comes down to being detailed, this Iron Man action figure NAILS IT!

Durability: This Iron Man is built pretty solid.  There are no hollow pieces and he has a peg hole in each of his boot heels.  If you have an imagination, those peg holes can be a second rocket booster on his boots.  Have fun!  His joints move without any resistance.  The joint at his left elbow, however, is pretty loose and sometimes flops back into a straight arm.  Not good.

Poseability: The poseability of this Iron Man is impressive.  You can stand him, kneel him, and squat him.  Standing, he maintains great balance and posture standing at the ready to intimidate weaker foes.  The only thing that hurts Mr. Stark in the poseability category is the fact that his wrists do not bend.  From elbow to fingertips, it is a straight piece.  This means that there are no really badass Repulsor Ray poses for him.  Oh, he can do it; he just tends to look a little catty, and enemies would probably fall down laughing instead of being blasted into a brick wall or something awesome like that.  His “blast off” accessory helps with more badass aerial poses, but we’ll get to more of that in a second.

Accessories: This classic armored Iron Man comes with quite the collection of accessories.  He comes with a display stand that makes him look like he should be on display at Avengers Tower.  On that stand, is a slotted section to hold his “Armor Cards.”  Each of the figures in the Iron Man 2 set, whether it be the Comic Series, Concept Series, or Movie Series, come with three cards.  In this instance, the first card is white card stock with the armor’s torso and some “computerized” looking information.  The second is clear with the armor’s legs and more of the info.  Lastly, another clear card has the armor’s helmet, arms, and more info.  They sort of break the armor down much like you would see with the human body in a text book.  Pretty cool idea for a pretty pointless accessory that may end up getting tossed aside or lost.

On the side of these cards is a web address.  www.ironmancard.com If you click on it, all it does is go to www.marvel.com. Broken! Fail! These action figures have been out since February and the website they have to team up with them isn’t even live.  I talked to the editor of marvel.com and he really didn’t have any details to speak of about the ironmancard website.  So, who knows when it will be available.  That was kind of a bummer.

Continuing with the Jolly Rancher molds from last week, Iron Man comes with a red, clear plastic “blast off” post.

He also comes with a similar molded “blast” that fits onto his hand for bad guy-shooting action!

What’s Awesome: I love this particular suit of armor.  It is my favorite.  It takes me back a little bit, because it is the same suit of armor that was in the Secret Wars line of action figures in the 80s!  That was a fun set!  Also, it is the same suit of armor that Iron Man wore when he kicked *spoiler censor*’s ass in Siege #3!  What else is awesome about this figure, is that it was painted in metallic colors, and you can’t go wrong with an Iron Man action figure with Repulsors in his palms.

What Sucks: Sadly, I actually have some complaints about this one.  The flaws in the paint job, like I discussed, are a real turn off.  The fact that this is a highly poseable action figure and his wrists don’t bend, is another ding in the armor for me.  Lastly, the website that Hasbro intended to set up for this line of action figures is still not up.

Overall: 3 out of 5.  I give this Iron Man action figure three thumbs up.  I feel that is very generous considering my complaints, but I think there has to be better painted pieces out there.  Iron Man 2 Comic Series: Iron Man #26.  Gotta have it?  Yes, it’s cool.  But be sure to inspect the paint job before you throw it into your shopping cart (if you have the option. I didn’t.), that way you don’t get stuck with a crummy looking, awesome Iron Man!

Aron White
aron@comicattack.net