Toy Fair 2012: Hasbro's Marvel Legends
They're back! Months after the release of the SDCC-Exclusive Thor, Hasbro's re-launch of Marvel Legends has finally begun to hit retail shelves, and today we're bringing you our first review in the guise of the Iron Man Stealth Variant! Why review the variant first and not the regular version? Cause we haven't found it on the pegs yet, that's why! Get off our case, people! We're broken up enough about it as it is! Hell, it's enough to drive us to drink! Speakin' of drinkin', read on for our full review of Tony Stark's alter ego!
The packaging for these new Marvel Legends is a thing of pure awesomeness! It's bright colors, fonts, and attention to the individual character gives the packaging the same fun feel as the comics Marvel is known for. As you can see by the photos, the sweet Ed McGuinness art used on the front is given full attention on the back of the card and there is still plenty of room to show off the rest of the lineup.
The sculpt for Iron man is all new and utilizes the Extremis armor that Stark wore for a number of years and inspired the look he sported in the original film. This version of the armor is integrated into Tony's own body and can assemble as quick as he can process the thought. While some fans have been critical of the sculpt's thinness in regards to it not looking large enough to be a man in a suit, we don't have much problem with it. If you think about the armor forming directly against his skin as it secretes from his pores, then we don't see it being all that bulky. In fact, you'd think the more advanced Stark's armor becomes that eventually it should fit like a second skin and look almost like the Silver Surfer... but now we're getting into a random comic-lovin' pile of conjecture.
Like the regular version of the Marvel Legends Iron Man, this variant is mostly molded in the correct colors but is still expertly painted over to give it a more metallic feel. This time, those colors just happen to be two shades of blue accented with red. The Stealth Armor has always been a favorite of fans for it's color scheme and Hasbro usually brings a version out in every Iron Man line thanks to it being a simple variant. The lighter blue used on the faceplate, biceps, and thighs looks very nice and the red used for the repulsors fits perfectly with previous versions. Our only real problem paintwise came in the form of a small scratch on the left side of his face that was present straight out of the package. You can't even see it in most of the pictures, so we're calling this paint job a win. We have seen a few Iron Man on pegs with the paint on the mouth not lined up properly, so that's something to watch out for when toy hunting.
Articulation on this version of Iron Man is pretty spectacular. He features a swivel/hinge neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, dual-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, ball-joint torso, swivel/hinge hips, swivel thighs, dual-hinged knees, and swivel/hinge ankles. Stark also has hinged shoulderpads and swivel disks on each side of hips that can be rotated out of the way of the hips in wider stances. The long range of movement in both the neck and torso allow for some of the best flying poses we've ever been able to put a figure in-- Marvel Legends or otherwise!All of the joints are tight and hold their positions well. Our only gripe is the front of the hips hinder how high the legs can be kicked up in front of the figure. This sadly seems to be an epidemic lately as figures from most companies we review have had this problem. Our heroes gotta high-kick!
In the accessory department, Stark comes packaged with the 3rd part of Terrax's history and right leg for the former Herald's Build-a-Figure. Naturally, we'll showcase this when we eventually get to the Terrax review-- assuming we can find a Hope Summers figure to complete our collection!
As is stands, we pretty much love this figure, regardless of the few flaws, and Iron Man is just our first foray into the new series of Marvel Legends reviews, with plenty more to come. For more on this line, plus all the other Marvel goodness that Hasbro has to offer, be sure to check out their official website.
Stay tuned to MTV Geek for all your Hasbro and Marvel Legends coverage!
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