Hasbro has been the supplier for the main Marvel action figure paraphernalia for some few years now; perhaps even close to a decade I would surmise. For the most part, Hasbro has been jumping the wagon on whatever popular Marvel movie line up(or the scarce TV shows that Marvel produces) which as we all know, Iron Man is one of the main hitting ones(
Iron Man Legends,
Marvel Legends: Iron Man 3 wave 1) whether we are talking about comic book or movieverse. So only fitting that Hasbro decided to put out the a Marvel Legends line up for the recent movie of the Iron Avenger; the supposed 'last' of the Iron Trilogy(though rumors has it there is going to be one more; that and along with other Hollywood Drama). I've had the first wave for a while now, but putting wave 2 in my grasp was a different story. They seemed more illusive than the first bunch.
The Mark 42. The patent armor for Iron Man 3. Despite my feelings on the third installment of the Iron Man franchise(
A Stark Plummet), I do have to say there is aesthetically pleasing with the Mark 42. Though its fighting prowess is questionable(along with the durability of all Stark's armor in the third movie), I do have to indulge on the different take of the armor. It being more dominantly gold is something; still, wish they would do something different with the helmet rather than keep it the same damn thing every damn movie.
A lot of people's qualms about Mark 42 is the paint job and honestly, it's not the pinnacle of action figure painting, though it's not entirely bad as other people would claim it to be. If I was to really scrutinize it, he could use a bit more shine to him; make him a bit more movie glossy so to speak. Articulation is good to an extent. There are a myriad of options for 'action' pose, though I don't entirely have the patience to do a whole lot of them.
Though attempting to do the classic pose of Iron Man's landing doesn't entirely happen with me. I'm sure it's possible, but again, patience is sparse as of late.
Iron Patriot or formerly known as War Machine. Colonel James Rhodes has had some major bad luck in his armor endeavors since mostly everyone and anyone can possess his armor; well that is a Stark Irony since he did steal the armor from Tony(the MK II). Again, not trying to delve into movie politics and despite my gripe with another section of the movie, I'd say I love this toy.
The painting to me is a bit more vibrant than MK 42. Although both figures do a stellar job capturing the majority of the Armors' details from the movie, I do have to say there are a lot more to create with Iron Patriot and I must say Hasbro hit the note. Though the one thing I would say that brings this toy down is the canon on the back lacking colors. I's just colored in an insipid grey and awkward looking with the rest of the toy. Wonder why that extra effort was left out? Articulation wise it falls in the same caliber as MK 42. Malleable enough for a few scenes but there are still inhibitions that makes it LESS enamoring. There are also times when keeping him upright is a task since he is a bit more 'top heavy'. Though all in all, he wasn't too bad; I've had worse experience.
This is Iron Patriot next to his comic book aberration. Rhodes and Osborne so to speak. Again, more enthused with the Iron Man 3 version.
And that's him next to the Iron Man 2 merchandise, War Machine. I am a big fan of the Hasbro War Macine, but I must say Iron Patriot does a fine job as a part of my collection as well.
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| Can anyone spot MK 42? |
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| Now I have three "Iron Patriots" |
So, that's it for those two. There is one more component missing to properly assemble Iron Monger, Ultron. And the damn thing is the head so I'm not going to be taking pictures of Iron Monger until I find him! But there might be an alternate version of Iron Patriot; the War Machine MK II; the armor that seemed to have gotten a lot of popularity despite him NEVER wearing the damn armor.
Okay, so enough of that. Time to touch base on the figured built from the coming of the Age of Ultron(I heard that was a terrible comic event)! So this figure is BLUE(da ba dee da ba da). In contrast to his movie adaptation, Iron Monger is blue, and a beautifully painted blue might I add. The only other tint to him is the red in his eyes, his chest, and the black on his 'wirings'. For the most part though you only get his shiny metal blue which again for the shade of the sad color, it's pretty damn cool.
Height comparison, he is a bit taller than your average 6 inch Marvel Legends. He is almost toe to toe with Red Hulk and obviously nothing as big as the old Toybiz BAFs like Onlsaught or Apocalypse. Hearing from one of the popular toy collectors Shartimus Prime, there was a controversy with Iron Monger's size because of a certain picture(on which I won't really bother on looking for and posting), but honestly as Shartimus Prime absolved, perhaps it was mostly on the Iron Man's posture and not so much deception of Hasbro. More or less it was a misleading picture. Alright moving on!
