By Baylee Alger
Baylee Alger is a blind man who has a deep love of collecting and reading. He has been blind since the age of 2 due to cancer on his optic nerves. He loves to play drums, fish, and above all, read books. He loves playing video games, and writing reviews for AFJ are one of his favorite pastimes as well. When not collecting, reading or pursuing his lifelong dream of being a writer, he'll often be watching movies, such as Batman, Spider-Man, and the occasional comedy.
Captured by terrorists in a remote Middle-Eastern country, Tony Stark was forced to use the resources given to him to escape. With those resources, he used his vast intellect and mechanical skill to build himself an armored suit to escape the terrorists' nest.
Marvel Legends is all the craze right now. A craze I personally am only in on for one purpose: The 12-inch figures. And today, we'll be looking at the Invincible Iron Man himself.
This was one of my most eagerly anticipated figures. I'd like to thank Jason Nelson of AFJ for getting it to me. The figure's box is, as normal, shiny, and bears the word Marvel across the top in engraved letters. Upon opening it, I was stunned to find just how shiny this figure was, as opposed to Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Daredevil. His plastic surface truly does feel metallic in nature.
After the initial unboxing, I sat for a few hours, a movie playing in the background, and really got familiar with the figure. He stands a foot tall, as advertised. His helmet is finely detailed and polished. Then I began to explore him more. His shoulder joints are accentuated by the shoulder plates, which move to allow more arm access. His gauntlets share the same sort of thing, with the backs of them bending for when you bend the hand backwards.
He isn't quite as articulated as the rest of them, I found. Which only makes sense; metal is much less flexible than flesh. I was surprised by one thing: The thrusters on his calves. Previous Iron Man figures I've had have just ironed those out, and they were most likely painted on. Not a huge help for me. I was also surprised by the squared boot-tips. As with the calf thrusters, that was the same on my other figures, where I could not feel that.
One thing I love about this figure is how organic and mechanical it feels. Some of the flat, sharp plains of the figure give way into gracefully flowing curves and other such things. I never quite noticed just how mechanical he looked. Little details such as what appear to be bolts and rivets can be felt, and my personal favorite piece of this figure is his chest plate, which is almost exactly what I expected it to be. I don't understand, though, the arc reactor's slight upward angle. I feel as though if he were going to fire something from it, he'd have to hunch just a bit.
Now, onto the accessories. As well as this figure, I have the Mark 43 armor from the Thanos wave a few years ago. That one had an accessory I liked, that being the helmet with the visor up. This one did not have one, and I was disappointed by that. The normal helmet for this figure is my favorite, for it completes the shiny, smooth armor of Iron Man. Tony Stark's head seems a bit too organic, but that makes sense, given its humanity. I think it clashes slightly with the figure though. As well as an extra fist and extra repulsor hand, two blast effect flames come with the figure, though I cannot figure how to get those into his hands.
Overall, it's a brilliant figure. It has its shortcomings, but it's easily my current favorite 12-inch Marvel Legends figure. Iron Man has elevated himself to the position of my favorite hero.
Order the MARVEL LEGENDS SERIES 12-INCH IRON MAN here on AMAZON.com or from the HasbroToyShop.com.