Review – Marvel Universe Iron Man

This is the third version of this particular Marvel Universe 3.75-inch scale Iron Man that I’ve reviewed, so you’ll want to hit both the Stealth Ops (review here) and Silver Centurion (review here) reviews if you haven’t already read those.

Marvel Universe, #1

For as many Marvel Universe action figures as I own, it’s kinda funny that it took me this long to grab the figure that’s numbered “001” in the series. Well, I don’t actually care all that much about the numbers, and those of you who have already read my Stealth Ops and Silver Centurion reviews know that I reached this point solely through lack of willpower and a desire to not have a hole in my growing Marvel Universe Iron Man collection. I appreciate that Hasbro’s numbering the figures — I know some of you are completists and the numbers help you with your obsession — but I’m intentionally working at ignoring those numbers (so that I don’t fall into the trap of “I’m missing #7”).

Sculpt

I’ve said it all before, but this Iron Man looks great. He’s sharp, machined, and is immediately recognizable as Iron Man, regardless of which specific armor you care about (excluding the original armor, obviously). I really don’t have anything to say about the sculpting of the figure that I haven’t already said before. For that matter, I have nothing more to say about the articulation so let’s just move on.

(The Stealth Ops review has the most detail on this figure’s sculpt and articulation, but you’ll also want to check out the reviews at Marvelous News and www.mctoys.com for other opinions.)

Paint

This Iron Man has the same problems with paint as the Silver Centurion (review here): The red slops over onto the gold color and the effect is not pretty. It’s only in a couple of places, and fortunately it’s not on the face, but the problem is there and could really bug someone who is searching for an Iron Man statue and not a toy. For a 3.75-inch scale action figure the paint is great; attractive, playable, and not so spectacular that you’re gonna want to hide the piece in a safe.

My only real complaint with the paint, and that’s only because I bought this figure after grabbing the Silver Centurion figure, is that the line details aren’t painted in with black. That’s a great paint detail on the Silver Centurion figure and I hope Hasbro continues adding to the level of paint detail on the toys in this series.

A Great Series

I know it’s only October, but I’m ready to declare this entire series the best 3.75-inch series of 2009. Tons of figures have been released (even if it does feel like half of them are Spider-Man figures), there have been comic packs, 3-packs, and even a mail-away figure, and despite the minor problems the toys are fantastically playable pieces.

I want Hasbro to drop some of the lame accessories — this Iron Man comes with the same blast effect as the others — and give us stands, and I’m ready for a playset or some vehicles, but overall I’m loving this series.

Closing Thoughts

This Iron Man was completely unnecessary — since I already own two other figures using this exact same sculpt — but I can’t deny that he looks good when grouped with the other Marvel Universe Iron Man action figures.

There’s really not a lot to say about this toy, except that I hope Hasbro retires this sculpt (if I have to write another review of this same sculpt I may have to resort to writing about my childhood and when I was reading Iron Man comics, and none of you want to hear about me as a young geek).

Philip Reed wonders if it would be insane to try to collect every Iron Man that is released for this series. Any thoughts on the idea?