Reader Review By:
Mike Allshouse from Pittsburgh, PA
Love it or hate it, Hasbro has produced it.
With the first shipments of Spider-Man Origins line just hitting store shelves, Hasbro has quickly added to its line Spidey's latest and most radically redesigned costume since his "Secret Wars" black symbiote duds… that's right, Iron Spider-Man.
The Iron Man color-coded Spidey suit made its debut in the pages of "Amazing Spider-Man" #529. The suit was designed by Tony Stark and given to Peter Parker, hence the nickname of Iron Spider given to the new suit by the fandom at large. Much like Stark's own Iron Man armor, the Iron Spider suit features gadgets a plenty, including the much maligned Spider Tentacles.
Packaging - ***
Technically not much has really changed with the packaging. Ok, yes it is prettier than the old Toy Biz package. But the format is still the same, plastic blister on cardboard backing. But gone are the Ultimate Spider-Man designed cards. Hasbro has chosen to embrace its name for the line as the artwork on the card features Spider-Man through the years, from Todd McFarlane's take on the character to movie images of Spider-Man. Also the packaging seems a bit more condensed, gone are the sometimes bulking packages of the Toy Biz era. It is also to be noted that Hasbro has instituted a number system for the line much like it already has working in their "Star Wars" line. Each figure has a number; Iron Spider-Man is 11 of 12. The number is nicely hidden on the left side of the insert at the inside bottom of the blister. The back of the card is impressive with a good look at the figure and its features, a nice description of the character and their place in the Spider-Man canon and a small pictorial rundown of other figures available in the current line.
Sculpting/Design - ***
Overall the sculpting is above average, bordering on the terrific. This Spider-Man figure is a bit more muscular and sinewy and it needs to be nicely reflecting the changes Spider-Man went through in J. Michael Straczynski's "Spider-Man: The Other" storyline. The spider logo on the figure's chest, shoulders is raised, but just enough to highlight it. The same can be said for the figure's wrist gauntlets and booties, for lack of a better word. Spidey's eyes also have the same effect. The tentacles come out of backpack that is sculpted directly onto the figures back and while each tentacle can be removed, the backpack is not coming off without a fight.
And unless you consider the tentacles an action feature, the figure, thankfully, doesn't feature any of the action figures that have doomed many other figures to collectors. No, this figure will have no problem sitting right in with a display of Marvel Legends.
And the sculpt doesn't hinder articulation. There has been some criticism of some of the figures in this very line for their lack of articulation, like Spider-Man 2099 and his lack of ball-jointed legs. Well, Iron Spidey had Marvel Legends like articulation. The only gripe is a lack of a wrist joint so that his hands can be turned separate of his arms. I counted 26 points of articulation on the figure, which is not included every finger has its own articulation and the tentacles feature a ball joint where they connect to the backpack and each tentacle sports three different points of articulation.
Paint - ***
The metallic paint finish is superb. While some people may not like the use of the metallic red paint paired with a matte yellow, it really isn't a problem. The yellow one the spider, eyes, wrist and feet is not exactly a pure matte finish. While not as shiny as the red metallic of the body suit, the yellow has an enough of shine that allows it to both blend in and yet highlight the design.
And the paint application is also quite good. The one very minor flaw on the figure used for this review is that the yellow paint on the eyes doesn't not meet the raised sculpt of the eyes, meaning there is some red on the eyes that should not be there. Other than that on any other raised surface the paint application is near perfect.
Value - ***
At $7.99, the figure is well worth the cash. If you want to add this figure to your other Spidey figures, it fits in perfectly along the classic and symbiote figures. And since it seems that the price of Marvel Legends is shooting up a couple of bucks (to around $9.99), at $7.99 this figure is a steal.
Overall - ***
Love the costume or hate it, Hasbro has produced an Iron Spider-Man that is worthy of the Marvel Legends header and yet is not priced at that level. It is solely up to the discerning taste of the person whether they will pick up the figure based on the love/hate relationship fans have with Spidey's latest choice in costumes. But if you are a fan of the Iron Spider design, and they may very well only be a few of us out there, this figure will not disappoint.
*Note: reader reviews do not reflect the opinions or feelings of Marvelous News or ENI staff and are strictly the opinions and feelings of the reviewer alone
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