Review: Marvel Universe Iron Man

Package Description
Multibillionaire industrialist Tony Stark has lived a double life as the hero Iron Man for decades. He is an engineering genius; the best weapons designer on the planet. He personally builds every iteration of the Iron Man armor, trusting no one but himself with the powerful technology he harnesses. He has used his dual role for both personal gain and the glory of mankind, as a solo adventurer, and a founding member of the Avengers.

Appearance 10/10
Hasbro’s prowess at this scale really shines with this Iron Man. The choice of parts and paints seem perfect for this figure. Joints in the torso, wrists, and ankles cleverly blend into the chinks of the armor. The thighs and hips are one piece to provide a large unbroken area of gold on the figure which contrasts nicely with the large areas of red on the torso. The shoulders and biceps are broken up into separate pieces, but the breaks are much less noticeable because of the unbroken areas of red and gold on the torso and thighs respectively. The result is a figure which approximates a solid suit of armor very well.

The metallic red and gold paints shine, and set this figure apart on display even in a group of figures. The paint application is also near perfect because most pieces could be painted one solid color. The proportions are also great and is what I have always visualized for his classic look. Overall this is probably the best looking Marvel Universe figure so far. The paint application is superb and the sculpt fits the design of the character extremely well. This is one of the few figures which looks as good as it does in any promotional shots.

Articulation 8/10
Articulation is fairly standard for the Marvel Universe line. The head is a ball joint, but it can’t look up and down very far. The ball joint in the torso doesn’t move side to side, but it does twist and go forward and backward very well. The elbows are a single pin which bends about ninety degrees, while the wrist only twists. The hips bend about ninety degrees while the knees are double pinned and get their full range of motion. The ankles are pins, but don’t move up beyond level.

Poseability 9/10
Iron Man’s biggest limitations are from his articulation. The ankles in particular could be improved to give him good balance in a lot more poses. For Iron Man, more range of motion in the head would also have been nice to make better flying poses. That said Iron Man does have some great fighting poses, and is as poseable as any other Marvel Universe figure. The metallic paint tends to bring out the muscle lines and help him look good on display. This figure makes me excited for the classic Captain America coming in the Secret Wars two packs, but he’ll look great with an existing collection or by himself. Balance is fairly good, and this figure is a great start to a classic Avengers team.

Final Judgment: 27/30
Out of all the figures in the Marvel Universe line, this is my favorite so far. Despite the small size, Hasbro captured the look and feel of this classic armor extraordinarily well. The articulation isn’t quite what I grew accustomed to with Marvel Legends, but with this figure the lack of a few preferred points of articulation can easily be overlooked. For any Marvel collector this Iron Man is a great buy because of the excellent combination of appearance and poseability.


WE NEED YOU! Marvelous News needs reviews for all figures in the Database (that do not yet have a review), please Click Here if you would like to submit your own Marvel toy review(s) to be shown on MarvelousNews.com!