2007 Hasbro
Marvel Legends Annihilus Series
Ultimate Iron Man
MSRP: $9.99
BAF Piece: Torso
Does Ultimate Iron Man ultimately disappoint or turn out as a highlight in this wave?
As soon as images showed up in Toyfare magazine and at SDCC, most comments made about Ultimate Iron Man were, "meh, I'll pass". I have a feeling when you see it in person or the up close and personal photos in this gallery, your opinion may change. There is supposedly a variant, sort of. Hasbro has provided us with what I'm calling a Package Variant for Ultimate Iron Man. Star Wars collectors, you know what I'm talking about. The figures are in every way, exactly the same as each other, the only difference or variance, is that one Ultimate Iron Man has the helmet on and the other has the helmet off. I saw two cases with my very own eyes and both had one of each Ultimate Iron Man. Call it a variant if you want, but it looks like Hasbro has released equal amounts of both versions therefore they are both of equal value, so don't let someone charge you more for one or the other.
Sculpt / Design
Hasbro has provided us with an all-new all-different sculpt in Ultimate Iron Man. Also, this is only the second time that we've gotten a full Tony Stark head with a helmet that is completely removable instead of just a removable face plate. The first Tony Stark head was in Marvel Legends - Legendary Riders Series, HulkBuster Iron Man. It's too bad that Tony Stark here looks absolutely nothing like Tony Stark. He actually kind of looks chinese. By the way, Tony Stark, even in the Ultimate universe is not Chinese. Okay, bad head sculpt, that's out of the way, how about the rest, how about the armor? The details on the armor from head to toe are all cleanly sculpted and everything fits together as it should. The one thing that immediately stands out is the ultra shiny red chest and back plates, red helmet and red shin guards. All of these parts are vacuum Metalised. Vacuum metalising is a process where a thin coating of metal as well as a basecoat and a transparent or pigmented coat are applied to the plastic to achieve that high gloss without using actual metal. This is something brand new to any 6" Marvel toy and a very welcome addition as far as I'm concerned. It's just another tool that can add to the dynamic of the figure. If the figure was completely covered in this material than I'm sure my opinion would differ. Another thing is, I don't know how well this stuff holds up with wear and time. We'll find out eventually.
Score: 7
Paint / Color
Bright shiny red armor plates, helmet and shin guards due to vacuum metalising looks great. The three blue panels all colored in on the chest plate are accurate. The main thing that made a lot of collectors weary about this figure was the concern of a cheap look to all of the gray parts of armor which covers the majority of this figure's body. Thankfully, Hasbro applied a wash of a darker gray color for a more realistic and textured look. You will be surprised, but when you have this figure in hand, he's going to look better than you expected. I'm already spoiled by Hasbro's thus far, stellar paint apps in terms of staying inside the lines and lack of sloppy-ness which was something sorely lacking from ToyBiz run of late, but there is a bit of blotchy paints pouring over into each other on Ultimate Iron Man's shoulders, the yellow and red spill over into each other an awful lot and it's a pretty awful mess. The choice of colors on the figure overall are perfect with the exception of Tony Stark's skin tone, much too pale, makes the head look a little cheap.
Score: 7
Articulation
Ultimate Iron Man features 30 POA (Points of Articulation). None of which are any new type of Hasbro articulation that tend to make collector's weary. Ball joint head, ball joint shoulders, ball joint hips, double hinge elbows, double hinge knees are amongst the most useful for posing Ultimate Iron Man in a wide range of positions. Again, finger or mid-hand articulation would have been nice here so that we could clench Ultimate Iron Man's hands into fists. The ab crunch joint only provides a little bit of play, I wouldn't really call it movement. I'm pleased once again to share that no joints are stiff or stuck resulting in breaks or tears of limbs like we had seen in ToyBiz products from their last year on Marvel toys. Ultimate Iron Man features firm ratchet joints as you rotate the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees you will feel or even hear a click which provides a stable standing figure over a longer period of time than POA's without.
Score: 8
Accessories
Ultimate Iron Man includes a completely removable helmet. The helmet fits perfectly with just the right amount of effort to put on as well as remove. The helmet does not fall off on it's own and you don't feel like you're breaking the figure trying to get it on or off. The figure should have been provided with a stand of some type so that you can have him fly. Flight stand you stick in the back or something that you could attach to his waist. Hasbro, this sort of inclusion is crucial. Ultimate Iron Man comes packed with the torso of Annihilus which will be reviewed in Annihilus' own review.
Score: 7
Score Totals
Sculpt / Design: 7
Paint / Color: 7
Articulation: 8
Accessories: 7
Overall: 29 out of a possible 40
Some people love adding Ultimate figures to their collection, some don't care and others are downright defiant to the inclusion of anything from the Ultimate universe into the Marvel Legends line. Ultimate Iron Man is overall a commendable figure and should prove a welcome addition to any Ultimate fan's collection. Bad head sculpt, just keep the
brown bag helmet on and you have a nice display.