Package Description
Industrialist Tycoon turned Super Hero, Anthony Stark joined the Avengers as the Invincible Iron Man after inventing a suit of near-indestructible armor. Using his armor's vast array of weaponry to fight for mankind, Iron Man would soon clash with the Mandarin, a would-be conqueror who employs the mystical might of ten powerful rings. Seeking to use the technology behind Iron Man's armor as a means to advance his diabolical schemes, the Mandarin has waged a war against his most despised enemy. Iron Man battles heroically knowing that he alone stands in the way of the maniacal Mandarin's ultimate goal -- world domination!
Appearance
IRON MAN
This figure is based on Iron Man's modular armor from the comics and the cartoon series. Overall it's comic accurate with a few minor differences that should go unnoticed in the vast Iron Man armory. His figure is a little bit on the short side though, which I can't even begin to come up with a reason for. His hands are proportionally too large though, especially his right hand.
The red of the armor has a good shine to it from a bright plastic. The yellow is all painted on though, and it is dull compared to the red. The difference a shiny yellow could have made can be seen just by looking at the War Machine variant. Because of this Iron Man doesn't quite have the high tech look to him.
His joints generally don't stick out too much. His arms look a little too muscular, especially since he looks more guy in a costume than guy in a suit of armor. The face under the armor isn't that great, and I happened to pick up a particularly bad one. The two modules that go on his arms look pretty nice though, and generally fit snugly. Overall, he looks pretty good and worthy of being a default Iron Man on display if there's not another one available more to your personal taste. He looks good on display with other legends, but can look slightly out of place if displayed with Avengers in their classic costumes.
MANDARIN
Why do the villains always seem to get shortchanged in these two packs? Well, the robe looks quite good with its intricate designs. It also has a distinctly different texture to separate it from other legends. But then he has the helmet that honestly I have no idea if it's from the comics. It's certainly not the look most people imagine when they hear his name. Then there's the only other visible part of him, the hands. Why are his nails pink? They're not a natural pink, but a painted pink that combined with all the rings on his hand makes him highly questionable. I have to say, I would not be impressed by a super villain in a long flowing Chinese robe and then hot pink fingernails and a lot of rings.
Rants aside the nails aren't too noticeable if his hands are kept inside the robe. Overall he looks alright. It's just everywhere else that Mandarin fails abysmally.
Articulation
IRON MAN
Iron Man is fairly close to standard. He has double jointed knees and elbows, glove and boot swivels, in addition to torso articulation. The shoulders are the only odd thing. They are shaped like an ellipsoid instead of a ball. They are the same basic shape as the Face-Off Wolverine, which means his arms can't go down to his sides. His arms don't have as much range of motion as a regular ball joint, but it's not enough to hinder him a whole lot.
MANDARIN
Mandarin's body probably has a good amount of articulation. Unfortunately the green robe doesn't, and he's pretty much stuck in snow angel mode. Problem was they made the plastic too hard. Oops.
Poseablility
IRON MAN
Iron Man is actually pretty easy to balance (maybe because he's too short). He can look like he's flying, shooting, or just looking tough, which is about everything you need from a good Iron Man. He looks pretty good on display too, but as mentioned before he may need to be in either a more modern section or an armory.
MANDARIN
One word. Expectations. Don't expect anything you haven't seen in the pictures I have in this review. I will give him this though, the stiff robe makes him the only figure that can bend over backwards and keep his balance like he'd just been punched in the jaw.
Final Judgment: 6
Iron Man deserves a really good score, and Mandarin a really bad score. Mix them up, and I guess you get a six. If you've got a use for Mandarin, great, but I bought this set for the Iron Man, and I think he was worth the money considering he came with a Mandarin statue.
SCALE
10. My favorite possession.
9. My favorite action figure.
8. One of my favorite action figures.
7. An exceptional action figure.
6. A good, but not exceptional action figure.
5. An adequate action figure.
4. Not worth the money I spent.
3. I'll give it to somebody's kid.
2. I'll give it to somebody's dog.
1. It's going to lose a fight with my car.
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