Review – Marvel Legends Heroes Reborn Iron Man
“Haunted by the death of his friend “Rebel” O’Reilly during the test of the original Prometheum armor, Tony Stark withdrew into himself. He abandoned his youthful idealism in favor of a ruthless pragmatatism that made him rich but alienated those closest to him. It was only after a near fatal helicopter crash forced him to don a newer version of the Prometheum armor that he once again found a purpose in life.”
— from the card back
Straight out of the Heroes Reborn: Iron Man book* comes this 6-inch scale Iron Man action figure with a fantastic design unlike most other suits of Iron Man armor that we’ve seen before. Even though I greatly prefer the 3.75-inch scale Marvel Universe action figures, when I saw this figure for $5 I had to go ahead and grab it.
And now I’ve got to admit that this 6-inch scale Marvel Legends Heroes Reborn Iron Man** action figure is a fun, well-produced toy.
Packaging
Header and blister, with (as always) a bit too much plastic and too many rubber bands. It’s an attractive package, and I love how multiple pieces of comic artwork were used on the card front. Actually, if I have to be honest this is a far superior design than what we’ve been getting on the Marvel Universe action figures. There’s more comic artwork on the front, the back shows all of the figures in the wave, and even the card shape is a bit more distinctive and interesting.
It’s an attractive package, but it’s not so nice that I had to keep it. No, this is just more cardboard and plastic for the local landfill. There has to be a better way to package action figures; I’ve noticed that recent Star Wars vehicles use part of the packaging to create a diorama which is an idea I’d like to see more companies attempt to mimic.
A Different Sort of Iron Man
The first thing you notice about this Iron Man armor design is how drastically different it is from so many other suits of armor Stark has designed throughout the life of the character. (Always remember, guys, the Iron Man Armory website is a hell of a lot of fun to explore.) In his review at OAFE yo go re writes:
“Rather than a modern, smooth exterior shell, the Reborn armor is wrapped in steel cables and has flared exhaust vents. It’s a very rough, unfinished look, like he threw it together at the last minute.”
I disagree that the armor looks rough and unfinished. The gold-colored cables that appear to cover the entire body (I’m assuming that the red-colored armor plates are fastened to more of the steel cable “musculature”) give the design an almost organic appearance, and it’s a great look that makes the armor look more dangerous and menacing than many suits of Iron Man armor we’ve seen before.
Sculpt and Paint
Okay, it’s starting to look like I really don’t agree with anyone when it comes to this action figure. In his review at Articulated Discussion, TAO really hates this figure, saying:
“Iron Man’s sculpt might be his weakest feature. . . . He just feels small, in both height and heft. I don’t know how a man wearing a suit of armor could manage to stay so slim. This size problem is just highlighted further by his ridiculously small head and humongous feet.”
I think the proportions of the figure look great, and everything from the sculpted details of the steel cables to the hands look perfect to me. This is a lean, powerful suit of armor and it’s not the first time I’ve thought an Iron Man action figure looked great when others thought it looked too thin (see my Marvel Universe Iron Man (Golden Avenger) review).
The photo above gives you a pretty good look at the Heroes Reborn Iron Man action figure and I think it demonstrates why this is a great sculpt. Unfortunately, Iron Man’s excellent sculpt is damaged by his lackluster paint job.
In a review at Michael Crawford’s site Kyle Robinson nails my own thoughts on the figure’s paint:
“Iron Man is Casted in solid red that has a nice glossy finish and though the Gold area is painted with nice wash details, the red sections leave alot to be desired in the detail department, a black wash would put him over the top.”
Yeah, the gold sections of the action figure — where the black wash was applied — look great, with the wash performing perfectly and highlighting the sculpted details. While the sculpted details in the red parts of the armor aren’t as numerous or detailed — which is appropriate, since the red sections are primarily smooth plates — a dark red wash over those sections would have really helped show off details in the hands and feet. It was an unusual choice to pay for a wash over the gold but not the red, and I hope Hasbro doesn’t make the same mistake again when applying a wash to an action figure.
Articulation
Not bad at all, with ball and hinge shoulders, feet, hands, and hips, hinged swivels at the elbows and knees, an ab crunch joint, a twisty waist, and a ball-jointed head. As with many Iron Man action figures some of the sculpted details hinder the articulation (the shoulder movement is most damaged by this problem with this particular toy), but overall this is good articulation and should be enough for you to pose Iron Man pretty much any way that you’d like to.
Closing Thoughts
If I had paid $14 or even $10 for this action figure I don’t think I’d be as happy with him as I am, but for $5 this is an excellent Iron Man action figure. The armor is unique and stands out from other Iron Man designs and the sculpt beautifully captures the look from the Heroes Reborn: Iron Man trade paperback.
The figure has plenty of articulation and a decent paint job, and overall is a nice addition to my toy collection. I didn’t bother to discuss his accessories in the meat of the review (Heroes Reborn Iron Man came with the helmet, sword, and dagger for the Ares “build-a-figure”), but that’s only because the accessories are so very lame that they are completely forgettable.
If you’re an Iron Man fan then you’ve probably already got this action figure in your collection. But if you missed him — or if another review convinced you to skip him — I recommend looking around for this toy. If you can find it for the price I paid — or even a few bucks more than that — it’s well worth the cash.
*Affiliate link: Orders using this link earn battlegrip.com cash, which is applied to buying toys.
**Affiliate link: Orders using this link earn battlegrip.com cash, which is applied to buying toys.
Philip Reed still prefers the Marvel Universe series to Marvel Legends, but if he can find great deals on more Marvel Legends action figures he may just snag one or two of them.
Great review! I’m glad you got around to this figure, and your thoughts on it are interesting. This toy holds particular significance to me, as it is my favorite armor design, bar none, and I have been waiting for this toy since I was 13 and got the first Marvel Legends Iron Man… I knew that I needed a figure of that quality for the Prometheum armor stat. I had even assembled the parts needed to make a custom figure from the Thorbuster suit figure, which has very similar proportions and armor layout (and would be much more in-scale with other ML figures), but do not have the sculpting skills to pull it off. Maybe someday I’ll try and turn the Thorbuster figure into the prototype Rebel suit from the first issue. It seemed like such a long-shot, as the Heroes Reborn event is mostly despised, and the armor design is so radically different from the norm, but somehow this figure came out of left field, and was pretty much everything I hoped for. It IS too short and small next to other ML figures, but on its own it’s easily my favorite 6-inch action figure ever made.
I like that you quote opinions from other reviewers in your write-ups, even if I almost always find myself disagreeing with Articulated Discussion’s ideas. His thoughts on this figure are pretty off, as if you put this figure up against the Whilce Portacio pencils from the first issues of the Heroes Reborn run, the figure matches perfectly in proportions and build. The Promethean armor is lean and lanky and lithe, with long slender legs and big feet… it’s mostly just the way Portacio drew it, but it’s always been part of why the design sticks to me so much. It’s predatory and aggressive, whereas Iron Man suits are usually more stocky and powerful (look at the earlier Modular armor and the like).
I suppose a black wash could have helped bring out some of the detail on the red bits, but really, factory applied washes usually end up looking really bad and inconsistent, so I’m glad they left the red bits clean on this guy.
Last I checked, Marvel Legends figures were plastic representations of comic book art. Seeing as the main person to draw this version of Iron Man was Whilce Portacio, it’s only fitting that it look like his artwork. If he drew the character with these stylized proportions, then the figure should reflect that. Sometimes people want a little too much realism in their figures– use your imagination, people. So what if it doesn’t look like a guy would fit in that armor? He looks freaking fantastic– and that’s what matters!
No one mentions the old Toybiz version of the Prometheum armor.
As far as realism goes, people have to keep in mind that Stark is a pretty normal-sized guy. Saying the suit is too skinny is kind of like saying that the guy wearing the Spiderman tights doesn’t really look like the comic book drawing. My 2 cents, but I’m happy to see this one updated- the look is very evocative of the 90s steel-cables-everywhere character design philosophy.
Good review, as usual. Makes me a bit sad that I never found this one in the stores.
@Ben – First, wow. Thank you for such a detailed, involved comment. There are days when I wonder if anyone is even reading these reviews, so any comments are appreciated. But you went way above what I expect from comments.
“I like that you quote opinions from other reviewers in your write-ups, ”
I feel it’s important to give other opinions in reviews. I like the idea of providing opposing thoughts — or even supporting my own thoughts with other reviews — since that makes it easier for anyone reading the review to better form their own impression of the toy.
@Monsterforge – “If he drew the character with these stylized proportions, then the figure should reflect that.”
I agree. I’d rather see representations of the artwork than a realistic design.
I agree with Ben, and by the way great comment. I’ve been giving more interest to Iron Man lately as I’m getting a bit anxious for the movie. And I agree, for $5, this is an excellent figure.