Marvel Legends Silver Centurion Iron Man figure review
Walgreens has been a surprising source for some great Marvel Legends figures thanks to its exclusive setup with Hasbro. Earlier we got the superb Moon Knight figure and Hasbro revealed the very popular Silver Centurion Iron Man armor as the latest exclusive. It’s one of the more desired armors remaining looks for Shellhead. Let’s see if this figure is worthy of gold…or at least better than copper.
Packaging: There’s no departure from the normal setup with this packaging. The Iron Man logo is in white and red and the side package art effectively captures the tank-like structure of this armor.
No real issues with the bio as it breaks down some of this armor’s new features. I do really like the insert as it features a cool tech metal backdrop.
Likeness: Hasbro basically used the 80th armor Iron Man as the base for this with changes as necessary although most of these changes aren’t for the better.
This armor is pretty tricky with the likeness. It was one of Iron Man’s bulkier armors and definitely had more of a thicker appearance than the sleek classic gold and red armor. It was designed with greater energy absorption abilities to help explain its wider frame.
The biggest visual difference was the wide shoulder pads that resembled a linebacker. I’m not quite sure on Hasbro’s thinking on this figure’s design as the shoulder pads are sleek and barely extend beyond the bicep. Take a look at the Marvel Universe version for the ideal implementation of how the shoulder pads should appear.
In another interesting design choice, the head and neck are one piece without the typical ball joint connection we’ve normally seen. SC Iron Man had a thick neck piece, but it’s so odd that this was the one area Hasbro really wanted to get accurate. Naturally this makes certain poses look very awkward with the large gap in the neck area.
Some of the paneling details like the collar piece, waist piece, gauntlets and boots came out very nicely, but they’re hardly the definitive aspect of the armor.
The comparison with the Toy Biz version shows some of the areas Hasbro toned down to not be as dramatic and bulky.
Also, I don’t remember ever seeing this armor without the visible eye slots (in the comics) so it was odd they’re whited out on this figure. Iron Man’s uni-beam projector is also off. It needs some depth and more of a triangle shape. This armor also had a unique backpack and the figure has a smaller pack. Overall this figure’s armor looks like it shrunk in the wash.
That’s a lot of compromises and inaccurate design choices for one of the more popular Iron Man armors.
Paint: OK technically there’s nothing wrong with the paint job from a competency standpoint. There’s no slop and everything is nice and clean. But… the red armor seems a little too candy red when it probably should be darker.
One of my favorite aspects of the figure is how the silver gets that white gleam giving it more of the white coloring the arms, legs and face plate had in the comics. It’s something that didn’t show off as dramatic with the 80th anniversary figure, but it looks so cool here.
MORE:
- DC Comics reviews 10/13/20 – Dark Nights Death Metal #4, Rorschach #1
- Batman: Death in the Family movie review
- Monster Force Zero review
- Welcome to Sudden Death movie review
Scale: SC Iron Man is a dude in armor and he scales up fine next to his West Coast Avengers allies. This does make me want a black clad Captain figure now.
Articulation: I really liked the flow and movement of the 80th Iron Man figure. That makes this one of the more articulated Iron Man figures and looks good in action once you get used to the head/neck arrangement.
Posing this guy is really where he starts to win me over despite that wacky neck piece and the streamlined armor. It’s just such a unique look for Iron Man that in spite of its issues I still really like it.
Silver Centurion Iron Man has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- biceps
- elbow (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hip
- thigh
- knee (double-jointed)
- ankle
Accessories: Silver Centurion Iron Man comes with most of the effect pieces of the 80th Anniversary Iron Man figure. The biggest difference is they’re semi-translucent instead of a solid yellow.
There’s two large blast effects and smaller repulsor and boot effects. They fit in the hands and boots just fine.
Finally he’s got a swappable set of fists.
Worth it? Thankfully I didn’t have to pay the ridiculous shipping charges for Silver Centurion Iron Man, which would have jacked his price up to $28. For $21 after tax this is a much better value.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
This is probably one of the weirdest figures I’ve reviewed all year as I can see the problems with it from the diet version armor and the neck piece, but the color scheme and articulation still won me over.
Where to get it? As a Walgreens exclusive that’s your main option. Eventually someone will re-sell on Amazon at a higher rate. Moon Knight aside I haven’t had too much trouble finding their exclusives in stores.