Marvel Legends Modular Iron Man review – BAF Ursa Major wave

The great thing about Iron Man from a collecting standpoint is there’s so many viable armors it’s hard to complain when Hasbro rolls out a new one to anchor a Marvel Legends wave. This time the Modular Iron Man takes center stage based off the very popular version from cartoon series, video games and the 90s extreme era Force Works comic.

Let’s see if the parts shift and reconfigure themselves into another winning Iron Man figure.

Packaging:  This is an Iron Man wave and Hasbro smartly knows how to leverage the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom and uses a logo similar to the Iron Man movies.

I really like the package art as it’s taken from Iron Man #300 to draw tighter connection to this armor’s comic book roots. The bio is pretty good. It definitely helps that the bio doesn’t need an extensive introduction to Iron Man.

I dig the package insert, which features a blueprint version of the MCU Iron Man as the connecting thread from film to comics.

Likeness:  I’ve always liked the modular armor and Tony Stark rocked this look through some memorable 90s storylines, but it arguably has greater pop culture impact. It was the featured armor for the 90s Iron Man cartoon and in the Marvel Super Heroes Capcom games.

Besides the arms past the shoulders, I think this is an entirely new sculpt and it looks great. Hasbro captured the angular, streamlined feel of this armor with the ridge paneling and lack of a mouth slot.

The helmet on this armor had a unique design and gives me this kind of Optimus Prime vibe. This is the first armor to break the tradition of a majority red torso and it refreshes the look while creating this interesting V design that’s mirrored in the helmet and the slanted angles of the boots.

Paint:  Hasbro decided to go with gold instead of yellow like the comic book. I wonder if we’re gonna have a situation where Hasbro saw an opportunity to release this golden color scheme to release a more comic accurate yellow as we saw with the A.I. Tony Stark figure. I hope that’s not the case here as Hasbro doesn’t need to get in the habit of releasing a less desired color scheme just to milk collectors on the double dip.

I didn’t mind it so much on the 80th Anniversary Iron Man figure since that was based off Alex Ross art and he aimed for a more realistic approach with his drawings/paintings. We haven’t seen this armor in a true gold and even the package art features it with yellow.

Semi-“rant” over, the gold actually looks really nice and contrasts nicely with Iron Man’s Avengers peers. I wish Hasbro could find a brighter gold though so it popped just a bit more. The paintwork itself is very solid with the exception of the waist section having a little red overspray on the gold panel.

MORE:

• McFarlane Toys reveals DC Multiverse Reverse Flash, Infinite Crisis Superboy
• Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two review
• Movie Reviews
• Masters of the Universe: Revelation review

Scale:  We’re past the point now where we have to worry about the scaling of armor, particularly on new sculpts, looking too slender and thin. This is the armor in the comics that Tony wore most often as a member of Force Works so for now he only has to be the same height as War Machine and taller than Spider-Woman.

For team accuracy do I want the sultry Scarlet Witch and bucket head U.S. Agent let alone Century? Decisions, decisions.

Articulation: As a less bulky armor, Stark had more maneuverability in this armor while still being able to channel massive upgrades as needed. This figure moves fluidly and is another one that features pinless joints. I’m finding those figures to be a little stiffer in terms of moving the elbows and knees back and forth.

That’s probably a good thing in the sense that the joints shouldn’t get floppy and loose over time although I keep worrying I’m going to break the figures trying to do a basic pose.

The default repulsor hands this time have up and down hinges, which improves on the original design we’d previously seen in the 80th anniversary and A.I. figures.

Modular Iron Man has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• bicep
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double-jointed)
• ankle

Accessories: He’s the one figure in the wave that doesn’t have a piece for the Build-A-Figure Ursa Major figure.

I appreciate that with a lame character that I have zero interest in and this wave had a far better choice here with the Hologram Iron Man, but it’s disappointing in this case.

It would have been nice for Hasbro to include the massive cannon Iron Man used in the Capcom games since he’s lacking a BAF piece or any new accessories.

We get the reused alternate fists and a darker blue cast translucent repulsor blasts. That’s a pretty minimal offering compared to some figures. I guess this all-new sculpt had to come with some other sacrifices.

Worth it?  This was the wave where you could get figures for less than the new $23 price tag if you ordered early enough. Some retailers used this line as the mark to start with that new price scale. Iron Man is lacking enough extras to truly feel like a $23 figure.

Rating: 9.8 out of 10

Hasbro delivered on another popular Iron Man armor with this one. The only thing that hurts his score a little is the lack of new accessories especially if you ended up paying the new $23 price tag for him.

Where to get it?  I got Modular Iron Man from Target.com as I’m getting a little frustrated playing Retail Roulette, but try your local Targets or Walmarts. You can also order him from Amazon and Entertainment Earth.