Thank goodness Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel found each other! Without 2008's Iron Man we may never have had the chance to re-discover the brilliance of Robert Downey Jr. His hallmark ability to convey an intense urgency all while remaining aloof and jovial became the centerpiece to the franchise's success. With the immense following that RDJ brought to the character, it would make sense that Hasbro would capitalize on that popularity with new Marvel Legends Iron Man figures in each new Avengers wave.
The latest addition to the library of Iron Man action figures is the movie-accurate Marvel Legends Avengers: Endgame Iron Man Mark LXXXV figure. When the first Marvel Legends: Endgame wave was released without an Iron Man fans implored Hasbro to include the new Iron Man Mark LXXXV armor in the second wave.
One of the better aspects of Hasbro's decision on which characters to include in Marvel Legends waves is that they really take fan's input to heart. When Hasbro released the early promotional pics of the Iron Man Mark LXXXV the chatter arose from the message boards about just how good the figure looked!
Just some of the highlights for this figure include:
- Highly Detailed Sculpt – The different ridges and line work around the neck, body, and arms really bring the sculpt to life and make the robotic armor look authentic to the character.
- A Whopping 22 Points of Articulation – Articulation is huge for out of the box collectors. It can be tricky to add in just the right amount of articulation as too much will make posing your figure cumbersome (not to mention moving those joints around over the years will make them too loose to hold a pose). Too little articulation and it feels too much like figure produced without the collector in mind. This figure combines the double-jointed elbow and knee joints (a must these days!) with swivel points at the thighs, shoulders, and biceps making this Iron Man easy to place in more dramatic poses.
- Bright Metallic Paint Application – The red and gold that Hasbro used with this figure is certainly an upgrade from the early offerings that had bright red and yellow matte finishes. This time around we are given a more reflective paint to mimic the look of real metal. The deeper cranberry and shinier gold against the inner grey of the suit really make the entire figure pop!
- Plenty of Accessories – I always appreciate when toy producers keep the collector in mind and offer alternatives to the original sculpt! With this in mind, the Iron Man Mark LXXXV comes with alternate open hand poses and 4 blaster effects!
Even with everything that Hasbro does right with the Iron Man Mark LXXXV there are certain aspects I would have liked to see done with a little more detail. While the arc reactor is bright with an almost illuminating effect there was a missed opportunity to add some blue shading around the edges to portray how the reactor looked in the movie. In addition, the feet on the figure seem to lean a little on the smaller side so having the figure stand in certain poses becomes a bit of an issue.
Lastly, to all the customizers out there, Hasbro switched from a large ball peg to a small peg in regards to the head attachment. This means you are not able to switch out the unmasked Tony Stark head from previous releases with this figure. Truly, that's not going to affect 95% off the collectors but it's still an important feature to mention.
What Hasbro does better than any other action figure producer out there, in my opinion, are the Build-A-Figures. This wave gives us the Fat Thor and Iron Man Mark LXXXV, in particular, comes with Thor's left arm and includes an extra hand with the time travel GPS sculpted onto it. Little details like this are what puts Hasbro's Marvel Legends line above all others!
The last thing included with this figure, the cherry on top, is that it also includes a Nanogauntlet for the Professor Hulk Build-A-Figure from the last wave! One of the seminal moments in the film, and for the Hulk in general, was wielding the Infinity Stones and bringing all the heroes who perished in the Infinity War back to life to defeat Thanos. Thankfully, Hasbro has now included the Nanogauntlet, sculpted beautifully, that fits the Build-A-Figure perfectly.
Overall, Hasbro continues the excellence that they have been showing in their recent releases. The Marvel Legends Iron Man Mark LXXXV figure is worth the pick-up and those mega-fans of Iron Man won’t be disappointed when adding this new armor to their displays.