IRON MAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

In the second year of Marvel Minimates, after a focus on Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Daredevil in the first year, Diamond expanded the line’s horizons a bit in the second year.  The Avengers, a notable omission from the first year, got their first taste of the line, with Captain America leading the charge in Series 5.  Iron Man wasn’t far behind, with his ‘mate debut hitting just a few short months later in the next assortment.  And I’m taking a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iron Man was released in Series 6 of Marvel Minimates, in a pack alongside the Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider.  This one was the standard release, and there was also a stealth variant that swapped out for this version.  This same figure was also packed with the standard Dr. Doom for the Walmart and Target Group A selection, as well as in a TRU four pack with Silver Surfer, Gamma Hulk, and Wolverine, and the big TRU 10-pack that debuted Mr Fantastic at the end of the year.  There was also a very slightly modified version packed in with the Ultimate Avengers 2 DVD for certain releases.  The figure was built on the long-footed Minimate base body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Iron Man made use of two add-on pieces for his helmet and belt, as well as a unique left hand for his replusor blast.  All of the pieces were new for this release, though they were all shared with the variant from his debut series.  The belt and the hand would also become standard pieces, and the helmet was used once more for the Civil War set before being retired.  The parts are all quite nicely handled.  They show the line’s progression towards a little more detailing in the sculpts, while still remaining rather on the simple side.  The paint work is quite impressive, and to date holds up one of the best Iron Man paint schemes from the line.  They manage to make the armor look shiny, while still making use of flat colors.  It maintains his look from the page, which I think really works.  It also means that he avoids the issue of how the metallic paints held up over time, which was a persistent issue for the later Iron Men.  Under the helmet, there’s a fully detailed face for Tony.  Again he showcases the line moving towards extra detailing. Also, he’s got a full goatee, which doesn’t feel quite right for this particular era of armor, but it could be worse.  To showcase the unmasked head, Iron Man was packed with an extra hairpiece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was very excited by the prospect of the Avengers being added to the line, so Iron Man was my most wanted out of Series 6.  I bought him and Ghost Rider both brand new from my local comic shop, Cosmic Comix.  I wasn’t quite as good about keeping all the parts to my Minimates at the time, so I wound up losing most of their parts.  I was able to piece Iron Man back together with a few spare parts I picked up second hand over the years, so he’s back to his original glory.  He’s quite a nice ‘mate.  I don’t really know that any of the 81 variants that followed ever really topped him.