We’ve known for months that there were going to be two limited release Marvel Select Iron Man 3 figures in addition to the Iron Man 3 Marvel Select War Machine and Iron Man Mark 42 mass release figures, and today Diamond Select Toys finally broke the news of the identities of this final duo of movie figures. It’s not exactly a big surprise, but the pair now stand revealed as the Disney Store exclusive Iron Man 3 Marvel Select Iron Patriot and Battle-Damaged Iron Man Mark XLII!

Let’s be straight here: it was no secret that Iron Patriot was going to be one of the final two Iron Man 3 Marvel Select figures, and we also all kind of knew that the final figure would be a repaint of the Mark 42 armor. Even so, I’d be lying if I said I was disappointed in these figures. The Iron Patriot armor is an absolute must-have in any Iron Man 3 collection, and though I know some people aren’t the biggest fans of it, I adore the lovable loser Mark 42 armor.

I’m sure that many people are going to find it baffling that Diamond Select Toys is giving the movie Iron Patriot figure to the Disney Store chain as an exclusive, whereas the War Machine 2.0 that wasn’t even in the film is a mass release to specialty and online stores everywhere. We know for a fact that the War Machine armor appeared in early drafts of the Iron Man 3 movie script, so I can only surmise that Diamond Select Toys (like many other licensees) got bad information that War Machine would be prominently featured in the movie (instead of not at all). Both the Iron Patriot and Iron Man Mark XLII (Battle Damaged) figures utilize the exact same molds as the non-exclusive Iron Man 3 Marvel Select figures. They also both come with the same awesome Hall of Armor styled enclave display pieces. I’ve never really liked the Iron Patriot armor in the Marvel comics or the Iron Man 3 movie, but I’m tempted to buy this figure anyway just to get another of these bases for building a Hall of Armor for the Iron Man armors I actually do like.

Meanwhile, I feel guilty saying that I love the Battle Damaged Iron Man Mark 42 figure. There’s no actual sculpted battle damage added to this figure–it’s all cosmetic damage in the form of dirt and scraps painted onto the armor. That said, I feel like the dirty “battle damage” adds a ton of realism and authenticity to the look of this figure. This seriously may be my favorite Iron Man Mark 42 armor figure coming from any company (including Hot Toys). While both the Iron Man 3 Marvel Select Iron Man Mark 42 and War Machine figures are now available for order online, the Marvel Select Iron Man 3 Iron Patriot and Battle-Damaged Iron Man Mark 42 action figures will be available exclusively at the Disney Stores in July 2013. I have a bunch of local Disney Stores, so I’ll take photos of the finished figures in the store once they’re released (and I also just might pick up and review that groovy Battle-Damaged Iron Man Mark 42 figure).