Note: I began writing this Iron Man Marvel Legends Ironheart figure review in September 2021, but completing and posting it got delayed because, well…
Somewhere during my NYCC 2021 preparations, my brain got it in mind that it would be a swell time to have a series of four consecutive strokes. Ten weeks, two hospitals, 50% of my vision lost, a couple tubes down my throat and one missed New York Comic Con later, I’m finally coherent enough to patch together my thoughts and complete this long overdue review (but please forgive any minor mistakes or typos in my articles for the near future)…

If I HAD to be fully out of commission for over a month, it seems it was timed quite well Marvel toy news-wise. And so, with not too many newly- revealed products to discuss, I can continue digging into my ever-expanding cache of toys to review with a figure that’s still new to me (sort of), even if she’s old news to many of you: the Riri Williams Ironheart Marvel Legends figure! Created in 2016 by the Eisner award-winning Brian Michael Bendis, Ironheart is not a character that immediately was beloved by hardcore comic book fans, as some believed she was part of a purposeful diversification agenda.

Even so, the character has been featured regularly over the last half decade and has her own Disney+ series of the horizon, so a Marvel Legends Ironheart figure is well-warranted at this point. I’m actually very surprised it’s taken this long for Hasbro to get to her.

As you might expect for a teenage feminine version of Iron Man, ML Ironheart gets a 100% newly tooled mold. This was sort of a must to do this character design justice, so thumbs up Hasbro.

Along with the fully new body mold for her armor, Riri also gets new smoke trail effects pieces to attach to her blue repulsor blast accessories and forearms, along with an (obviously) all-new helmet-less/unmasked Riri Williams head. The limited wrist articulation on the non-fists bugs me, but the accessories themselves are all great and worthwhile add-ons.

It’s not the most personality-rich portrait I’ve ever seen, but the unmasked/unhelmeted head is an excellent representation of how Riri Williams looks on-page in the comics.
The plastic quality on this six inch figure is outstanding, with all of the joints having just the right amount of tightness and nothing feeling stuck or floppy.

As you would expect from a modern Marvel Legends action figure, Ironheart has ample articulation, including:

• Ball-jointed head, fists and upper torso
• Ball-hinge shoulders
• Pinless double-hinge knees and elbows
• Swivel Biceps, Thighs and repulsor hand wrists
• Hinged ankles with rockers

While Ironheart does have coveted female biceps swivels and the sweet new pin-less knees and elbows, I am less excited about the lack of a hinge on her repulsor blast hands. Without that hinge joint, it is impossible to angle the blast effects at the angles I want to make them look natural in most action poses.

The arms have a tremendously good range of motion, and have been expertly engineered such that Riri can get posed with them fully extended upwards or out to the sides.

In addition, the figure’s head joint is a simple ball joint and thus her head pops off if you try to make her look upwards too much. The lack of a hinge at the neck and alternate hands really hurts this action figure for me.

Although Riri doesn’t wear this armor in the comics anymore, I think that this armor was the perfect choice for her first action figure and an armor permutation that will remain popular with fans into the future. I especially like the extremely angular design of her helmet. Some fans are going to hate how angular this armor looks, but for this particular modern character design I think it is ideal.

The likeness to the armor’s appearance and proportions as seen in Invincible Iron Man n#1 is excellent. This armor permutation is sleek like a race car and cool as Hell. The red plastic used for this action figure is a beautiful candy red that I’m told has neat little sparkly flecks in it (my vision is too messed up to see the flecks myself).

I forgot to do so for my review photos, but as usual, there are peg holes on the bottom of Ironheart’s feet you can insert the blue effects into to simulate her flying. It really frustrates me that her head can’t be turned all the way upwards to simulate flying forward and looking straight ahead.

Overall: Ironheart as a character may not be every comic fan’s cup of tea, but her inaugural 6” Marvel Legends figure is a bonafide winner. The colors, the all-new mold with proper scale and proportions, and the great spread of accessories are all stand-outs. While I have a handful of nitpicks that prevent me from giving this figure a perfect score (primarily my annoyance with the lack of a hinge on the head and repulsor blast wrists), I think this first-ever Ironheart Legends 6” figure is still a terrific toy as a whole. Great quality control, generous extras and a solid range of motion for most of the joints adds up to one stellar introductory figure to the Marvel Legends series.

GRADE: A