Now that the Avengers Marvel Legends Hulkbuster series is available online and slowly starting to hit retail stores, I figured it was about time that I sat down and started reviewing the figures that comprise the series. And while this series features the Hulkbuster Iron Man Build-A-Figure which is the anticipated BAF in years, if you want to built it, you’ll have to buy another Iron Man to do so: Marvel Legends Marvel NOW Iron Man…

The Right:

I spend a lot of money on comic books each month (shocker, right?). As such, I’m always wanting the latest, coolest comic book designs in plastic form as part of my collection. And thanks to Hasbro, more often than not lately, I’m able to get the comic-based redesigns that I’m pining away for most (including the upcoming Spider-Gwen and Superior Foes of Spider-Man figures).

So while I know a lot of collectors groaned when they saw another Iron Man figure on the way, I was pretty tickled to get a Marvel NOW Iron Man in his Bones-like gold and black armor.

While we’ve gotten about a zillion red and gold Iron Men armors in recent years as toys, I believe this is only the second 6″ black and gold iteration ever released. And I have to say, the plastic and paint colors Hasbro picked are perfect. The colors look vivid, and the figure’s colors overall look almost as nice as those of the Kotobukiya Iron Man ARTFX+ statue.

Of course, there’s a problem. And that problem is that the Kotobukiya ARTFX is just a statue, but this Marvel Legends figure needs to function as an articulated toy…

The Wrong:

As much as I love the colors of the existence of and colors of this Marvel Legends Iron MAN Marvel NOW! figure, pretty much every other aspect of this figure is a disappointment to me.

First off, do not adjust your sets: this figure is in fact a straight-up repaint of a half-decade old figure: the Iron Man 2 Iron Man Mark IV figure. Now, that’s not to say that the Mark IV was a bad figure for its time: it wasn’t. And truth be told, the artwork in the Marvel NOW! Iron Man comic book was very movie-inspired.

Even so, the mold used for this figure isn’t quite accurate to the comics, and the tooling is clearly showing its age, as my Marvel Legends Marvel Now Iron Man has very loose, floppy joints (and I’ve heard similar reports regarding this figure from many readers).

In addition, the articulation on this figure is far more limited than we’ve become accustomed to the past few years. In particular, the lack of ankle rockers and the terrible hip articulation are the lowlights. The legs have decent side-to-side movement, but forward-and-back movement is basically nil.

I also strongly dislike the reactor on the 6″ Marvel Now Iron Man action figure’s chest. That might sound like a nitpick, but the reactor’s deco is a sticker, which looks ridiculously cheap and lame to me. Considering this figure includes no accessories and zero no tooling, Hasbro could have at least actually painted the chest reactor.

Wait… did I just say “no accessories”? Yup. Other than the Hulkbuster Build-A-Figure part, this NOW! Iron Man action figure comes with zippo. No effects pieces, no alternate hands… nothing. Weak.

Overall: I think it’s terrific that Hasbro is committed to giving us modern comic incarnations of mainstay characters in Marvel Legends form, including this Iron Man Marvel Now figure. Even so, the completely repainted nature of this figure, coupled with its total lack of accessories, degrading tooling and antiquated articulation scheme are simply unable to impress me in a modern six inch figure world.

I needed this Iron Man to build the Hulkbuster–and would have bought him regardless because I like this armor permutation–but in my opinion, it really is below modern standards.

GRADE: D+