700th review - Marvel Legends Iron Man (Silver Centurion and Tony Stark AI) review

Another dual review featuring Iron Man again? What a twist? Well, if it includes the comic designs, chances are most versions of the character would have the usual trope of reused parts and blast effects. And that is why I generally bring them together while making sure there are interesting armor models to choose from. In this case, we have the pretty underrated Silver Centurion design while I get a more standard-ish Armor Model 3/4 in regards to the most iconic comic design in Iron Man's history (and I say comic design since we know people will immediately recognize the MCU design more). Let's see the metallic, the non-metallic, and the duality of reused parts! Whatever that means...

Going into the order of figure release and suit appearance, we have the Silver Centurion in hand. Much like the Silver Surfer I recently reviewed, I love how the armor is painted beautifully in metallic colors to use less swirly plastic and convey how well it looks as a protective exoskeleton. The Silver Centurion was also best known for its unique upper body and deco and being the first suit Tony Stark wore after his brief retirement to confront Obadiah Stane. This armor was meant to be used for James Rhode before he was kidnapped, and it could be seen as a possible precursor to the way the original War Machine with its added bulk and silver accents. It's not exactly 1:1, but there are similarities. As for this figure, it captures the character design generally well, though its torso width, normally perfect for the traditional Iron Man armors, should be slightly wider than it currently is while the shoulder pads extended and more pronounced at the tips. Despite that, I like that the upper body at least goes for different design traits than with prior armor, almost having a somewhat 80s influence with how it's shaped, especially for the helmet. New tooling for the forearms, upper body, waist, and boots help this out.

His helmet is also noteworthy for giving Iron Man a more 80s bullet look with how it's shaped while also making the face feel more encased within the armor rather than feel like a separate piece. It's more like how the cowls from the Burton/Schumacher Batman movies don't turn properly because of how stiff they are? In this case, there is more wiggle room for the neck to pose. It might break up the sculpture from the comics, but at least it's not going to cause people to threaten each other's lives compared to the typical discourse over giving Michael Keaton Batman figures neck articulation in the modern day. A bit hard to tell but the eye holes have slight silver details not present in the design normally at times. Articulation is standard for an Iron Man of this buck, with double ball pegs, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, wrist rotation and inward hinges, ab crunch, waist rotation, ball jointed hips, thigh rotation, double jointed knees, and ankles that hinge and pivot. He reuses the larger two-part blast effects pieces that originally came with the 80 Years Iron Man.

Of course, the standard blast effects are included and can peg into the feet with no problem. What's a current-day Hasbro Marvel Legends Iron Man without those, amirite? And yes, that is a McFarlane DC Multiverse stand. 

The sole reuse of this tooling specifically came in a West Coast Avengers 5-pack consisting of new versions of Tigra, Mockingbird, Hank Pym, and Spider-Woman. The shoulder pauldrons have been retooled to have more width, the silver is replaced by white to match the comic art, and the eyes are now solid black. Though I prefer the silver, those new pylons are appreciative of the retooling and I want to see if I could swap them out somehow. While there will be people who would still sing the praises of ToyBiz to this day, the Silver Centurion sculpt manages to be better on the Hasbro version with its more refined proportions and sculpt work that isn't entirely rough. That being said, shading is always nice, and that jetpack accessory makes me think of the War Destroyer from MvC; in addition, despite how it's aged in some places, the Toy Biz version is still one of the examples of the Classic Legends line holding up well.

Up next, we have Iron Man A.I., a non-metallic redeco of the 80 Years figure with blue on the unibeam among other areas. For those unaware, Iron Man A.I. is not what you get in Google image search whenever you see those AI-generated pictures that aren't easy to block out of the advanced search tools. Instead, this was a backup essence of the billionaire inventor himself should he be dead or missing in action. This A.I. helped mentor the young Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, who I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned up until now (then again, I don't pay attention to most comic runs of late). The armor is a repaint of the Armor Model 4 design, and it gives us a dilemma for anyone wanting to be consistent with their Hall of Armors. Not being painted in metallic colors means it matches some of the vintage comic art better, though it can also be seen as a negative due to the lack of consistency there'd be if you want to place this along with the other figures with metallic paint. In addition, the blue on the helmet and chest, though appropriately placed, isn't exactly accurate for a more traditional Armor Model 4 and is better suited for the A.I. version of Tony Stark. If you don't mind it so much, then it's a good alternative for anyone who missed out on the 80 Years version.

His helmet is the same we've seen before with other Iron Man figures capturing the Silver Age look, with a simple yet effective design that refines itself from the Armor Model 2's horns and grille mouth as well as the pre-Threepio nose on Armor Model 3. Articulation is the same as with other Iron Man figures, though the transistor disks on the back are not hinged as I thought they would be. The alternate head is the holographic likeness of Tony Stark, which is cast in clear blue plastic and has some deco applied to the head to add a sense of dimension to the normally under-detailed traits of holographic figures. I'd say that the clear blue head compliments the arc reactor well. He is supposed to come with one of the legs for Mr. Hyde, but I don't have it.

The other versions of this buck include the aforementioned 80 Years Iron Man, which I hope to get someday (seen here with the painted blast effects and the alternate Armor Model 3 helmet with its nose), the Stealth Iron Man repaint in the same wave featuring the Modular armor, and the Secret Wars version, which came with a gun likely inspired by the old Mattel toy and roller skates that he deployed at some point during the titular story arc. Stealth Iron Man is said to be brittle given some weird durability issue involving the marbleized plastic it's made of, resulting in the mascot of a channel you may know as 5 Points of Articulation. The Secret Wars version also has non-metallic colors, but they're even brighter than the AI version. I don't know how soon I'll review the Secret Wars Symbiote Spider-Man I got back in January, but I want to mention how there are these snap-on accessories that feature lenticular pogs with either the character's mugshot or an alternate secret identity. Iron Man's pog features Tony Stark, which would make consistent sense if it weren't for the fact that James Rhode wore the armor during the Secret Wars story. We have many missed opportunities for Rhodey to don Iron Man armor in Marvel Legends, don't we? Sure, we know him better as War Machine, but having an alternate head for Secret Wars and the Mark II from the MCU would be great in justifying repaints of bucks we previously had.

And here is a line-up of all the models we have so far from the Silver to Bronze ages, at least the ones that I have. Armor Model 1 stands out for being bulky and clunky compared to the more athletic designs we have for Armor Model 2-onwards. I like how AM2 has its own retooling for the torso in addition to lacking the hip disks as depicted in the comics. It should be mentioned that his yellow is a darker shade that might work better than the shade used for AI and Secret Wars. Meanwhile, Silver Centurion wins by being metallic thanks to a well-needed shade of paint, even if he could use some panel lining like with the AM2. Overall, the Armor Model 4 design is undoubtedly Iron Man's famous (non-MCU) look to anyone who's casually aware of Iron Man in comic media, and while the sculpt is great, I do think you're best getting this if you're interested in doing some custom work or getting a regular Tony Stark head on the body and calling it a day. Silver Centurion, meanwhile, is pretty awesome when it comes to representing how revolutionary the design was in terms of unique shoulder pauldrons as well as having a bullet-like look to the buckethead helmet. Though parts are reused with the other Iron Man figures, Hasbro's new tooling and metallic deco are greatly appreciated in making the figure unique as one would hope from getting earlier Iron Man models. I do, however, wish the retooled shoulders were added in this figure for a future reissue.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Silver Centurion)

⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (A.I.)

Marvel Legends Iron Man Mark II and Origins Wolverine review

2008 gave us the first Iron Man movie, kicking off the MCU that we either love or hate. 2009 gave us the first and only X-Men Origins movie that eventually evolved into the Wolverine trilogy (a Magneto movie became First Class while Gambit eventually had a Channing Tatum version for DP&W). While one side of the Marvel fandom really loved the former and disliked the latter (mostly because of Deadpool not being himself), three things can't be denied: hype for CBMs felt much more genuine back then, Marvel used to be way cooler as a whole, and these two are the review subjects for today! 

This will be mostly comparison-based since Mark II is a redeco of Mark III. The figure was a very good sculpt overall, with the one issue I have being the arms feeling undersized. The same strengths and weaknesses other than the aforementioned proportions are more or less the same, with the difference being the deco we have for the figure. Sadly, while they went all out in painting the Mark III for it to look as presentable as humanly possible, the Mark II instead opts to go with marbleized silver plastic a la the Quantumania wave Ultron we got in the same year. If this was a case where Hasbro didn't want to spend much money on a new buck, then spending more money on paint would work.

In addition to the repulsor hands and blast effects, the alternate head is still intact, and since we're not doing the forearm gimmick given how it was never utilized in this design, why not give us an optional Rhodey head in addition to the Tony head? Hasbro could either go for the partial face reveal approach like with the Tony head or reuse one of their Rhodey heads to save money. Even though this movie was tied directly to Iron Man 1, it'd be great to see some love for the second movie since I don't think have any updated suits in figure form or a new Whiplash, either. Ironic since we get the lame-ass Mandarin.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Up next, we have a version of Wolverine I didn't own back then. This version depicts him in the signature white beater and jeans typically associated with Logan, and while most fictional characters wearing similar clothing would come off as generic when brought together, only Logan can pull it off and be recognizable. This is a reissue of the 2020 version of the character we had when Hasbro made a brief FoX-Men stint for their figures, which didn't go too well beyond the Wolverines and some of the Deadpool merch. The legs are the same as the jacket version, only colored differently, and I'm thankful that they at least retain a bit of deco to keep them layered. The arms may not have been previously reused, and if they are, they fit Hugh Jackman well. It should be mentioned that the arms are pinless while the legs are. The textures on the beater look good, though the paint used for the skin tone is slightly inconsistent with the arms and head. 

The head sculpt may be slightly familiar to anyone who collected the FoX-Men figures since it's basically reused from the jacket version but with better facial printing. We'll compare it to the original version in a moment. Articulation consists of a double ball neck joint, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, wrist rotation, inward hinges, butterfly joints, an ab crunch and a waist swivel, ball jointed hips, thigh rotation, double-jointed knees, and ankles that swivel, hinge, and pivot.

His neck chain is removable, allowing you to either give it to other Logan figures or use this for a generic male body. Also, is it me or is he taller than the jacket version? Could be my backdrop. Anyways, the 2020 version has lighter blue for the jeans as well as heads with hair that matches how Logan's cut usually looks. Instead of a yelling head, he came with a snarling head that I wish we got on the reissue as well as the bone claws. I think that Hasbro could easily have made a definitive reissue if we got three pairs of options for the heads and hands, though it is nice to see this version of the character again after its value shot up. I have yet to review the other versions of the character directly tied to Deadpool & Wolverine but they will be popping up soon.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

S.H. Figuarts Ranma 1/2 Ranma Saotome 2-in-1 review

So you've probably seen my site at this point, tons of Transformers, Power Rangers, Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and some franchise rep for TMNT, Mario, and Halo as one would expect. I'm sure many wouldn't expect the Sailor Moon series to get represented in review form, mostly with the Figuarts and their Mini equivalents. Urusei Yatsura and Evangelion also got attention, though it was easier to get those reviews out of the way. Although I knew about the Dragonball series way before those franchises, I wasn't sure what versions of the characters to start with first, and that's ignoring the powered-up forms a lot of the characters would face. And then comes a classic martial arts comedy known as Ranma 1/2. It focuses on a young dude who falls into a cursed pond, granting him the ability to turn into a girl if the water is cold and back into a boy if the water is hot. So because of that, we're taking a look at both genders associated with the character in a single review!

Here are both versions of Ranma Saotome in hand. I love that they each retain not just the gender proportions like with the anime, but we also have slightly different details to make them unique beyond their genders. For example, regular Ranma's shirt looks more like it is somewhat tucked away from the sides while female Ranma's now looks like a skirt. Meanwhile, the sleeves are different with male Ranma having them rolled up at the elbows while female Ranma's are much shorter, barely reaching the biceps. She also has what appears to be wrist guards, perfect for training with weapons and other forms of martial arts. Even the legs have been altered to fit with each other's proportions, though the height difference befitting Ranma's build going from having a slight bit of muscle into a slightly shorter yet perky female with an hourglass shape means that female Ranma's parts end up being tinier for Figuarts standards. 

Their head sculpts are pretty accurate to the anime and even the manga, though with how different the animation directors tend to be (combined with the manga aesthetics not quite matching the anime appearances), with the eyes and the mouths being slightly different than they normally would look. I say this since fans are more likely going to be aware of the anime than the manga. Annoyingly, the shadows cast by their bangs make their eyes harder to pick out. As for their accessories, they have a general even spread, though there is a bit of a compatible part that both figures can use as we get to.

They each have the same articulation, just about. They have two points of rotation at the head and neck as well as a hinge moving up and down, two shoulder joints (one on a rotator cuff a la the McFarlane DC Multiverse line and another attached at the arm), past-90 degree bends at the elbows, and similar joints at the wrists like with the neck. The diaphragm and the torso are each on a ball joint, as are the hips. The knees bend past 90 degrees, ankles rotate, hinge, and pivot in addition to toe-ticulation. He comes with a display stand that lets him achieve better display options without balancing too much on his tiny feet. He can be posed holding his bucket (with a detachable handle and a clear blue disk to simulate water), and a backpack that can go through one of the arms by unpegging the bottom side of the right strap. His alternate hands include pairs of accessory-holding hands, relaxed open hands, and two flat martial arts hands as showcased in these photos. He also has an open-mouth faceplate staring to the right and a yelling face.

And fitting a martial arts comedy is an alternate nervous faceplate and a pair of oyakusoku pozu hands that are totally not web-shooting hands. I'm sorry, but you know that the comparison was going to be made as someone who grew up as a Marvel fan WAAAAAY before hearing about the Rumicverse. I know Sailor Moon did something similar too, and I pointed that out when I reviewed my 500th review back in 2023 comparing the Legends and Figuarts versions of No Way Home's Tobey Maguire Spider-Man figures.

The female version has about the same articulation, but her shoulders function differently and have more prominent rounded areas than those of her male counterpart. Meanwhile, the biceps rotate, while the toes lack hinges. Her accessories include a gold-painted teapot, a bo staff that she can pose with, and a sword previously shown in the aforementioned NWH Tobey Spidey review. Her faceplates in these photos include an open-mouth smile looking to the left and an angry face ready for combat. The hands are also the same as with her male counterpart, though better scaled for her body. 

The female version of Ranma comes with an even further petrified facial expression as well as a katakana sign that's supposed to read "chudo-n", which means "kaboom". Of note is that it is the clip meant to hold it is very tight, and the plastic film has begun to slowly peel away, so be careful with that.

The best part of the alternate expressions and Ranma's tendency to be posed like this is the display options with other characters outside of the Ranmaverse. For example, what if he tried looking into the Jedi Temple but was ordered to leave by a Clone Trooper (ik that it's supposed to be the 501st version but stfu)? Or how about he loses in a fight with Spider-Man over who gets to keep the hand pose?

The same goes for female Ranma. He may be afraid of cats rather than rats, but would he be afraid of a giant rat in which under its skin lurks a robot within? And hey, maybe she annoyed Luigi for too long with how she would see him as the lesser brother. Also, I got Figuarts Luigi out of his box because I rarely show the Super Mario Bros in Figuart form compared to World of Nintendo. 

Here is a size comparison between the female Ranma, along with Luigi once more, and the invisible Phantom Ranger. I always felt that the Figuarts line varied in terms of scale. While I thought the Mario Bros. would feel small in terms of height, the Female Ranma somehow felt smaller because of how tiny her parts are. In fact, the left wrist joint has a tendency to split in half by the peg. Overall, both versions of the character are still worth getting. I love that they manage to be consistent with each other considering that they're the same character but in different genders. In addition, the fact that they each have different accessories to keep them distinct yet valuable also works, from male Ranma's water bucket and backpack to female Ranma's melee weapons and her katakana. You can't have one without the other, but just keep in mind that these figures are pricy as hell.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐