Iron Man Marvel Legends "Iron Monger Series" Mark 42, Movie Iron Patriot, Ultron action figure review

 The last three figures in the Iron Man Legends line have finally surfaced and you can complete your Iron Monger Build-a-Figure! These are released three per wave just like the first set, which can still be found on the shelves at the time of this writing. They're under the Marvel Legends line technically but have Iron Man card art in the corner with the packages being your basic bubble card-backed ones. We get the Iron Man III movie mark 42, Movie Iron Patriot, and Ultron. So how do these figures stack up? Let's find out.

Sculpting for the Mark 42 is straight from the movie and looks sharp. All the tech detail is there with a great headsculpt and armor separation lines. The knees look a little odd from the side when bent because of the kneepad cut but that's not noticeable head on. Iron Patriot's sculpt is also dead on to the movie with the nifty separated faceplate sections and redesigned look. The wrist-guards are glued on this time and won't be lost like the ones on IM 2 War Machine which were loosely hinged.

Ultron's sculpt is the Titanium man body with a new head and shoulder
pads. This works for Ultron pretty well and only the feet look a little off with the large treads. You can easily trim them down with a hobby knife however. Ultron's new headsculpt is a perfect classic Ultron and looks really nice with his open mouth and ear antenna. A bit of the detail is lost being that he's almost entirely silver but it's still there.

Articulation for Mark 42 is amazing. Everything twists, turns, and bends. He has the new 45 deg ankles that allow side-step motion and can even get into the ground-pound pose that's almost an Iron Man trademark now. His shoulderpads don't limit the articulation as they're softer plastic. Mark 42's ball jointed torso moves in all directions as well. Only the wrist guards hinder the ability for this palm to face forward but are still soft rubber enough for partial movement. 90 deg angle ball hips are back and allow for perfect leg posing!

Iron Patriot's articulation is a little more hindered as his feet can't move to the side because of the ankle guards and his wrist guards block up against his forearms preventing the repulsor-palm motion. Other than that he has the same style and excellent range of motion of the Mark 42. His shoulder pads are hinged and flexible allowing for any arm movement. Ultron's Articulation is the same as the Titanium Man I reviewed a while back and only lacks side ankle movement and has the 45 deg hips. Other than that he's golden, er, silver.

Paint apps are pretty clean all the way around. Mark 42 has a nice gold/red definition to him with a metallic red plastic used for the base and while there's a little slop around some edges it's nothing a dab of Testors Acrylic Gold paint can't fix. His eyes and chest repulsor are really nicely detailed, the eyes having the black outline. Unfortunately his right hand repulsor isn't painted. Iron patriot's metallic blue plastic base is stunning and the paint was applied neater than the Mark 42. None of the figures have the new plastic layering technique the Bleeding Edge Iron man from the earlier wave had however.

Ultron's paint apps consist of an entirely bright metallic silver plastic as the
base with a tiny bit of blue airbrushing in places and some red on his face/shoulder pads. He may look a little plain at first but Ultron was always a shining silver robot and the swirly metallic plastic will grow on you. Only Iron Patriot comes with an actual accessory, a removable and fully articulated shoulder gun which can aim any direction and fold up against his back. The other figures come with the parts needed to complete your Iron Monger BAF.

And what a BAF he is! Iron Monger is a direct upscale of the 3 3/4" Iron Man II figure of Iron Monger. He looks menacing and the metallic blue plastic is sharp. The eyes, chest, antenna, and hoses are the only thing painted but he still looks great. His articulation is equally amazing with a great neck and ab joint, great shoulders and legs with plenty of rage. Only his wrists are slightly blocked from turning all the way due to the arm guards. Once assembled he's a good inch and half taller than the other figures.

So what's the verdict on the second wave of Iron Man Legends? If you're building Iron Monger you'll need them. Ultron could be a pass if you already have the Marvel Select version but this one is much better to scale and has better articulation. Mark 42 and Iron Patriot are excellent figures especially if you like the movie style figures. I'd recommend picking up all six in the series to complete Iron Monger. You can always sell him or single figures you aren't interested off on Ebay if you want to make some of the money back you spent. Our sponsor Big Bad Toy Store has them here or you can snag them at Amazon with free shipping if you spend more than $25.