Review: Marvel Universe Spider-Man and Iron Man
These days, I'm more a DC fan than a Marvel one, but that doesn't mean I don't still have a soft spot in my heart for the house of ideas. For a while, I've had my eye on Hasbro's line of 3 3/4 inch Marvel Universe figures, but, until recently, I never bought any. The problem comes down to the price tag: while the DC Infinite Heroes line has been easy to fine for a fraction of retail, I haven't seen one Marvel Universe figure on clearance.
Perhaps there's a reason for this....
Anyway, I couldn't get them on clearance, but Toys R Us has sales from time to time. I found these for a price I was willing to pay and decided to see if they lived up the hype.
Perhaps there's a reason for this....
Anyway, I couldn't get them on clearance, but Toys R Us has sales from time to time. I found these for a price I was willing to pay and decided to see if they lived up the hype.
Appearance and Construction:
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Iron Man: 8/10
Spider-Man: 7/10 First of all, let me be clear that the difference in their scores isn't due to a difference in appearance: from a strictly visual standpoint, these are both nines. The problem is with construction: the pins in the joints aren't strong enough; Spider-Man's left hand is already at the breaking point. I could have treated this as a Play and Display issue, but it's more a problem with materials than anything else, and I count that as construction. If I didn't put it here, it'd be a special deduction. You need to be very careful playing with these figures, which is why I'm dragging their scores down. |
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So, now that we know why Spider-Man is lower than Tony, lets talk about how the figures look. That, I think, can be summed up in one word: phenomenal. The difference between the DC Infinite Heroes and these is astounding.
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The sculpted detailing, particularly in Spider-Man's costume is absolutely jaw dropping. The black lines in his suit are inscribed, which I find shocking at this scale. If anything, Spider-Man almost suffers from too much detailing, as some details, like the spider symbol on his chest, get lost in the noise. Iron Man's costume, by design, isn't as complex, but they've really hit it on the head. The metallic paint used is absolutely perfect, capturing the look of the suit. In addition, the sculpted black rings work very well, and the helmet is absolutely perfect. The joints used are relatively unobtrusive, with one exception: the chest is a bit awkward, making the characters look somewhat stretched out, like Mr. Fantastic. Even so, this is excellent work. |
Packaging and Extras: ----
The packaging, while not quite as impressive as Mattel's DC Infinite Heroes line, is still attractive and appropriate to the comics, incorporating S.H.I.E.L.D's symbol and design:
The backs contain decent character biographical information. It's not great, but it's certainly better than the "statistics" used on the back of DC Infinite Heroes packs.
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I'm also glad to see some accessories, though I still think we're getting less than we should be. Each of these comes with an attachable object: Iron Man has a repulsor blast, while Spider-Man comes with some webbing. Iron Man is easily the winner here: his is far nicer in appearance. It has a nice design, constructed from translucent plastic with a hollow center. Spider-Man's web is actually a little disappointing: the design really wasn't up to par here. I'd rather have seen something with a wire base that was poseable, but no such luck: it's stuck the way it is. Honestly, if you've got some white twist-ties from other figures, you can probably make a better web in minutes. |
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But that's not all. These toys also come with a small envelope most collectors will likely discard as useless. Indeed, the contents aren't anything spectacular, but I have to admit I found them entertaining enough.
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The high points of these are the "Top Secret" log of the characters' activities. They're well written by someone who clearly understands the characters, their backgrounds, and - most importantly - S.H.I.E.L.D. The cards are fine, but nothing special, and there are also some codes you can enter online as part of some offer I'll never get around to.
What's missing here are bases. In fact, I almost hit them with a one point deduction, but something stayed my hand. |
Believe it or not, it was the contents of those envelopes that tipped the balance. There should really be more accessories for toys this small costing this much - even when they look this good. But there's just enough for me to call it even.
Play and Display:
Iron Man: +2
Spider-Man: +1
Once again, these blow their competition out of the water. Ball jointed head, shoulders, ankles, and chest; pegs in the hips, pins in the shoulders and DOUBLE-pins in the knees, and cut joints on the biceps and wrists... that's certainly an improvement over what we've seen in this scale from Mattel. In addition, Spider-Man has a cut waist that Iron Man's missing.
Overall, these joints work well. The one exception they share is the hips. I called them "pegs" above, but really they're sort of ball joints, or at least they want to function like them. And, to a degree, they work pretty well: you can get just about any natural stance. They can't, however, sit in a chair or do splits.
As a result of his pin problem, Spiderman's left hand can't turn: if I try it, I can tell it'll break. That's why I'm giving him a +1, while Iron Man gets a +2.
The numerous joints, all of which are tight, permit these to stand well on their own. Just take care not the pins and joints don't break: in addition to Spider-Man wrists, some of the others - especially the ankles - feel a bit weak.
Spider-Man: +1
Once again, these blow their competition out of the water. Ball jointed head, shoulders, ankles, and chest; pegs in the hips, pins in the shoulders and DOUBLE-pins in the knees, and cut joints on the biceps and wrists... that's certainly an improvement over what we've seen in this scale from Mattel. In addition, Spider-Man has a cut waist that Iron Man's missing.
Overall, these joints work well. The one exception they share is the hips. I called them "pegs" above, but really they're sort of ball joints, or at least they want to function like them. And, to a degree, they work pretty well: you can get just about any natural stance. They can't, however, sit in a chair or do splits.
As a result of his pin problem, Spiderman's left hand can't turn: if I try it, I can tell it'll break. That's why I'm giving him a +1, while Iron Man gets a +2.
The numerous joints, all of which are tight, permit these to stand well on their own. Just take care not the pins and joints don't break: in addition to Spider-Man wrists, some of the others - especially the ankles - feel a bit weak.
Price Tag and Final Analysis:
Iron Man: 10/10
Spider-Man: 8/10
Spider-Man: 8/10
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In terms of appearance, these are about as close to perfect as we've seen in this scale. This whole review, I've been constantly comparing these with the DC Infinite Heroes line, but there really is no comparison: in every way, these surpass the competition.
The only problem with these figures is their construction: these are one wrong twist from losing a hand or foot. I don't think this will be as huge an issue for collectors, who are fairly good at keeping their toys in one piece, as it is for kids. Even so, I imagine some of us will end up with broken toys down the road. But there's no getting over how good these look. They may only be so-so toys, but they're excellent collectibles. Now lets talk value. These go for eight or nine bucks some places, and that's clearly too much. I paid five (technically 2 for $9.99), which is better, but they should still have better accessories. |
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