Titanium Man – Iron Man 2
Finally! some more foes for Iron Man & War Machine are staring to show up in stores. I managed to score a Titanium Man recently.
Titanium Man? Yeah, I know the non-Iron Man readers are thinking it’s made up. But it’s not. Titanium Man comes from the pages of the comic book where he’s had not one, but three different versions. I had only a vague idea of who he was when I bought him.
From what I’m able to figure out from the web, this figure is based on the second version of the comic book characters. A Russian mutant pilots the armor in this case. This version also appears to have been killed during a battle with the USA’s Armored Avenger.
Appearance:
I’m guessing there are going to be a number of comic book fans upset by this one. When doing my research for the review, there seems to be a minimum of information and pictures of this particular version of Titanium Man. To me it appears this isn’t the most iconic version of the character.
I’m guessing that this version fits better in a line with the movie figures, however. I can tell you I might not have been as interested in him in his other forms.
I was trying to figure out what the design reminded me of. I have to say the single wide eye lens and green color remind a tiny bit of Master Chief from HALO.
Of course with the green and grey colors and shoulder pad, he kind of looks like he should be on the field for the Michigan State Spartans football team.
The green has a metallic type finish to it. For the most part it’s pretty good. However, on the back of the shoulder pads, mine looks a little gloopy.
Much like the comic version of War Machine, the design of Titanium Man flirts with the line between realism and comic book styling. While looking like armor, his arms and neck show musculature. Overall, the effect isn’t that bad until he’s standing beside a figure like the movie War Machine.
I have to say I really dig this guys shoes. Big and clunky, they seem like the perfect kicks for an armored Russian.
The other thing I really like is the design of the knee pads. The knee pad is integrated into the joint in a way that looks fairly natural.
I’m also fairly impressed that the boot jets are painted on Mr. Ti. It would have been nice if they had included a flight stand to show this feature off.
Fun:
Similar to the rest of the line, Titanium Man has one fist, and one open hand. I realize these are pretty standard poses in comic books, but an extra set of hands would add huge flexibility for an action figure.
The fist hand does get an accessory, however. It’s a flame effect to envelop his right hand. As snap on effects go, it doesn’t look too bad. A little paint could have added some detail, but it’s not bad as is.
The articulation is comparable to most of the other figures in the line. The shoulders are limited by the oversize shoulder pads, though. The head might be a ball joint, but, similar to War Machine, it only moves left and right.
Speaking of flight stands, you have to wonder why they didn’t make that a standard thing with this line. Or at least include the peg hole on all of the figures. I know one of the comic version Iron Man figs came with a a flame base, but one one of those clear floating figure stands would have been a neat way to display these guys.
Overall:
For a character that I really don’t know very much about, I’m glad I picked this guy up. They really nailed the comic book superhero look well.
The green design is also a nice contrast to the other figures in the line, so will fill out a display a little better. The only improvements I would make are an improved ball jointed head and possibly some more accessories.
Engineernerd Score: 90/100
Category: Featured, Iron Man, Marvel, Toy Reviews
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Personally, I would have preferred the classic version of the character from the eighties, but I’m just happy to have more villains in the line.
I wonder if this line will take on a life of its’ own.
I fear they have remade the Indiana Jones mistake where there are too many initial versions of the main character, leading to impossible find waves of the figures your really want.
That figure looks great, definitely one to look for.
As for the way Hasbro is handling the line, they do seem to have a lot of way too similar figures hanging on pegs at any given time. I had been postponing getting IM suits IV & VI just because there are so many on pegs, I just know they are going to be discounted sooner rather than later.
I know Iron Man is one of those figures that kids want variants of, but there are just too many right now.
I’m looking at how many WOS Barts and Homers are on my shelf and I have to say I think Playmates had the right idea. By spacing out the variants, I was more inclined to buy a new Homer, even if he was similar to one I already had. I would have probably passed on Squishee Bart if there were four other Barts on the pegs.
I really think more figures would be sold if there were more actual characters from the film and few more comic book figures. Around here, most of the non-Iron Man figures are gone from the pegs.