Iron Man MkII Armor Unleashed

The Iron Man MkII suit debuted in the first film as the first update and refinement of the basic concepts Tony Stark pioneered when he built the MkI in a cave with a box of scraps.  Stark makes his first full flight in the MkII before making further upgrades, resulting in the first combat-ready Iron Man suit, the MkIII.  When Obidiah Stane is making his move at the end of the first film, Tony’s best friend, James Rhodes, almost suits up in the MkII to assist Stark, but passes.  Tony keeps the MkII around in his hall of armor, and Rhodey gets his chance to fly in Iron Man 2.

Hot Toys released an Iron Man MkII as part of their first Iron Man film line.  The first MkII was built on the same body as the Iron Man MkIII reviewed way back by Atom, with added rivet details and a decent silver paintjob.  There was also a special convention exclusive flat dark gray MkII using the same mold.  Hot Toys has started over with this new Iron Man 2 release of the MkII.

The box is a gorgeous slipcover presentation and weighs a ton.  I am used to Hot Toys figures coming with some nice accessories and maybe a stand, but this box is packed.  Included in the box are:

Iron Man MkII figure

• MkII head with clear parts for the light-up eyes
• MkII head with magnetic removable mask and Rhodey (Don Cheadle) face sculpt
• MkII empty head with magnetic removable mask and replaceable empty neck part
• Hands (2x fists, 2x posable)
• Removable armor panels (chest plate, 2x bicep armor, 2x thigh armor)
• Right and left armored lower legs and feet
• Right and left unarmored lower legs and feet with lower leg adaptor parts
• Standard-issue Hot Toys doll stand with printed base
• Detailed light-up Iron Man hall of armor base with clear plastic flight rod
• Collapsible display table

Like I said, the box is packed.  The Armor Unleashed MkII comes with a ton of parts and even more features.  Standing the usual twelve inches tall, the MkII is made from sharp ABS and rugged POM plastics, with a soft vinyl pelvis armor part.

The MkII features multiple light-up parts with the usual super-bright white LEDs.  The eyes, chest arc reactor, and palm repulsors all light up with their own individual switches.  The boot jets on the unarmored lower legs also light up, but we will get to those later.

Articulation is great.  With every new release, Hot Toys seems to figure out one or two new tricks to helping the Iron Man suits maintain their bulk and armored look while adding movement.  The new trick for this release seems to be some redesigned elbows, incorporating multiple points of articulation, interlocking armor plates, and soft vinyl inner joint covers.  Due to some clever design, they can bend past 90 degrees.  Because of the electronics and removable chest armor, the torso is not posable like on the MkIV and MkVI, which is a shame.

Fully geared up, the MkII looks ready for action and feels great.  While I loved the MkIV release, I found the MkV a little limited by the suit’s design and not quite as much fun to handle.  None of that concern is present here, however, as the MkII feels rugged and is fun to play with.

The Don Cheadle as Rhodey face sculpt is incredible, and really captures both the actor’s likeness, and the look of a head inside a helmet.  The mask fits on via magnets, just like on the MkIV/VI and works great.

Comparing with the Rhodey sculpt from War Machine, the two sculpts are pretty similar and lifelike.

One weird little thing I noticed is that the helmet armor for the Rhodey-face head does not extend under the jaw and chin, so from some angles you can see the separate face part under the helmet.  Bizarre, but minor.

Comparing to the MkIII from the first film, which was very similar to the first version MkII, the improvements in detail, finish, and articulation become apparent.  Almost every HT Iron Man has been an improvement over the previous release in some way, but comparing this latest figure to one of the first releases demonstrates just how far Hot Toys has come.  I can only imagine what their engineering and development budget looks like for each new figure.

Moving on to action features, the MkII features the usual control surfaces and airbrakes of the previous suits, but further refined both for detail and durability.  A number of the smaller hinges and sliding parts on the fine details are now metal instead of plastic, a welcome change that adds to both the look and feel.

Comparing the internal detail under the calf airbrakes to that on the MkIV further underlines the constant refinement between Hot Toys releases.  The metal parts are sharp, and the detail is hot.

In addition to the flaps, the MkII features the pop-up micromissile launcher in the left forearm.  Two panels slide apart, and the detailed launcher flips up.  The biggest problem I have with my whole MkII is that one of the micromissile tips was bent.  In attempting to bend it back, I accidentally broke the tip off, but then I was able to superglue it back on straight.

On the right forearm, the slide out shield part seen on the MkIII in the first movie is represented in incredible detail.  The lower part folds out, with an additional metal fold out panel, and the top half slides into place.  The molding and paint on these parts is gorgeous, but they still also feel durable enough to stand up to being deployed and retracted without fear.  The micromissile launcher can also be deployed, but features less detail than on the left.

The hall of armor stand features sharp detail and the same flight rod setup as the MkIV.  Still works well and looks great.  One day I will actually install batteries in one of these bases.

With Rhodey in the MkII and Tony in the MkIV, we can recreate one of the best scenes from Iron Man 2. 

“Give me a phat beat to beat my buddie’s ass to.”                         

Iron Man is my favorite for a reason.

Two technological marvels slugging it out to Daft Punk is my kind of movie.

“Don Cheadle that’s my suit!”

“Not cool.”

The Armor Unleashed Iron Man MkII is sharp looking and well articulated, but that was not enough for Hot Toys.  The new MkII was designed to also depict the suit in later scenes of the movie after Rhodey has commandeered the suit and brought it back to Edward’s Air Force Base for Hammer’s inspection.

First up, we get this awesome table.  It’s packed flat in the box and made from heavy cardboard with printed paper surfaces.  The tabletop features a plastic lip, and the support parts hold together using magnets!

The suit features multiple removable armor panels and swappable parts with interior mechanical detail.  The chest armor, bicep armor, and thigh armor comes off to reveal detail on par with, and in some places sharper than that seen on the Flight Test Tony Stark.

The lower legs are removable via a ball and socket at the knee and can be swapped with a dummy lower leg that fits into a pair of unarmored boots. 

The naked boots are actually the same parts as from the Flight Test Tony, meaning that the ankle articulation is limited and that the boot jets light up.  The detail on these parts is still gorgeous.

The empty helmet is pretty gorgeous as well.  The helmet and neck are one part, allowing for detail to extend into the neck itself.

At this point, I am out of things to say, but could not help but shoot more photos.  I was blown away by the detail and finish once I had the unarmored display unleashed.

Tony Stark looks on at what he has built.

The Armor Unleashed Iron Man MkII can be had for around $200, and I think that is well worth it.  The box is packed with parts and the figure loaded with features.  Very little movement has been sacrificed to accommodate the detail, and I’m happy with the balance Hot Toys struck.  The paint work especially is gorgeous, and really impressed me.  I could sit here and gush all day, but I’ll end this review here.