Somehow 2019 seemed to evaporate on us, and if you have been going down this Marvel Legends road with us, your wallet is burnt to a crisp.
Well, there is still a whole quarter left this year, and the deluge of Fan Channel exclusive releases has begun. We have already clapped eyes on Cowboy Wolverine and Big Time Spider-Man, but it was like four new releases all dropped on the same day, so we don’t even have time to catch our collective breaths. I will admit, some of these releases are instantly more interesting than others (to me), and even though I am not the biggest Punisher fan in the world, this new Punisher War Machine is pretty damned cool.
PUNISHER WAR MACHINE
You know, for an execution that is built on a little-to-no new parts philosophy, this figure is wonderfully unique. It is funny, on concept, this figure really should not appeal to me. As I said, while I appreciate Frank Castle as a classic and iconic character, I have never been the biggest Punisher fan. Plus, I am generally of the mind that I don’t care of a cavalcade of characters wearing armors as it takes away from Tony and Jim.
That said, the color combination is really nice and the added Punisher insignia adds a level of intimidating threat, as you would imagine. Yeah, the color scheme is not really a departure from the classic War Machine, but the “hit count” on the leg certainly adds another Frank Castle flair. The weathering and battle damage run with the theme, too, and it is certainly a bit of break from the shiny and clean armors we have been seeing a lot as of late.
Also, when you combine Punisher and War Machine, you better be delivering on the artillery, and for the most part, this figure brings it. I don’t *think* there is anything new here, but that is okay because if you attach all of the cannons and guns, Frank is certainly not lacking, and he should be able to blow up a whole New York borough with what he has got. I would have liked to have gotten some firing effects or something with this as well, but as it stands, the package is pretty loaded up.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
Would I sound like a terribly ungrateful person if I said that I am currently suffering for a bit of Iron Man burnout? Don’t get me wrong, I love Tony, and the classic Iron Man we recently got in the 80th Anniversary line is now the definitive IM figure on my shelf, but that just made it even more the case that I picked this figure up just for a feature. That said, that is exactly the philosophy of this execution, though, if you are a fan of the character and look, you can pick it up, but if not, you don’t have the Build-a-Figure requirement on you.
That said, the grey and glowing blue make for a pretty different look for an Iron Man to add to your armory, so I have to give Hasbro credit for building out one of Marvel’s most popular and visible characters with such devotion. I am personally not overly exposed to this armor from a story standpoint, but this base figure is one of those that feels a bit small to me, especially in the shadow of that more imposing classic Iron Man figure I spoke of before. It does move pretty well, though, so posing should certainly not be an issue, which can often be a concern with armored figures.
There is a blast effect included with this as well as a repaint of that old Taskmaster laser sword we have seen a few times now. Blast effects are always appreciated with IM figures, and I am going to take it at face value that the sword is a crucial addition as well (cybernetic ninja’s, y’all!). On the surface, it seems almost superfluous to give Iron Man a sword, but he does look cool with it, so have a day, armor fans.
Overall, these are fine figures, I rather like the War Machine, and it is executed well. The Iron Man is likely mostly here for the hardcore fans, but that is okay because Iron Man can certainly carry his own weight. Again, that is what these Fan Channel releases are for though, so if one or both of these don’t appeal to you, they are an easy skip. If you ARE interested in grabbing these, you can go to Dorkside Toys now and find Iron Man HERE.