Iron Fist

Remember, not too long ago, when we were so hard up for Marvel Monday review subjects that we reviewed old toys, older toys, and toys that one time had a tie-in comic printed by Marvel? Now we're currently grinding our way through four different ML Series at once! (Captain America, X-Men, Dr. Strange and now Spider-Man is starting to show up.) Come on, Hasbro, you're killing us! You've got to space these out better! A master of spiritual energy, Iron Fist unlocks the highest mental and physical human potential to dominate enemies in combat. It's a good thing they specified "in battle" in that bio, isn't it? Because with a name like "Iron Fist," you might assume he's interested in dominating them in other ways. Sex. We're talking about sex ways. Even his secret identity, "Danny Rand," is kind of kinky: turn it around a bit and he's "Randy Dan." Randy Dan, the Fisting Man! Now that's a Netflix series you couldn't watch all in one sitting! [I see what you did there. Hey-oh! --ed.] We just got a Marvel Legends Iron Fist figure last year, so you might think we don't need another, but this is a different take on him. The previous figure was based on New Avengers, and was thus wearing a white costume. The one before that (from ToyBiz) was in his classic costume. This one is instead taken from the critically-lauded-but-little-read Immortal Iron Fist. Instead of a big yellow disco collar and a plunging neckline, this costume covers everything below the neck and features a yellow version of Danny's chest tattoo on the front. His hands are wrapped up like Tony Jaa is about to burst into the room looking for an elephant, and he's traded in his slippers for more typical superhero boots. The toy gets a new sash, and a new head. Part of the Immortal Iron Fist design was incredibly long ties on the belt and mask (because drawing them flapping around was a great way to make him look dynamic), something the toy duplicates nicely. The face really looks quite nice, thanks to the thin paint and professional mold work. While the last Iron Fist was still using Hasbro's version of the Bullseye body, this one has a different source. It really suits him - Danny has always been shown as a lithe, slender guy, so even though he's been able to fill in for Daredevil on occassion, making him a little skinnier is fine. It also means his articulation is great, with a balljointed head, hinged neck, lateral pec hinges, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a hinged torso, swivel waist, balljointed hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, and swivel/hinge rocker ankles. The hips still only go out to about 45°, so no Van Damme splits for him. He does get some nifty accessories, though, and that also gives him an additional point of articulation in each arm: to show off his Iron Fisty powers, the toy comes with alternate hands (actually up to the mid-forearm, but "hands" is just a simple way of saying it). They plug in via a big peg joint, meaning he has a swivel other uses of this mold haven't. While the normal hands are just bandaged, the alts are glowing with his awesome power. They're translucent yellow, with a black core, as though we can see his bones silhouetted. How was this accomplished? Hasbro first molded a thin, opaque black version of the arm, then once those were ready, molded a normal-sized trans yellow arm around that! Wow! This is some complex stuff! It ends up looking great, so it was worth the effort. We also get some flames to go around either set of hands, and they're nice too, but the burning arms are where it's at. He also has a piece of the Dormammu Build-A-Figure, which will be a lot more exciting if you didn't get last year's Book of Vishanti exclusive set. Iron Fist has the collar and spiky chest/shoulder armor, ready to slip down easily onto Big D's torso. Exciting. Thrilling. Woo. Since I'm not building Dormammu, all those BAF pieces are for sale. More importantly, since I'm not building Dormammu, I wasn't compelled to get all the Dr. Strange figures. Iron Fist, in fact, was one I planned to pass on entirely. But when I saw him in person, rather than in photos, he looked better than expected and I decided to give him a shot. I'm glad I did, because this is the best Iron Fist figure yet. -- 11/07/16

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