.

The standard Marvel Minimate carton, depicting the MKI I and MKI Iron Man armours on the front. The Iron Man logo from the movie sits on the sloped back section of the carton. Background art is very dark, all black and subdued reds, but the ‘mates stand out well against it. The side flaps also feature photographs of the ‘mates, one to each side.

The back of the carton features a shot of all the Minimates in the wave. One difference is that the biography boxes are missing from this wave.

The Mark II armour is the first suit that Stark builds once he returns to the United States after his captivity and subsequent escape in the Mark I armour.

This Minimate first appears to be essentially exactly the same figure as the Mark III armour Iron Man simply cast in silver plastic. However, this is far from the truth. Firstly the silver is painted over white Minimate pieces. Secondly, take a closer look at the chest piece. Look at all those tiny rivets on the breastplate and abdomen. That’s some intricate work indeed. So intricate I hadn’t even noticed it until really appraising the figure before writing up this review.

Underneath the armour are the same tech pajamas as worn by Stark in the Mark III armour, but again there is a subtle difference here. There is no red detailing on the chest and in my opinion this makes for an even nicer looking Stark ‘mate. Also of note is the fact that Stark has a very different expression under the helmet, he almost looks grumpy! This is a lovely touch. DST could easily have slapped the same head as seen on Tony Stark and the Mark III armour’s Stark. Giving us this alternate expression is a great move and much appreciated. Other than the points listed above this really is much the same figure as the Mark III but exceedingly cool in its own right. I think the armour looks much better in this silver form and the eyes and chest thingy look far more effective here.

The Mark II Armour Iron Man has no accessories but does come with alternate hands and legs.

In Conclusion: An outstanding variant, and one that makes sense too.

Overall thoughts: Wave 21 is very much a wave of two halves. The civilian figures are lacklustre, with fairly weak character likenesses for the most part. The wave is rescued by the intense thought and engineering that has gone into the armoured figures. They are, in this reviewers opinion, among the best Minimates Art Asylum/DST have ever produced.

MMC Score – 10 out of 10

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