Folks who have been following our favorite Marvel Superheroes in 3 and 3/4 inch form for some time might recognize these two figures.  Not necessarily because they have them both or one of the two, but because one, The Mandarin really never found it’s way to retail space….Let me asplain…no no…too little time, let me sum up.  The Silver Centurion and The Mandarin were available as part of the Iron Man 2 Toy Line.  You can find SC pretty much anywhere, but Mandarin was available in a few select locations and remarkably over-priced on eBay.  Looks like we found out why. They were busy re-painting all of those produced but not shipped Mandarins from green to orange!!

The Good:
Mandarin –

  • This is proof that he exists and you can at some point  (hopefully) buy him in a store for regular people money.
  • Bright colors and excellent molding detail highlight this much sought after figure.
  • The helmet fits…mostly.
  • He’s got 10 rings!

Silver Centurion –

  • The Silver Centurion is hands down, bar none my favorite Iron Man armor.  This second chance to pick him up is welcome!
  • The points of articulation on the shoulder pieces of the armor is always appreciated, specifically as it is done in a manner where they will not constantly or ever fall off.

The Bad:
Mandarin –

  • I wasn’t a fan of the sword accessory the first time around, and that judgment holds up here.
  • The miss here for me is that we don’t get a more sinister suited modern Mandarin.

Silver Centurion –

  • The paint app is just not good. There are red smudges everywhere.
  • Speaking of paint.  The name of the figure is Silver Centurion and I greatly appreciate the color of the original release of this figure.  I know on the washed out pages of an old comic we get a more shimmering white look to the armor, but if you start painting the red and gold red and off brown someone is going to get aggravated.

The Rest:

I know this is an early release but I want to go on the assumption that this set will see store shelves.  That should make a lot of Iron Man Universe fans happy.  I can’t count how many message boards I’ve been in and out of that want to know where Mandarin is.  Granted, when everyone gets this one, the green one will still be the treasure.    You can’t make everyone happy all of the time.

The Pictures: