Now, I’m not really sure what Star Flare armor is designed to do. The background that this figure stands in front of shows him standing on the Moon, the Earth is over his shoulder to the right, and for some reason it appears the Sun is about to pass between the two. Now, I’m no scientist, but I’m pretty sure that’s going to be a tight fit. Also, I’m not sure why Iron Man is the one who’s supposed to take care of this problem. I know Tony’s a rich guy, but I don’t think he can build an armor that can push the Sun back in place. Other than that bit of strangeness, this figure’s design rocks. He’s made of translucent black plastic with glitter thrown in, giving the armor that star field look which I’m a sucker for. You also get the paint highlights of metallic gray and dark red which compliment the figure well.

Star Flare Iron Man comes with the most accessories in the set: his backpack, arm cannon, and a firing missile. The arm canon latches on to his forearm, but unlike the drill, it stays on. There is also a small red tube that connects the canon to the backpack. Last, and certainly least, is his helmet. At first, I was excited about it. It had a really interesting design that I hoped would make this armor even more unique. Sadly, it didn’t quite work out that way. The helmet does fit snugly over the collar piece but a small gap in the front keeps this suit from being space worthy. There’s also the strange look of the helmet when on. Iron Mans head doesn’t even come up halfway into the helmet; his eyes just barely peer over the bottom of the visor. This leaves a huge vacant empty space above his head. Maybe he needs all the extra head space for the oxygen he’s losing through the gap in his neck?

Finally, the Sandstorm Armor. I wasn’t excited about this guy at first, but as I took a more careful look, I noticed all the little details on him. Sure, this guy is basically a brown Iron Man with red highlights. But there are the scratches and damage details all over the figure. It looks like he took a walk through a sandstorm, or a war torn Middle Eastern country.

Sandstorm comes with a jetpack accessory. There’s a button on the back that makes the wings pop out. I was a little disappointed because the wings only move slightly when released. I was expecting them to go out to the side like normal wings, but this design probably works better. It gives the figure a stealth jet look.

All around, I’m pretty happy with this purchase. Since these are reuses of molds from the first Iron Man movie, they’ll fit in with any toys from that line and I’m hoping they’ll go well with the six inch Iron Man line that Wal-Mart will be carrying soon. The pack was only $25, pretty good considering the DCUC 2pks an aisle over are $5 more with one less figure. Also, like the three inch movie figures, you’ll want to watch out for the paint jobs. I had to go through all of them to find a decent set with the Arctic and Star armors painted well. Luckily, the Sandstorm armor’s intentional damage can mask any paint issues he might have. Other than that, this is a fun and stylish set to own.

-Vault