Welcome to Flashback Friday: The Marvel Cinematic Universe. In this series you’ll get a review and discussion on some of your favorite Pops and Dorbz from the MCU. Here, we really appreciate the shared universe so the figures will come from film, television, and streaming. Tony Stark from the Iron Man 3 set is this week’s choice for discussion.
Discussion: This Tony Stark Pop is the only Pop that says Tony Stark on the outside of the box except for the one coming soon from the Spider-Man: Homecoming set. Tony Stark is definitely not the only unmasked Iron Man Pop released but he’s very different for a few reasons. First, as previously mentioned he’s the only Pop as of this writing with “Tony Stark” on the box. Second, he’s the only unmasked Iron Man Pop in the Iron Man 3 set. Finally, he’s not a Pop you can get your hands on easily.
Tony Stark is numbered 32 in the Marvel line of Pops. He was released in 2013 which is already four years ago. Unlike the rest of the Pops in the Iron Man 3 set he was not released in stores worldwide. At the time of Tony Stark’s release, the only way to get him was during San Diego Comic Con at the Funko Booth in 2013. What makes it even harder to get is that he’s a Limited Edition Pop. There’s no set number of how many were produced but rest assured it wasn’t many.
Tony Stark is one of the more expensive Pops within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Depending on condition and demand he can range from $200.00 to $400.00. You’d be hard pressed to find one in decent condition for less than $200.00. Your best chance to find him is eBay. You could also check Amazon but I know a lot of people have been complaining about the condition of the Pops after opening the package. If you want top notch packaging and are willing to pay for it you should go with eBay. One other option is our very own Facebook group which can be found at this link. It’s a great option for buying, selling, and trading.
Iron Man 3 Set: This set only contains six Pops which is again on the lower end similar to last week’s Thor: The Dark World set. The set includes 1 Deep Space Suit, 1 Iron Man, 1 Iron Patriot, 1 James Rhodes, 1 Tony Stark, and 1 War Machine. Four of the six Pops were available in stores worldwide. The other two, James and Tony were both San Diego Comic Con exclusives. Look for the entire set to increase in value in the coming years because Deep Space Suit, Iron Man, Iron Patriot, and War Machine are all vaulted which means production on those pieces have ceased.
Description/Review: The face looks similar to what Tony Stark looks like in the film. He’s got some flowing hair with sideburns which turn into a thin beard. He’s sporting a goatee and a small soul patch under his lip. The rest of the body is covered in the trademark red and gold suit of Iron Man armor. The chest and stomach are enclosed with gold. There are a small areas with red paint. The center of the chest has the arc which powers the suit and its painted white. The shoulders have gold armor before we get red spreading across the arm and covering the fingers and palm. Gold can be seen on the top of the gloves. A large portion of each leg is gold with a bit of red throughout providing a nice contrast. The lower part of the boots are red with some gold surrounding the ankles.
Overall, I think Tony Stark looks fantastic compared to what we see in the film and the designers did a great job. The face is spot on and the armor looks really good. They nailed the color pattern for the suit. It’s definitely my favorite Pop from the Iron Man 3 set and maybe one day it will be in my collection. I’ve been very happy with the majority of the unmasked MCU characters that have been exclusive to Comic Con.
What’s next? Tony Stark plays a huge role within the MCU which is why you will see him in this summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tony even gets his own Tony Stark Pop which will be the second one ever released after the one featured in this week’s article. I’d guess that we’ll see at least one Iron Man Pop in the Spider-Man: Homecoming set because he’s seen at least once in his suit of armor in the trailers. I’m sure we’ll know shortly.
Look for more Tony Stark and Iron Man in next year’s mega blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War debuting in May 2018. That movie is going to make a ton of money at the box office and the Pop set will be super popular. I’m thinking that Avengers: Infinity War will be the largest MCU Pop set ever because all of the characters are coming together to fight Thanos. As a result it’s going to be a really fun time to be a Marvel fan.
What do you think of Tony Stark? Sound off in the comments section below.
Would you like to see a specific Pop or Dorbz in a future article? Post your choices in the comments section and you just might see your favorite character “Pop” up in the coming weeks.
Check back next week for another MCU flashback. Excelsior!
Matt Norris