With just over two months left before Iron Man 3 kicks off the 2013 summer movie season, we’re learning more and more about the first chapter of Marvel’s movie universe “Phase Two” on a daily basis. From new posters to leaked concept art, to a Super Bowl ad and new trailer on the way, excitement and expectations are high for the first post-Avengers film from Marvel Studios. Iron Man 3 not only aims to take Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark to a darker, more personal and emotional place, but it also promises to raise the bar on the action front. With today’s news, we have a much clearer picture of how director Shane Black aims to accomplish this. CBM got their hands on another never-before-seen piece of Iron Man concept art, dubbed the “Heartbreaker.” Similar to how the Space Suit concept art matches the Funko “Deep Space Armor” bobblehead toy, the below suit design also matches tie-in merchandise we’ve seen before. Note the colors and bulkier armor on the helmet, limbs and chest, highlighted by a larger and brighter uni-beam.
Read on if you’re okay knowing potential spoilers. ** FINAL SPOILER WARNING ** A similar design can be seen on the leaked LEGO set images, specifically the final “showdown” between Stark and the Mandarin (see below). Could this be the new armor Stark wears in the film’s final battle? We’ve already seen in the images, the posters and the official Iron Man 3 trailer that Stark’s new Extremis suit that appeared at Comic-Con gets heavily battle-damaged, possibly destroyed even, at some point in the film. Perhaps what’s depicted above is what Stark constructs and wears after. You’d have to be crazy to assume Stark won’t get more than one new suit in Iron Man 3. He’s already had seven up until this point and this film aims to up the ante. By the end of Iron Man 2, Stark had discovered a new element to power his suit, and we got the see the Mark VI in action, easily identified by its triangular chest light. Stark upgrades to the Mark VII – a suit he can summon via wristbands – in the final act of The Avengers, and in Iron Man 3, upgrades again to the golden Extremis armor which he can control with his mind, piece by piece, as demonstrated in the Comic-Con footage and trailer.
From the rumors, the toys and a description of the second Iron Man 3 trailer releasing next week, Stark not only changes his own duds in the threequel, but he crafts himself an army, an Iron Legion, as name-dropped in the Iron Man 3 prelude comics. Take a look at the below image a user of the SHH forums posted two weeks ago from he claims to be the Hasbro Assemblers toys, an Iron Man 3 toy line featuring multiple armored suits with interchangeable parts, an idea that matches the rumored explanation for why Stark’s golden armor is designated the Mark XLVII (47).The bottom right design is the Heartbreaker armor, and with that, we’ve come full circle. All of the toys, rumors and even the latest trailer description all hint that this could very well be a design Stark wears, or at least builds (for Pepper Potts?) and these other designs in the image above could be Stark’s “boys,” a name he reportedly gives to them. We may just see them flying into action with Stark and Rhodey’s (Don Cheadle) Iron Patriot suit.
[Update: New Iron Man 3 poster spotted in theaters & officially released by Yahoo! – check out the extra Iron Legion suits flying in the background!]Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for your Marvel movie news and let him know which design you like best! Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black based off of his and Drew Pearce’s screenplay, and stars Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Stephanie Szostak, Jon Favreau, Rebecca Hall, William Sadler, James Badge Dale and the voice of Paul Bettany. Iron Man 3 releases May 3, 2013, Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014, The Avengers 2 on May 1, 2015 and Ant-Man on November 6, 2015. Sources: CBM, SHH Forums, Marvel, Tumblr, YahooIn the final review of the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man sets, we have the Malibu Mansion Attack (76007). This set has 364 pieces and retails for $39.99, which is about $0.11/piece.
The box contains three numbered bags, two instruction booklets, a sticker sheet, and a small comic book. Be warned, there may be some movie spoilers in this review so if you haven’t seen the movie yet, read at your own risk. You have been warned. There are five minifigures in the Malibu Mansion Attack set: Tony Stark, Mark 42 (MK XLII) Armor, Pepper Potts, the Mandarin, and an Extremis soldier. Also included is Tony’s DUM-E robot companion. This is the first time out of all the Iron Man sets that we get an actual Tony Stark minifigure. He wears the same black outfit that is worn in the movie. In the middle of his chest is his personal arc reactor which is a blue colored. He has a double-sided head with a cocky/confident look on one side and a scared look on the other side. He also has short brown hair. This minifig is an absolute great addition to the set. Usually have only have Tony’s head in the Iron Man suit but in the Mark 42 armor, we have a blank white head. The reason why is that both Tony and Pepper can wear the suit (which they do in the movie).
This is the same armor that is in the Iron Man: Extremis Sea Port Battle set. Again, this suit has more gold printing on the torso and legs than the previous versions of the suit. There are also some transparent blue studs and round bricks to represent the flames from his thrusters. Pepper Potts also makes her first appearance in an Iron Man set. She wears an all white suit with long orange hair that’s in a ponytail. She also has a double sided head with a smile on one side and a scared look on the other. Both sides of the head have some orange freckles. The Mandarin also makes his second appearance in a set with the first being in the Iron Man vs The mandarin Ultimate Showdown (76008). This caped variant has a little more detailing than the other version. The color scheme of the torso and legs are mostly dark green and olive green with hints of gold embroidery. In the middle of the chest is a circle to represent the Ten Rings. He also wears a dark green cape. He has a long black beard that covers most of the torso piece with slicked back hair.
He has a double sided head with a serious look on one side and an angry look on the other. The Mandarin has a grey ADU gun as his accessory. The final minifigure in the set is an unnamed Extremis Soldier. He has a grey torso that shows off his muscular build as well veins exposed by the Extremis serum. He has your standard black legs. The soldier has a pale double sided head that glows in the dark. One side of the head has a stern look and the other is a very angry expression that also shows off his veins and red eyes. There are two parts to the build: Mandarin’s helicopter and Tony’s Malibu mansion. The first bag takes you through the build of the whole helicopter. The main color scheme is dark green and black with hints of yellow throughout the helicopter. There are some stickers to give some detailing on the side as well as a Ten Rings symbol on top. In the middle of the chopper is an opening that is too small for a minifigure to fit in but big enough for a storage area of some sort.
Although flick-fire missiles are sometimes annoying in any action set, the ones in this set are good because they are used to destroy the Malibu mansion. There are two on each side of the aircraft. There are also ledges that The Mandarin can stand on. Slight spoiler here: The Mandarin is not in the scene in the movie where the mansion is destroyed. In the second bag, you start building part of Tony’s mansion, mainly the kitchen area and the Hall of Armor. In the kitchen, you have lime green cabinets on a tan wall. There is a blender and a clear cup for whatever juice Tony is making. The next part of the build is the Hall of Armor area and the destroyable floor. There are a couple of blue windows that you have to apply trans-clear stickers for specs of the Mark VI and Mark VII armors. This part is one of my favorite parts of the set. If you have the previous suits from last year’s Iron Man sets, this is where you would put them. This bag also has a clear window with an alert sticker.
You also get to build Tony’s DUM-E robot assistant. It’s accessories include the Mark V suitcase and a fire extinguisher. For the third bag, there are a couple of more clear windows in which you have to put another sticker on. This one shows The Mandarin’s helicopter firing a missile at the mansion. There is a function that makes the glass windows “explode” which supposedly makes Tony fall out. This area connects to the Hall of Armor area by a couple of tan 1×2 modified pin bricks. The roof area consists of some white sloped pieces. The last part of the mansion is the center area where Tony works. There is a rotating stand that has a couple of translucent blue windows with stickers showing the status of one of the suits. Lastly, there is a tool rack with a hammer and a wrench. This part also connects to the main area by the way of the modified pin bricks. Overall, this is a pretty attractive set considering everything you get in the mansion. The helicopter is a good addition although I wish it could have been better executed.