Three and a half years ago, Marvel released the third movie in their Iron Man series. In it, we were supposed to witness the transformation of the War Machine armor into Iron Patriot. Because of this, some of the collectible and toy companies released some figures and collectibles based on this second iteration of War Machine (the first appeared in Iron Man 2). Unfortunately the War Machine portion(s) of the movie were cut and did not appear in the movie at all; instead, we only had the Iron Patriot armor.
Now I will probably buy War Machine whether he appears in a movie or not, so I didn’t care, but there were some collectors out there who were confused on how War Machine II product was being used to promote Iron Man 3 and the armor didn’t show up in it at all… Fortunately, War Machine II did show up 2 years later in the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie and all was made right in the world of collectors.
I guess I say all this to say that I’ve been sitting on this figure for over 3 years now. There was never a good time to review it. Whenever I wanted to, there was always either another figure that needed to be reviewed first or I didn’t have time to do so.
But now I’m ready to get these War Machine figures (I have a backlog of about 5) out of their plastic prisons and onto my shelves. So let’s get ready to take a look at the Marvel Select 7″ War Machine II…
The packaging is standard fare for a Marvel Select figure, although I would like to say that if you are a Marvel Select mint-in-box collector, it is extremely hard to find shelf space for these big-ass packages. That’s one of the reasons I had to go back and review this figure…I don’t have any physical space for it in the packaging anymore.
I do like the fact that since the inception of the Marvel Select line, which after a quick Google search turns out to be 2002, I have never known any different packaging. Correct me if I’m wrong, but they have consistently used this style for the last 14 years….unlike Hasbro who changes their packaging style up every 1-2 years (I believe we are on the fourth iteration of Marvel Legends packaging since the “Return of Marvel Legends” back in 2012).
There is a downside to this packaging…it is a bitch to get open. And if you are trying carefully to open it (in case you would like to store your figure back in the packaging for some reason), get ready to spend the better part of an hour or two to do so. Oh, and make sure you have some wire cutters handy. You’ll thank me later.
Seeing that I was trying to downsize my storage footprint, of course the packaging was ripped open and ended up in the trash…but I still dig it anyway…
Packaging Score: 6.75 out of 10 
For the most part, Marvel Select has never been stingy on accessories, even if some of them feel a little unnecessary at times. I think back on the Chitauri figure that came with…a piece of balcony.
This War Machine figure comes with what I like to call “Hall of Armor” display, War Machine’s shoulder cannon, and an additional closed-armor head. The additional head is kind of puzzling. On the first Marvel Select War Machine figure, we got one head with a removable visor. I’m kind of surprised that they felt the need to go backwards with this scheme. Ultimately seems like a minor grievance.
I also have a slight problem with the shoulder cannon. Again, I believe on the first figure, you could choose which shoulder for the cannon to be placed over. On this figure, your only choice is the right shoulder. Again, it’s kind of strange how they limit this figure.
I wish we got one or two pairs of differently posed hands. That may be asking too much with the price we pay and what we get, but I’ve seen Marvel Select include those before.
Accessories Score: 6.25 out of 10 
This is a tougher category since War Machine technically did not show up until the final battle with Ultron in the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie. And when he did, he was flying around really fast.
So is the likeness there? From the one screenshot I got from the movie with him standing still, yes, the likeness is accurate. Marvel Select does a very nice job on sculpting Iron Man and War Machine armors and the paint job is pretty good. All of this in a 7″ figure that costs less than $25 (at the time). It will definitely look good on the shelf.
Comparing the figure to the first Marvel Select War Machine figure, there is a definite change in looks between the two. War Machine II is taller for one, and the look of the armor is sleeker and more versatile. I think there is a definite improvement between the two. We even get accurate markings like the “FF” and the “002” on the characters left arm. Definitely good attention to detail.
The separate Don Cheadle head with his likeness is on point. No complaints there…
Sculpt/Likeness Score: 7 out of10
I purchased this figure 3 years ago, and Marvel Select has definitely tried harder since then to include more articulation on their figures. Which means that this figure didn’t make it onto the articulation bandwagon.
With all of the joints, hinges, and swivels, in theory we get around 27+ points of articulation which normally would be freakin’ awesome. Unfortunately the reality is that the articulation sucks. Some of the sculpting prevents full range of motion for the figure. Posing the figure in any iconic poses (or anything for that matter) is almost a complete impossibility. This figure will be little more than a statue sitting in the included base on my shelf, and nothing more. No dynamic action shots for this one….
What really bothers me is that there is a hinge on the neck, but the head does not go back at all. And speaking of the head, choose wisely. I don’t think I’m ever going to change the heads again. It was extremely difficult to not only take off the head, but then trying to put the other one on. A huge source of frustration.
Articulation Score: 4.5 out of10 
How you see the figure in the picture on the left is pretty much how it will be displayed on my shelf. No bells and whistles on this one, and unfortunately it is a little disappointing.
What I do like is that Marvel Select has been able to keep the same price point for years, and they are not afraid to include displays and accessories. It just didn’t work with this figure.
One of my next reviews will be the same character done by Hasbro Marvel Legends. I’m really hoping that is an overall better figure which I can recommend….if you would like a nice statue, this would be it.
Do you have this figure and have different (or similar) feelings about it? Let me know in the comments below…