[TheBlueMarvel]

I received the Mandarin Extremis Iron Man 2 pack this morning. I said a few weeks back that I'd be ok with a suited Mandarin making the pickup a no brainer, but I was also curious about the retooled Extremis armor (my fav IM suit). While the only true upgrades on the buck are to the neck and shoulders, I'm happy I nabbed it as it is an improvement that works well for people that like posing figures. Hasbro seems to be at work creating new options for shoulder and neck articulation and balancing the aesthetics of form with the utility of function. The neck has a lower ball-hinge that also allows for swivel articulation. It improves the range of motion and, while we have seen this feature on other figs, Hasbro appears to be perfecting the execution of the joint. The shoulders are a complete overhaul of the butterfly joint. The figure features a deeply set butterfly with a textured cuff surrounding the peg which is abnormally long. The result is pretty successful IMO. I definitely recommend picking the fig up on resale, which I anticipate reasonable prices for given that most will assume the buck hasn't changed from the previous iteration of the Extremis armor.

Edit: I neglected to mention that Mandarin is ok. The head sculpts are fair and they've added a new tie and quarter length coat.