The Good: Great sculpt, Competitively priced, Collectibility
The Bad: No light effect, Base is unremarkable, Obvious seam, Slight balance issue.
The Basics: A good Hallmark ornament, the “Iron Man” ornament is not as good as the Iron Man ornament from a few years ago.
I enjoyed The Avengers and I can see how much sense it would make for Hallmark to exploit the film for this year’s Hallmark ornament line-up. So, I was mostly unsurprised when Hallmark made a new Iron Man ornament. The The Avengers "Iron Man" ornament from Hallmark is the centerpiece of a triptych of ornaments from The Avengers. It is the best of the three (so far), but it is comparatively unremarkable. The comparison is to the 2010 Defender Of Justice “Iron Man” ornament (reviewed here!) which is vastly superior to this newer one.
Hallmark's "Iron Man" ornament is all right, even if it has nothing to do with Christmas.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, “Iron Man” is a holiday ornament that features Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit from The Avengers (reviewed here!). A generic, action stance that is not specific to a moment in the film greets the consumer and fans of the cinematic or comic book representations of Tony Stark as Iron Man ought to be thrilled by this.
Basics
“Iron Man” recreates Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit from The Avengers as he prepares to take a leap up and possibly grab someone who needs rescuing. The ornament, released in 2012, is a pretty remarkable ornament that is perfect in the detailing and coloring. Iron Man in this incarnation looks just like the cinematic version of Iron Man with the Iron Man armor clean, shiny and made with very sleek lines that make it look both armored and functional. This does not look like a comic book character, but rather the virtual Iron Man suit seen flying about in The Avengers! Measuring three and seven-eighths inches tall, two and a half inches wide and two and three-eighth inches deep (he has his hand out), this “Iron Man” seems to be selling very well at the original issue price of $14.95.
The Hallmark “Iron Man” ornament is made of a durable plastic and has Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit. He is cast in a pearlescent maroon and gold plastic that has a metallic quality to it that looks entirely realistic for the character. The proportions are all wonderful and this Iron Man sculpt looks like it may have come from a digital model of the character it is so precise. The “Iron Man” truly is an immaculate work for fans of Iron Man, except that some of the seams in the armor are obviously from the manufacturing process and not the actual armor.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, “Iron Man” could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but it does not. Instead, this comes only with a base that connects to the two other ornaments in the new The Avengers line. Iron Man comes with the centerpiece of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and a transparent spacer that makes Iron Man look like he is launching!
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake “Iron Man” ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate superhero Christmas Tree, the “Iron Man” ornament is a fair addition and would have been indispensable for a Marvel Comics themed tree, if the other (better) ornaments did not exist.
The ornament has a brass hook loop that comes out of the top center of Iron Man’s back. Unfortunately, from that position, Iron Man is back heavy and has a 15 degree pitch. This is accented with Iron Man because the base clearly does not hang parallel to the ground, as it would with perfect balance.
Collectibility
Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament. Since then, they have delved into virtually every other collectible franchise in an attempt to cash in on every major license. The Iron Man series is part of the Marvel Comics ornament collection that has been growing since the buyout of Marvel by Disney. Hallmark seems happy to produce both DC and Marvel Comics-related ornaments and currently fans seem to be responding well to the “Iron Man” ornament. Still, given that the more loaded ornament remains dirt cheap to find even now, it is hard to bet on this ornament being a good investment piece.
Overview
With its good detailing, but problematic balance and lack of likely collectible value, the Iron Man ornament from The Avengers is a good, but not great, ornament.
For other Marvel Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2012 Thor The Avengers ornament
2012 The Amazing Spider-Man ornament
2011 Spider-Man ornament
2011 Thor ornament
7/10
For other ornament reviews, please check out my index page!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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