This was my Holy Grail!
Iron Man is one my favorite MCU characters and it’s not even a debate that he was the foundation that the MCU was built upon. Casting Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark was probably the most important decision Marvel Studios ever made, and any respectable MCU collection out there has to have some sort of Iron Man figure in it!
My first Hot Toys Iron Man figure was the Mark XLVII power pose figure from Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s a great looking piece and was the fourth Hot Toys figure that I ever owned. I really like that look and that suit, but it’s not my favorite suit of Iron Man armor. That distinction goes to the Mark XLIV Hulk-Buster armor.
I can remember as if it were yesterday when the first piece of concept art was released by Marvel Studios that teased The Hulk vs The Hulk-Buster in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Despite being one of the biggest Scarlet Witch fans out there and being so thrilled to see her join the MCU, The Hulk vs The Hulk-Buster was my most anticipated thing about Age of Ultron!
I ended up loving that film a lot more than most, as there were several moments and sequences that remain amongst my most favorite to this day, but the show stealer was undoubtedly The Hulk vs The Hulk-Buster! The trailers teased the altercation in all its glory, but it did not take away from the moment when it came time to watch Age of Ultron in the theater. The how’s and the why’s of the epic showdown were set-up brilliantly with Wanda Maximoff using her magical abilities to provoke a Hulk rampage throughout Johannesburg, South Africa. With an out-of-control Hulk on the loose, it was up to Iron Man to stop him!
The fight was everything that I’d hoped it would be, but the sheer look of The Hulk-Buster armor is what captivated me the most. The enormity and the bulk of the suit and how The Hulk was absolutely dwarfed by it, and how the suit could open up and a fully armored Iron Man could fit inside of it. All of the lights and metallic red and golds and the Repulsor blasts made it look SO remarkable. It could even fly, which made for quite the spectacle!
I loved that scene, and I loved that suit. I repeatedly watched reviews of the Hot Toys Hulk-Buster figure on YouTube. I knew I’d never actually own it, but I appreciated the detail and the work that went into producing this epic piece, from the looks to the mechanics of it. The Mark XLIV was simply put, the coolest toy I’d ever seen!
Somehow, someway, and in what was an absolute reflection of love the likes of which I’ll forever cherish, for my wedding anniversary in the Fall of 2020, I received the Hot Toys Hulk-Buster from my wife. It was a landmark anniversary for us, and I honestly did expect her to do something big, because that’s who she is, but I never, ever expected this, not in a million years. My dear friends Mark and Kelly knew I was getting this for a long time, and after keeping the secret, they drove from out of state just to see me get the figure. My buddy Mark is the reason I started collecting Hot Toys in the first place, so it was really cool to share this moment with him, and it certainly was a moment!
2020 had been one of the most stressful years I’ve ever experienced with COVID-19 just crippling our way of life. We missed vacations, canceled our kids’ birthday parties, didn’t get together with family on Holidays, and there was sickness, and death, and destruction everywhere. It sucked. And I know superheroes and comic book characters are trivial and pointless in the grand scheme of things, but these are things that make me happy and I gotta tell you, this simply made me happy!
I always appreciate any gift that I receive, but this was just so above and beyond awesome and completely unexpected and I felt loved and appreciated and lucky that my wife accepts my dork side without judgment and finds joy in my joy.
Anyway, this figure looks exactly like The Hulk-Buster suit in Age of Ultron, and I wanted the Mark XLIV specifically over the Mark XLVIII, which was seen in Infinity War, because I just liked the look of it better (though I’m very happy to say that my buddy Mark ended up adding the Mark XLVIII to his own collection. The Hot Toys Hulk-Buster is big and heavy. It is made of diecast metal. His eyes light-up, the Arc Reactor in his chest lights-up. His palms and knees light-up. His chest completely opens, and the upper torso of a Hot Toys Iron Man figure comes with The Hulk-Buster and fits within the suit, which can be fully closed and fastened around him! (I’ve seen videos of other fully sized Iron Man Hot Toys figures fitting inside this as well). His fingers are fully articulated, and his shoulder pieces can be easily re-positioned. The version of The Hulk-Buster that I received also came with an interchangeable jack-hammer arm and fist for those looking to recreate the “Go to Sleep” scene from Age of Ultron. This isn’t just a toy; it’s an impressive piece of engineering and I dare say it is even a work of art!
The Hulk-Buster stands right at 2-feet tall!
He weighs over 20-pounds.
I love all of my figures for different reasons, but yes, The Hulk-Buster is my favorite piece of my collection. Just knowing the monetary value and the effort that my wife put into obtaining this and putting it in my hands will make this forever special. Still today, I see him on my shelf and just shake my head in disbelief over the fact that I have him. Thank you, April, and thank you, Marvel Studios!
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