The first Iron Man sculpted by Randy Bowen was released in 2001, both in a Classic and in a Retro version (this last one characterized by the first, V-shaped mask of the hero), with a large edition size of 3000 and 2000 samples, respectively. Except for the mask, these two collectibles exhibit exactly the same sculpt, with very clean and harmonious lines (faithul to the old tables of Comics), and an excellent bright painting, which guarantee a good visual impact. The pose is essentially static: the character stays erect on a circular pedestal, with the head fully turned to the left, the right arm bent upwards and the clenched fist and the left arm elongated and pointed towards a hypothetical enemy, with the open hand ready to launch the powerful repulsor beam. The sculpt depicts the main features of the original hero: the metallic armor perfectly fits the athletic physique of Tony Stark, with well defined muscles on legs, arms and abdomen, and exibits horizontal strips at pubic region, on neck and on the long gloves and boots, embellished by high and thick cuffs. The large and circular reactor is perfectly centered on chest, while two plaques enrich the sides of the hero. Note the perfect sculpt of the muscles' contour on biceps, quadriceps and thorax, the elegant and sinuous lines of fingers of the left open hand and the right fist, the details of the small pads on the upper knuckels, the fine design of the strips on boots, which follow the change of curvature from the ankle to the foot. The sculpt of the Retro version is slightly different and even simpler: on both abdomen and back, in fact, the bulges of muscle masses are replaced by more flat patches, and this choice is congruent with the simpler (and older) design of the Retro armor appearing in the original tables of Comics. Also the painting reminds the original features of the Comics' hero, with the amazing chromatic contrast between the red and yellow-gold patches of the armor, here drawn by very bright colors and a just sketched metallic tone. The base, as said, is circular in shape and shows some geometrical figures (carved in relief) on top and lateral surface, probably destined to symbolize the high-tech nature of the character; the same base rests on a set of concentric and thinner plates, constituting a sort of trunk cone with a circular base, which gives a great stability to the whole. The heads of both statues are well finished. Unlike some other Bowen statues devoted to Iron Man, the long openings at eyes are here simply colored in black, as well as the one at mouth, rectangular in the Classic version and almost elliptical in the Retro, also distinguished by two vertical and golden strips. Both the variants show a rounded design on head, with two circular protuberances at ears level and very squared contours at cheeks; nevertheless, in the Retro version the horizontal strips on neck continue on head too and, of course, the face exhibits the typical, v-shaped frontal mask with two vertical and pointed flaps at both sides. In my humble opinion, these pieces represent some true classics among all the Marvel statues: two little, old-school jewels that, of course, have nothing to do with the many gigantic and stately statues devoted to the hero and presently available on the market, but which retain an irresistible appeal for all passionate fans of the House of Ideas.