Marvel’s Civil War

Back in the July 2017 issue of Diecast Collector (buy yours here), we looked at a set of three model vehicles by Tomica of Japan that were based on some of the most popular characters from Marvel Comics. They were part of the 'Dream Tomica' line, which featured mostly fictional vehicles from TV, movies and comic books.

An exception to the rule was the trio of Marvel vehicles, which were not based on any cars seen in movies or comics. Instead, they were interpretations of the sort of vehicles that heroes might conceivably drive for their crime-fighting duties.

To tie in with the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War, Tomica re-released two of the Marvel cars in new finishes as special limited editions. In the film, the government attempts to gain influence over the Avengers and other superheroes by compelling them to reveal their secret identities and accept state control. This was due to collateral damage caused by super-violence, and to prevent rogue heroes like the Winter Soldier. One group of heroes, led by Iron Man, accepts the ruling and is willing to be overseen by the United Nations. The opposing group, fronted by Captain America, distrusts the government and wants to remain independent. This leads to a massive battle between the two teams.

Tomica re-released the Captain Cruiser and Iron President, in new finishes, to represent the leaders of the opposing groups. Spider Formula was not reissued, as Spider-Man only played a minor role in the film.

Captain Cruiser II

The Captain Cruiser is based on a Hummer. It is big, rugged and all-American, just the sort of car Captain America would drive. Captain Cruiser II used the same casting as the original, but was now in an even more rugged finish. The body was painted matt dark blue with the fenders in red. There were red and white stripes on the lower halves of the doors, and a white star in the centre. An ‘A’ logo was printed on the bonnet behind the bull-bar, and there was an Avengers symbol on the rear quarter. The rear hatch was painted black, and the Captain’s shield was fastened to it with brown straps. The wheels were thick and knobbly with blue hubs, and the thick metal base was painted matt black. The Cruiser had opaque windows and no interior.

Iron President II

Iron President was a prestige custom sports car designed and built by Tony Stark. Iron President II was the same car in a new finish and had a much more complex design than the earlier version. It was now painted dark metallic red with sweeping gold and silver stripes running from the nose to the rear engine cover. The rear vents were gunmetal grey, and there were light blue strips at various points on the bodywork. The base and interior were in black plastic, and the wheels were black with chrome rims. A circular port in the rear of the car may have allowed Iron Man to re-charge, and possibly the whole car may be able to transform into an emergency Iron Man suit.

Packaging

The models were packaged in standard Tomica red and white boxes, with a picture of the vehicle and the relevant hero. The models were not numbered, as they were special limited editions only sold at certain stores in Japan.