One fringe benefit to having Iron Man featured in a Marvel movie (aside from the obvious advantage of having Robert Downey Jr.'s all-encompassing charisma) is that we get to see yet another new Iron Man armor design on the big screen!

Each new upgrade - from the suitcase-compact Mark V to the triangle chest piece Mark VI - has been better than the last, so fans are going to have high expectations for the Iron Man armor(s?) that will be featured in Joss Whedon's The Avengers.

Today we have a our first fully-detailed look at the new Mark VII armor that was already presumably featured in The Avengers trailer, courtesy of Marvel and Kotobukiya toy company of Japan, which has designed a gorgeous new statuette of Iron Man wearing the Mark VII. Collectors of collectibles, make sure to set aside your cash for one of these babies!

Check out Iron Man's Avengers Mark VII armor in the gallery below:

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Now check out some details of the collectible, as state by Kotobukiya:

After surviving imprisonment by terrorists, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark created the Mark II armor suit. This was followed up soon after by the iconic Mark III suit used to battle Stane and his Iron Monger suit at the culmination of the first film, and the upgraded Mark IV armor in the sequel. Never one to rest on his laurels, Tony has brought his science and technology to a whole new cutting edge with the Mark VII Iron Man, the most advanced high-tech personal armor suit on the planet. The incredible statue comes equipped with a three-mode LED chest light-up feature: off, continuous on, and triggered by the built-in motion detector! Iron Man’s eyes also feature continuous LED lighting in both modes.

Iron Man Mark VII stands nearly 16 inches tall (1/6th scale) on an incredible shattered concrete base that bears the marks of furious battle. This pre-painted, snap-fit ARTFX Statue is easy to assemble so you can have your Iron Man Mark VII on display in no time. Avengers assemble!

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After all the time spent switching Tony Stark to that "new element" triangular chest piece in Iron Man 2, it's kind of funny seeing the character back to a circular chest piece in The Avengers. Hopefully we'll be getting an explanation about that. Otherwise, this statuette is pretty sleek and the armor design looks pretty great.

The only lingering questions is: what OTHER armor designs could we potentially see in The Avengers? Hulk-buster armor? Stealth armor? Or, based on those Avengers villain rumors, possibly space-capable armor?

We'll find out Iron Man's wardrobe when The Avengers  hits theaters on May 4, 2012.

Source: Marvel and Kotobukiya via SHH