Guest reviewer VanillaBlue continues his reviews of his recent Wal-Mart toy haul with a look at the Hulk vs. Leader Marvel Legends Face-Off Two-Pack.
So now we come to it, the last of the 2-pack reviews: Hulk vs The Leader! This is an interesting set for a variety of reasons, but enough with the chit-chat, on to it!
HULK
Classic 70’s Buscema Hulk? Yes, he has arrived. Man, the head sculpt on this figure is so nice, right outta the books. I think he looks even better than the prototype from the picture that was floating around before, if you can believe it. The rest of the sculpt is quite nice too and I think it is best described as a cross between the 1st Appearance Hulk and Savage/Gamma Hulk in terms of detail. There is certainly a lot there but he doesn’t have all of the over-exaggerated veins and what-not of the HC sculpts. His pants also have a bit of a mesh effect that is subtle but really brings out some nice detail. Although this interacts with the articulation, his hand sculpt does not dictate fists on either hand, but this could be expected as he was originally “Thunder Clap” Hulk. Finally, this Hulk is HUGE, biggest and tallest Hulk yet. He even towers over the ML9 version. Going hand in hand with this correct anatomy, he gots some big ass feet too. Overall, quite nice.
Paint: ****
Hulk really shines in this area even though there is not a lot to talk about. His eyes and teeth are all nicely detailed and do not have any slop or bleed. His hair is nice and black and it has some subtle green highlights that work well with the entire scheme. His pants are, well, purple and he has a slight wash all over his body that makes the ripples and muscles pop.
Articulation: ***
Again, I will focus on what IS NOT there for the most part. No double elbows or knees but that doesn’t really affect much. These might change as the picture on the card back has double knees. He cannot make fists as I said before and he has NO abdominal articulation at all. I think this is a sign of the age of the sculpt/proto but THIS CAN ALL CHANGE.
Overall: ***
This Hulk is great, maybe the best yet but I cannot decide if I still like the ML9 Green version better. I have a feeling I will be switching in and out on the signature shelf for a while. I think all of the Buscema-philes will be pleased.
LEADER
I have to admit that this version of The Leader comes in with a bit of a handicap as I strongly prefer the tall-headed variant much more. BUT, trying to be as objective as possible, he is really quite nice. The head sculpt, in spite of my personal preferences is superb. Tons of detail and he does look like he stepped out of a McFarlane page. Lots ‘o brain bumps, gnashed teeth and a mustache to boot. The costume/body is perfectly comic accurate as far as I can tell and it works well. He is pretty skinny and QUITE tall. He is listed at 5’10” on the card but he is MUCH taller in terms of scale with the rest of ML. The variant is gonna be lanky for sure. However he is a very nicely sculpted figure overall.
Paint: ***
If this score was based simply on the head, he would be perfect. It is perfectly done with no flaws what so ever. From the neck down it is a bit of another story. Not that it is bad per se, but there are some issues. His arms and torso are painted orange and it does not match the orange plastic in the legs, they are much less bright. Some of the gold on the gauntlet bleeds a little bit but it is not very noticeable. I have seen a lot worse in terms of matching but he is not quite there, hopefully that will change. Bottom line though is that the head is stellar.
Articulation: ***
Like all of these figures he has pretty great articulation but there are 2 places that are sorely lacking for reasons I am not sure. Again, do yourself and Jesse a favor and wait to see what is at Toy Fair. He has a simple peg neck so it just turns in 360 degrees, no up and down. Also he does not have any ab articulation. I think that that joint has become pretty standard so the lack is certainly noticeable. The rest of him is standard ML articulation. It sometimes hurts an ML figure that the only other figures you can compare it to is other ML because nothing else is even in the same league.
Overall: ***
I am not particularly overwhelmed by this figure but he is a great figure and is essential to the ML catalogue. I have been waiting for him for a long time so it won’t kill me to wait a bit longer for the other version. BUT, even though this is not my favorite version of the Leader from the neck up he is amazing in all elements.
Finally, you have seen the other two stand displays and this one is different for its characters in terms of specificity. The base has a couple of blast holes and the backdrop features a desert rand with a S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-carrier, a nice touch.
OVERALL: ***
This is a solid set and a lot of people are going to be happy with the Buscema Hulk. I have been waiting a long time for The Leader, as I said and I cannot wait to find the variant. The articulation is what hurts this set the most but, again, let me remind you that it can all CHANGE.
Well, this concludes the 2-packs and overall I am very, very pleased. The Cap set is simply amazing and the Captain America therein is one of the best ML figures period. When these sets hit for real I will be on the look out for the variants of the Cap set (for Strucker) and the Hulk set (for the tall-head Leader). I am also anxious to see the final version of the DD/Kingpin set because I think that set can stand the most improvement, especially with the Fisk crotch color and the bright red plastic used on DD. Time will tell.
I hope this has been of help for all of you, it has been fun reviewing these even if they are early sets. Up next I will hit the boxsets, they feel much more finished to me and hopefully you will be able to tell. I am getting excited for the TB photo parade tomorrow so I will try to get some more reviews pounded out before then. See you on the boards…
Nic
Discussion in this thread in the forums: http://www.thefwoosh.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23084
about VanillaBlue
On the advice of his fellow Fwooshers, VanillaBlue cleared his schedule and took the trek to the Wal-Mart in Emporia, Kansas. He came back with early releases of some the Wal-Mart exclusive Marvel Legends, the new Face-Off 2-packs, and one of the new MasterWorks. He kindly asks everyone to stop sending him Private Messages.
