I’ve decided it’s time to start plowing through ToyBiz’s Hulk Classics action figures. These were 6-inch action figures that were bundled in two glorious series in the early 2000s, featuring various forms of Marvel Comic’s The Hulk and some of his enemies. The line was short lived at just two waves but yielded some of the most popular Hulk action figures released.
It’s impossible to review this figure without hitting on all the nostalgia nerves, this was an amazing figure for its time, and to some degree it still stands up as one of the best Hulk figures. But there were certain design choices that left us scratching our heads, like the hippy hinge joints that break up the mold, and the lack of fists (an ongoing complaint from this reviewer), but the figure is a sound, solid piece of Hulk. And I do mean solid; this Hulk figure was physically huge, clocking in around the 7-inch mark in height and girth. He was wide shoulder to shoulder and just as wide front to back. Savage Hulk is a giant chunk of plastic.
The articulation is excellent, but as I mentioned earlier the design of the hips is strange, and the inability of Hulk to make a fist is disappointing. The rest of the articulation is amazing, from the toes to the rockers in the ankles, to the double-jointed knees, the swivel biceps and more, this Hulk can pose like a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model. It’s always fun to see what could be a monster brick of plastic turn into a fully poseable piece of art. The transition of the shoulders into the chest and the biceps is great, and all parts flow naturally. All the joints move without getting into each other’s way, which is nice. Often the biceps are too big or the shoulders are pegged in a way that the bicep swivel is useless, but not here. Hulk has all the posability you can ask for, if not more.
Overall this is a great figure. He’s aged a little; the hips and even the abdomen joint don’t hold up compared to current sculpting and engineering, but there are very few modern Hulks that I will say are better than Savage Hulk. He’s big, thick, massive, properly scaled and loaded with joints. He’s what every Hulk should be. You can still find him on eBay.
