“Hah! When Hulk smashes something, It stays smashed! ” — Hulk: Defenders Vol 1 Issue 16
When it comes to Hulk collecting, I have a bit of a sickness. Scale, medium, era — it makes no difference. There is just something about walking into my toy room and seeing a wall of green that just makes my head swell with pride. I’m like the proud papa of hundreds of dusty green children. Will the 12-inch Hulk from the new Marvel Legends Series be a welcome addition to the herd? Let’s find out!
Packaging
It’s a nice, sturdy window box. Other than the size, there is nothing that stands out that much. I’m not much of a fan of Hasbro’s promo or package photography as they always looks way too processed and take away from how great the figure actually looks. Maybe they can steal one of the NECA guys (I mean, have you seen those Turtles boxes??). The inner tray is pretty well formed to the figure, so I wouldn’t call it completely “collector friendly” as you have to rip him out.
Sculpt
Wow. Now this is the Incredible Hulk. Let’s start with the sheer size of him. For a fully articulated action figure — he is huge. Measuring at 14.5 inches, this is a size usually saved for rotocast or other similarly limited figures, and he pretty much dwarfs the ToyBiz Icons Hulk. So with all that real estate to work with, it’s no wonder the sculpt is so detailed. From the rips in his pants to his sculpted teeth, this guy is certainly not lacking in the sculpt department. The articulation breaks up the sculpt in a few odd ways, but more on that a little later. Hulk comes with a two heads (one calm and one screaming) and two sets of hands (one open and one closed) and all are just phenomenally sculpted. The screaming head has a bit more of a classical look to it with his bowl-cut hair, while the calm takes on a more modern appearance. When a figure comes with alternate heads, it’s generally easy for me to decide what I ‘m going to display. This is one of those instances where I’m really torn.
Paint
I have been really impressed with Hasbro’s paint efforts lately, and they seemed to have kept up their solid work with this figure. We don’t get the realism that we get with the NECAs and DSTs of the world, but we also don’t get the gummed-up joints. This is a clean and even paint job. Purple pants would have been nice, but that’s just an old timer’s complaint.
Articulation
Right out of the box, I was a little put off by some of the articulation in this figure. Yes, he had tons of stuff (double-jointed elbows and knees, feet joints, ab crunch and waist swivel, etc.), but was it worth breaking up the sculpt like that? The answer is, in my humble opnion, YES. This is one of the most fun-to-pose Hulk figures that I own — in any scale. He has a few glaringly ugly points, such as the oversized discs in the double elbows and those mid-calf cuts, but everything seems to be necessary in order to make this guy able to take deep poses and actually stand unassisted. So given how big and heavy this figure is, I’m willing to make a few concessions to have it so playable.
Value
At $75, I will freely admit that I had some sticker shock. Thanks to imports and Mezco, I’m not all that unaccustomed to paying some higher prices, but to drop that kind of coin on a Hasbro toy just seemed a little nuts. I’m thrilled to say that he was worth every single penny. There is no denying that this is an expensive toy, but you get a solidly crafted, well painted, and highly articulated action figure. You get an alternate head and hands for a completely different look. And he’s freaking huge. This line is too pricey to commit to in full, but for a Hulk fan like me, this purchase was an absolute must.
Come back next week for a look at the 12-inch series black-suited Spider-Man!
Thanks for reading!