Official solicit:

Marvel Legends Limited Edition Target Exclusive Hulk

Pursued for years and driven to the ends of the Earth, Dr. Bruce Banner carries the burden of his secret dark side. A lab accident exposed him to gamma radiation that unlocked something dark within, a primal force of rage so powerful that, in time of great stress, it alters his mind and body into the monstrous creature known as The Hulk! Responsible for untold destruction, The Hulk is a curse Banner chooses to bear alone. While seeking ways to control his emotions, he is tirelessly searching for a cure. But the stress and anger of everyday life are a constant threat. No matter what Banner does, The Hulk is always with him. Where The Hulk goes, destruction follows!

• This Hulk action figure, based on the movie hero character, is ready to take a stand in your collection
• Limited-edition action figure based on the character from the Hulk action movie
• Pose this figure with his vein-popping muscles and furious-looking grimace
• Figure is super articulated and raging green

June 2008
MSRP 12.99USD

I’d planned to do a review on some of those new Hulk movie toys, but once I started seeing pictures of them popping up online, and then even actually saw them in stores, no way. Those things are awful, and even if the bad review might have saved a few people out there from wasting their money on them (thus making me a hero, again!), I wasn’t prepared to waste my own money for that title. But then when I heard about the Target Exclusive Hulk coming out, I knew I’d have to snag him. And now just in time for the new movie to open this Friday I’ve got a review of him ready for everyone, which I think makes me a hero (again!) afterall, yeah?

The packaging for Hulk is nice, and given its store exclusive nature, makes it even more of a showpiece to leave in package, or easily opened to play with. The only thing keeping Hulk in the case (besides him obviously not wanting to get out, because no cage can hold Hulk against his will!) is a strip of tape on the top of the package, when removed allows the lid to pop off, and then there are 2 twisty-wires holding him on to the bubble EASILY ENOUGH REMOVED.

Out of package, Hulk is already pretty impressive - although he does give off that funny odor of cancer-rubber, kinda like the NECA Turtles or those old rubber Halloween costumes from the 70’s and 80’s - P.U.!

It should be said too that Hulk’s body is the same body from the Marvel Legends Series 1 figure, but now given a new head sculpt to fit in better with the Ed Norton movie version. The new head sculpt is such a massive improvement over the previous release of this in my opinion, and really fits in well with not only the movie look, but a classic Hulk comic look as well. Think John Buscema, Ron Frenz, Herb Trimpe, or guys in that vein. If you’re into the Dale Keown era Hulk, this guy’s probably not gonna do it for you though!

I was really impressed with this guy while I was posing him for these pictures, and was repeatedly proclaiming to myself how much I loved him. I’d never had the ML Series 1 figure, because mostly how bad the head looked on that one, but also I guess I probably wasn’t into toys as much around then. I’m definitely glad I got this guy though, he’s a ton of fun, AND WE’RE ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH THE REVIEW!

Standing around 7 inches tall, Hulk towers, as he should. He’s extremely Hulk-like too, squat with the hunched shoulders, stocky neck area, the long ape arms, and bigfoot feet for stability - he’s perfectly in tune with the sorts of proportions I’ve always preferred with the Hulk, not just as an artist myself but for a visual aesthetic too. So many times we see the Hulk with the same proportions as what a 9 foot tall body-builder might have, and that’s just wrong in my mind. This is way closer to the monster I’ve always envisioned the Hulk is, and should be, knuckles dragging behind him as he leaves a reign of carnage in his wake.

Articulation for this guy is awfully impressive, especially considering the actual body of the figure is what, like 6 or 7 years old? Hulk has around 24 points of articulation, with his head on a ball-joint and his feet on a similar (though not a ball) hinge which allows for great movement to stabilize and compensate for Hulk’s massive size and bulk - and I’m not just saying that, the toy is really pretty hefty when you pick him up, honest. There’s also a hinge of flesh on his back on each side of his arms (above, 2nd pic from the left), which moves and allows for extra mobility and arm extension without hinderance by the overlapping “cage” of his many, many, maaaaaany muscles.

Hulk can strike a pretty wide array of poses, especially given his size and all the articulation he has. He can’t pass the Murdershow Karate Kick™ test, because well, he can’t raise his legs like that. Still though, he’s got some pretty good balance on him. One thing I did notice though, as the more pics I took, the more loose his ankle joints got, to the point he would fall over pretty easy without being touched if too much weight was put on a single ankle. Kind of a bummer, considering that was only about 25 minutes worth of usage before the looseness set in, but for those that know the “nail polish trick” it’d be an easy enough fix.

As for paint apps, they’re great for as little as they are. Hulk’s body is a good base green but that’s the color of the plasic, with some various highlights added I would imagine in the plastic itself too. His pants are painted a really subtle purple, they almost look grey in regular light. And his eyesballs, unlike every regular movie line Hulk I’ve seen so far, are both painted to be looking in the same direction, instead of the googley-eyed thing with the other figs. Blah.

My only complaint with the paint, and this is probably a personal one, but the sheen of the plastic kind of ruins the look for me. I think he’d look so much better with a flat wash, or maybe a spray of some Testors Dull-coat over him, to get rid of that plastic (and unnatural) shine around all his edges, especially his pants. But that’s something I’ll probably do myself down the road, so a minor gripe overall.

The best thing about this guy though, has to be his size. The other movie figures, as well as having the bad paint apps and fugly sculpts, also lacked any stature. I think those figures are only like 5 something inches tall, meaning pairing them up against Iron Man (or really any recent superhero figure, where the average size is closer to 6 inches.) would be a joke.

NOT WITH THIS GUY THOUGH.

He’ll sneak up on Iron Man, who’s busy gloating over his recent box office success, maybe a few martini’s in him, only to find himself unawares and unprepared for the savagery of The Incredible Hulk! Body slammed, then bury his face into the ground, and well… POP! In the end it’s obvious that Hulk is strongest one there is, STRONGEST!

All in all, it’s a great figure, with the new head making it a nice re-release for an exclusive. And if you want a Hulk after seeing the movie this Friday, I’d say this is the one to look out for. Good for kids and collectors, the funny smelling rubber though makes me think you’re probably going to want to keep this away from any youngsters with a penchant for putting toys in their mouth, or husbands with the same problem.

Buy it directly from Target.com!