Marvel Select Avengers Hulk

I passed on this guy at least three times, but caved on Friday, unable to resist another big Hulk in my bulging collection  :D   I'd seen reviews of both the Marvel Select and Hasbro Wal-Mart exclusive Avengers Hulk, and this one just looks so much better with much deeper skin tones and a much heftier physique. Marvel Select's articulation has improved quite a bit over time as well, this figure sporting joints I'd not seen in the line before. And at nearly 10" tall, this Hulk makes the Hasbro version look so ...small. While the packaging on these Marvel Select figures is excessive, it does look nice with side panel artwork- a feature I really enjoy.

First thing's first- this Hulk has very expressive rocker joints in the ankles, only seen on Collossus among the Marvel Select line up to this point. This mean he cand stand flat footed in many more positions than before, helping look more natural and hold his pose more securely. We've been seeing more of this from Hasbro lately, but I was surprised to see Marvel Select do it so soon after. After years of fanboy complaints about articulation, Diamond Toys added some more points, which is useful on this thick figure.

 

There's a lot of great stuff going on here, particularly in the paint department. The shading around the muscles give his dark green skin some good depth. His pants look a little more brown in the pictures, but have more of an ashen plum color in person. His whole tone has a unified intensity throughout the figure, and wouldn't be surprised if the same grey used to shade the skin was used in the blend for the basecoat on his pants. There's a little slop around the waist, and his left ankle was scratched, but his coloring is so good. They painted his toes and fingernails, People.

The face looks ugly and great! Hulk,s mouth is amazingly detailed, as are his eyes, and the hairline was carefully detailed. His head is limited in the back, but it's on a ball joint that is otherwise expressive.

Hulk has no waist joint, which could have been an easy addition, but he does have a torso swivel which is fine. The real surprise was his DCUC laterally hinged T hips, another completely new joint for a Marvel Select that usually have a ball-hinge combo. He even has a cut swivel in the thighs like a DCUC. The hips are harder to move, locking into four positions as moved out from the body so far he could do the splits. Seriously. Be careful moving them- they are somewhat clunky to operate, like Marvel Select joints can be.

Hulk has cut hoints at the wrists like the previous Select Hulk which is fine. The Wal-Mart exclusive Avengers Hulk by Hasbro enjoys a hinge here as well, and has a left grabbing/open hand which is different from the more typical two-fisted Hulks we've seen. The Hasbro also has double-jointed knees and elbows, which breaks up more of the sculpt- this is fine, but as I've said before, Marvel Selects go for sculpt over articulation.

Aside from wondering how this Marvel Select Avengers Hulk measures up to the predictably smaller Hasbro version, I was more curious about him next to my other Marvel Select Hulk- a favorite in many ways...

 

As I thought, the Marvel Select is really bigger- no, not taller. Just bigger. But the Avengers Select has a physique modeled after the Mark Ruffalo Hulk, and seems to capture that well, whereas the Select is like the classic comics Hulk. And like the comics Hulk, the Select has brighter coloring to go with his exaggerated features, while the Avengers Select has dramatically subdued tones. While you can see the Select's wider feet & legs, it's really the torso and arms that make him bigger than the Ruffalo Hulk. The Select Hulk finally giving me everything I'd wanted in a Hulk last summer, I've found the new Select Avengers Hulk to be his equal- picking a favorite would be tough. They both do their thing well, and I appreciate them equally for their unique aesthetic. They are both big, deluxe action figures that look killer!

Naturally, this would be an ideal chance to play BIG TOY/little toy here on the Super-DuperToyBox- one of my favorite ways to play! So I've shot both the Marvel Select and Hasbro Wal-Mart exclusive Avengers Hulk together here for comparison. Just kiddin'!  :D  This is actually my Marvel Universe Hulk from the Hasbro 3 3/4" Classic Avengers boxed set I reviewed awhile back, which is slightly shorter than the aforementioned  :D  I love his purple shorts and Cro-Mag looking brow- one of my favorite Marvel Universe action figures! Marvel Select Avengers Hulk will now share the Hulk shelf with the others who guard my rock & roll CDs, a fitting station for the time being I thought. Unlike a great many of the heroes I've come to read about since I got back into comics a couple years ago, I've loved the Hulk since I was a kid! I lived for Friday nights with Bixby/Ferrigno on the The Incredible Hulk CBS TV show, wore a Hulk T-shirt, and had both a twelve and 8" Mego Hulks! It was great to see the character done well in the recent Avengers film  :D

...Oh c'mon- you knew I would do this....  :D

AAaarrgh!! Make It FUN!