The frustration with Hulk

[monron999]

So ML has been around a long time. Toybiz innovated the action figure industry with it so many years ago & Hasbro has almost perfected it, but it's taken way to long to get to that point. My biggest frustration is that thru it all, we still haven't gotten an perfect Hulk figure. I know no figure will ever be perfect but I'm talking about the one figure that all us fans agree is the best representation of the character & hold it as the stand out, must have rendition for their collection. I did enjoy the movie based figures, probably more than most people, actually, but they are what they are & they just don't match well with the comic based figures. Hasbro got real close with the McGuiness Hulk but the articulation issues & face sculpt held it back in many of our eyes. In actuality these issues are probably redeemable by the simplicity of adding an ankle pivot & a new head sculpt, but given the amazing job Hasbro has done with its most recent BAFs, Rhino & Hulkbuster, I think they are primed to really hit it out of the park with a new Hulk figure.

 

Now, let's just establish that it probably can't be done correctly as a single carded figure. Due to cost of materials, production costs & packaging limitations it doesn't look like many single carded figures are gonna be much larger than the wrecking crew or movie Hulk figs at this point. Any attempt to do it that way would most likely be scaled down, resulting in yet another lackluster outing for the Emerald Giant. That leaves only a few ways this figure can be given its proper due. Of course the most obvious answer would be as a BAF, right? This brings the question of which brand it could be done under. It couldn't be a Hulk wave, because as the centerpiece of the wave the Hulk would have to come as a single card figure while also being produced in larger quantities than other figures in the wave which would lead to the previously mentioned cost/packaging/quality concerns. Added to that is the fact that most of the other characters & enemies that might be included in the wave would most likely be very large themselves & maybe even worthy of their own BAF (Abomination, A-Bomb, Maestro, etc.). I don't think we'll be seeing any Hulk specific waves in the foreseeable future, so I think there are three brands we could possibly see a new "perfect" Hulk BAF.

 

Firstly, my favorite but most unlikely prediction would be a Defenders wave. With Netflix's Defenders based shows on the horizon they could creat a few waves loosely tied into them & with the size of the roster, past & current, they could use it as a chance to put out some fan faves that don't quite fit in other waves and redo some previous efforts that might have just missed the spot on the last go round. Figures like Iron Fist, Quicksilver & Beast can be redone with the new body molds. Fan faves like Silver Surfer, Nighthawk & Moon Knight could also make the roster. They could even make room for alternate versions of some charters like classic Dr. Strange, modern Black Panther, classic Namor & Shadowlands Daredevil. And, depending on how many waves they could get out of it we could see some more BAFs like Thing (non-FF) & Hercules who are both in need of redos as well.

 

The second, more likely scenario would be to include him in the Spider-Man line. This could work, as it seems to be the brand Hasbro has used to encompass some of the other franchises such as Ghost Rider & Daredevil & a wide range of fringe characters as well. This line also seems to be based mostly in the comic realm much more than the cinematic, which is fine by me.

 

The third and most likely scenario would be another Avengers wave where the inclusion of yet another movie Hulk could be bypassed in favor of a movie or comic Falcon, a comic Black Widow, comic Winter Soldier & a comic accurate Hulk BAF. I'll forego any further character list to save the danger of tuning this into another wish list, which we have enough of already.

 

Another, more devious option would be to make it an exclusive to an online store or to the Hasbro online store similar to Mattel's DCUC line, which I believe is the eventuality of how we'll purchase some of the larger figures that don't find a home in any specific wave. That would hurt the pocket book a little but maybe not as much as purchasing an entire wave to complete a BAF so I'm actually on board for that option as well. At any rate I am willing to pay a slightly heftier price to finally get a great Hulk figure.

[tarot]

I hate to say this but no. do not waste a baf spot on a character we have dozens of. beside TB Face-off Hulk is the perfect hulk.

[Rukkdeez]

I hate to say this but no. do not waste a baf spot on a character we have dozens of. beside TB Face-off Hulk is the perfect hulk.

Thank you. You beat me to it. Furthermore, that Hulk is universally considered the best Hulk. Based (very accurately) off of Sal Buscema. If there are any gripes, it would be the desire for one of the hands to be a truly closed fist.

[decon]

I mainly collect Hulk. The only one that I find perfect is the 12 inch Marvel Legends Icon Hulk figure. Great articulation, best facial expression and sculpt.

[monron999]

Okay, I will concede that the Face Off Hulk is the best, but isn't that considered the classic version of the character?. We need a bit more modern one. I know with the constant changes the Hulk goes thru it's kinda hard to pin one specific look down but we need something that will fit in with the new direction of ML lately. I have compared that Hulk to the recent Rhino & Hulkbuster figures & even the movie Hulks, but it just doesnt stand up in either size comparison or look of any part of his look in let's say the last 10 years. So let's say I probably used the wrong wording and should have said we need a better modern Hulk, specifically more comic accurate rather than endless movie versions, who like I said, were good figures as far as movie figures go. I also agree that the 12 Hulk was the best rendering, but they never translated it to 6 inch. They used some versions of it but it was always with different pants or different head sculpt or some alternate version of the hulk. If they had made that specific figure in 6 inch this would be a moot point because it would have been the perfect one

[Spiral32]

I mainly collect Hulk and Spider-man Legends. I'll agree with you, there hasn't been a "perfect" Hulk yet in the Legends line, although the one in the Faceoff set is pretty close, and the Icons 12 inch one is my personal favorite Hulk figure produced. I'd honestly love to just see more Hulk characters in the Legends line, because in the last couple years they've kinda slowed down with Hulk characters. I've got several Savage Hulks though, and I'd personally love to see them redo some other versions of Hulk like Joe Fixit, Professor, War Hulk, and a good comic accurate Bruce Banner. I would also love to see them do a good single carded Red Hulk and A-Bomb in future waves and release that Lyra Savage She Hulk they showed off a while ago.

[greenlucario]

I don't know, McGuinness Hulk works well enough for me. He's big enough and goes well with Red Hulk. I'd go Face-Off Hulk like the rest but the lack of closed fists or hands hat can close into fists kind of ruins it for me. It's the Hulk after all, he NEEDS fists.

[DSmith]

Sorry... Face-Off Hulk is THE best Hulk. No other version or update is desired, nor required. I can't imagine anything making a new Hulk so great that it necessitates replacing this Hulk in my display. I want White/clear Vision from the new 3pack, but dread having to take another Hulk in my collection just to get it. What a waste!

[elvismarx]

I'm actually totally on board with this, despite the negative response.

 

The country I live in is fine and everything, but we never had consistent releases of Legends at retail. The last series that had a general release was Sentinel series. Never saw two packs at all. For this reason I never picked it up, and my Legends collecting basically stopped until I got my crap together and started buying online. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has had this problem or a similar one. Added to the fact that Face Off Hulk came out nine and a half years ago - I'm pretty sure there is a huge pocket of Legends collectors who have only begun to collect in that interim.

 

Don't get me wrong, Face Off Hulk is awesome and I agree it's the best made entry in this scale, but I don't really want to pay second hand collector market prices for it - especially since our exchange rate with US dollars is not favorable to me at all. I like the Hulk from the Two-Pack with Valkyrie, but the bowl cut is just way too severe for me. Plus it still hasn't seen a single release (has it?) so still isn't particularly easy to get hold of for everyone. I had an Avengers movie Hulk that I hated (I just don't want movie figures... recently found a delightful solution to the War Machine debacle) and the Select Hulk which was way too big.

 

That being said, there are a lot of you hardouts who would rather see that spot spent on a new character - totally understandable. Remember though, what you ideally want is usually not exactly what Hasbro gives you. That's half the reason everyone has a new-character-want-list longer than their intestine. I don't think Hasbro releasing one all new Hulk figure would be any more of a disservice than getting any other repaint or slightly updated version of something you already have.

 

I approach Hasbro Legends tentatively. I don't go all in like a lot of you. There are givens. Every line is going to have something I don't want or need. If I like the BAF I have to go with it and try and sell the extras. If not, I pick and choose. SURELY this isn't just me?

 

So I'd be pretty excited to see a new Hulk in any of the forms suggested by monron (you magnificent bastard) and I'm pretty sure a whole lot of other collectors would too - maybe not everyone, but since when is everyone happy? Enjoyed your thoughts on the matter bro, and I love your defenders idea.

[elvismarx]

Having thought about this a little bit more (for some reason) I guess the whole point of BAF is to reward those who are buying everything. I suppose it would be more worthwhile for Hasbro to release the hypothetical new Hulk figure as a stand alone with a new BAF for the devoted rather than pushing the Hulk BAF onto people who wouldn't have intended to buy the whole line.

 

I guess the latter could go three ways:
A) More casual collectors would pick up the whole line for the Hulk, resulting in greater sales.
B) Longtime collectors would be less inclined to buy the whole wave for the BAF, resulting in lower sales.

C) Both, and the sales stay pretty much the same.
D) I have work to do why am I on the internet talking about an imaginary Hulk toy?

 

Would be interesting to see some stats about which waves sold the most (I remember someone talking about this once, maybe not this board though) and relate those to the BAFs and how "desireable" they were to collectors. 'Course it would get muddy with movie branding etc. Nevertheless, I'm sure it would be interesting.

[greenlucario]

Sorry... Face-Off Hulk is THE best Hulk. No other version or update is desired, nor required. I can't imagine anything making a new Hulk so great that it necessitates replacing this Hulk in my display. I want White/clear Vision from the new 3pack, but dread having to take another Hulk in my collection just to get it. What a waste!

Well said, I too like that pack (for the Ultron and Vision) but don't want another Hulk, too many as is. Honestly between the articulation on either Face-Off or Hasbro Two Pack Hulk, or the overall sculpt/detail/paint on Face-Off Hulk there's no need for a new one, just a re-release if anything.

[damprime]

 

Sorry... Face-Off Hulk is THE best Hulk. No other version or update is desired, nor required. I can't imagine anything making a new Hulk so great that it necessitates replacing this Hulk in my display. I want White/clear Vision from the new 3pack, but dread having to take another Hulk in my collection just to get it. What a waste!

Well said, I too like that pack (for the Ultron and Vision) but don't want another Hulk, too many as is. Honestly between the articulation on either Face-Off or Hasbro Two Pack Hulk, or the overall sculpt/detail/paint on Face-Off Hulk there's no need for a new one, just a re-release if anything.

 

I feel the same! I either own or have owned (can't remember which one I sold) both of these and they're awesome. I also have the first Avengers movie Hulk. Between these, King Hulk and the ones from the Fing Fang Foom series, I'm good. With the ones that came out recently I can't see anymore. Too many Hulks. Caps too. Iron Man gets a pass because of all his many armors.

[Heisenberg]

I know that I am alone in this but I am not a huge fan of the face off hulk. Something with the head sculpt but I think that is just my own odd personal taste than the figure itself. I would suggest getting one of the Marvel Select Hulks. I use that figure to display with my Avengers and it works pretty well.

[Rukkdeez]

Which one? If it's the Incredible Hulk, then even though it's probably 5he best looking figure, it's also WAAAY too big.

[playboymike]

The Face off hulk is cool, but with my marvel select thor ( the god of thunder thor ), it's a little too small, and other marvel legends hulks are even shorter or narrower, so i will stay with my marvel select hulk ( the first one ). It's just the right size, not too big like the icons but bigger than the face off. Now, if hasbro were to release a hulk with the new marvel universe hulk body mold that's at lease 9.5 to 10 inches tall, then i might pick that hullk.