I'd seen this figure on various online review sites, but when the Avengers Assemble toy lines hit local shelves, Gamma Fist Hulk was not among the toys. Though other figures in the line, like Black Widow, a few times, I never chanced upon Hulk, Hawkeye, or The Leader in the wild. I suppose that the figure was short packed (it is huge after all) and I have been missing the local distributions lately, so it likely sold out as soon as the boxes were unloaded.
But after Christmas, some of the toy stores must have gotten a few more boxes in. I found a single Hulk figure in Toys 'R' Us Galleria. After some flip-flopping over the new Marvel 4" figure price tag (p700), I picked it up.
The packaging touts S.H.I.E.L.D. Gear that comes with this series, but as mentioned, the amount of plastic in this figure meant that Hasbro must have decided against any accessories. The packaging isn't really a stand out next to other lines in the toy store, mostly sticking to the blues and silver that Hasbro's Marvel Universe line is known for. The back is dominated by his name in a huge font and one "action" shot of the figure. It feels rather lazy.
What makes it worse is that there are three (or more?) Hulk toys from the Avengers Assemble line: the 3.75"All-Star, the 6" Gamma Slam, and the 10" Gamma Smash. All of them, both packaging and figure, are rather lackluster.
The sculpt on the figure is very nice, but I really take issue with the utterly boring look on his face. The likeness to the Ruffalo Hulk in The Avengers is somewhat apparent, but there's no anger. No clenched teeth, no open rage face. For all appearances, he could be reading the a cookbook. He's less "Hulk Smash!" and more "Hulk Pat Dry Gently, but Firmly!"
On another note, be sure to check the face before you buy, since it looks like that's where any sloppy paint might occur with the black hair and eyeballs. I don't have any problems with mine, but that's where the paint apps are. The pants do have some purple as well, but they're less of an issue since there's not a whole lot of detail. The rest of him is cast in color; a dull green. I wish it was a little deeper, but at least it's not the neon color of the Marvel Universe Comic 2-Pack version.
Let's look over his joints.
He's got a ball-jointed neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, and knees. His hips are those bar-type swivel/hinge joints where if you move one, the other swings as well, unless you keep it in place. His feet are a problem, though. They're sporting those new rocker/hinge ankles, but they don't allow you to move his toes up toward his shins. The range of motion stops just short of 90 degrees to his legs, so you need to keep his legs apart and his feet at angles in order to keep him stable. It's a little thing that just pisses me off.
He also has no wrist swivels, which is an oversight that makes me want to rip his arm off.
| Hulk dismember ugly action figure! |
In the end, I wouldn't recommend hunting this one down. If you can find it for around p400-500, it might be a good pick-up, but at p700, and with issues in all three areas I normally look at (appearance, articulation, and accessories) it's hard not to get hit with buyer's remorse.
The only thing keeping me from it is the fact that Hulk has always been my favorite character. Another figure to add to my small collection of 4" Hulk figures is another in the "pro" column and balances out some of the cons I mentioned above. And, hey, maybe someday after some practice, I can swap that head out and customize some other parts to make this the figure it has the potential to be.
Final verdict? Meh.
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