The first thing I want to point out about this sculpt is its raw size. He may not be perfectly in scale as far as height goes, and on the other this is one super wide toy. You'll notice the photo above is in landscape format, because he's almost as wide as he is tall, which is a great effect when compared to the other more meager sized toys in the same line. I wish he was a little bit taller to match, though he still comes across as a ...well, hulk when compared to the other figures. He has monstrous proportions, with huge, unnaturally big muscles, and that's good because they aren't supposed to look normal. Bulbous veins accentuate the already swollen body parts, meaning this sculpt makes him look angry. The arms are longer than you might expect, but it's a good effect too when paired with the shorter legs and extremely wide torso. Some people might think the proportions are a little off, though I'll make the argument that they add a dangerous ape-like quality to the character. The one glaring issue is his tiny little head. He grows to enormous sizes everywhere but his head? I know he's dumb, but it's still too small, and also set too low on his frame, seemingly coming out of the front of his chest, instead of the top of it. The details really come out in this sculpt, with sinewy muscle strands, giant veins, creased feet and hands, along with visible pockets and a zipper on his pants (that must be one strong zipper). He also has nice wrinkles and tears at the top and bottom which look a bit soft and rounded to me, crisper edges would have been nice. This body is really pretty well done, especially when considering the small scale they were forced to work with, although once again, I'm pulled back to his head for problems. I really can't get into this face sculpt. First off, it's too thin, with taut skin, almost like someone who hasn't eaten in two weeks, with deep crevices in the cheeks and jaw. Bulking it up a little bit with less bugged-out eyes would be much advised. The next problem is the flat top hair, which looks more like a combination between M.C. Hammer and Medusa than it does the Hulk. I can't describe exactly how and why his face looks terrible, I just know that it does. You'll just have to make that call for yourself as well, because despite that weakness, he's a strong sculpt otherwise.     

Sculpt Score: 7 / 10

 This is a toy that could have looked really basic, because he's mostly reliant on the color of his plastics. Without the extra effort that Hasbro put in, he would have looked very plastic-like and toyish, but thankfully they went the extra mile and added some wash and color variations to greatly improve the appearance of this figure. Sadly, those steps forward bring stumbles along with them as well. For instance, Hulk has a great green/brown color effect across most of his green body, and that's the problem, it's just across most of it, not all. Each body part was evidently sprayed independently, because you'll see a great wash on one spot, but then the area directly adjacent to it will just be the basic green, and it's quite jarring to the eyes. Where the color is consistent, it looks really great, it's just too strong in some spots and too weak in others, so you get some problems, though it's still a big positive with all things considered. Speaking of the basic green that he's cast in, it's a slightly different shade depending on which body part you're looking at, as his lower arms are a much softer plastic that takes the color quite differently than his torso, looking both less shiny and a lighter color of green. This color mismatch isn't devastating, though it's just another smaller problem adding up. On a good note, the colors are great shades, especially since this green isn't afraid to be vibrant, straying away from the often more yellow color we see Hulk in. The purple pants are also quite bright and deep, offering a strong contrast to his body, and looking just like the stereotypical Hulk image that many of us have in our mind. The pants also have a nice darker purple wash to bring out the wrinkles and avoid the toyish look. Let's head back to his face once more for more complaints! "REVIEWER SMASH" indeed. He has a darker green covering the indented areas of his face, actually bringing out the ugly details of the sculpt even further. This is paired with sloppy looking teeth, eyes that aren't the same size, and hair that looks just awful. Hulk is definitely not going to win any beauty pageants with makeup like this, which is a shame, because he has some great features elsewhere.   

Paint Score: 7 / 10

 This character often exhibits agility that's uncommon in something his size. Jumping, running, and fighting are all a part of the Hulk's daily regimen, so having articulation in his toys is essential. This particular toy has a fair amount of movement options, but it's rather limited when looking at the often much more acrobatic toys in this line. The green guy has standard ball style shoulders, swivel/hinge combo joints at the knees and elbows, cut wrists, hinge ankles, a swivel neck, and a limited ball style torso. His hips may technically be balls (I've heard a few people say this), though I can't tell exactly what they are, and they pretty much just operate as useless swivels, because you can't do much of anything with them. Hulk definitely won't be sitting down anytime soon because of these poor hips. What is offered is enough to find some dynamic and personality-laden poses, just not enough to do everything you might want. He mostly restricted to standing straight up because of the bad hips and subsequently unless hinges at the knees and ankles. Since his legs are angled funny, he'll be perpetually bent at the knee too. None of the joints really have a wide range of movement, because his huge muscles usually limit the angles they can bend at, particularly at the knees and elbows. Even his shoulders suffer from this problem too. The joints feel sturdy and smooth, except that the soft plastic hands pull out of the forearm pretty easily, but snap back on just as quickly too, so it's not a big issue. His elbow articulation combines oddly with the sculpt, to make it look like he doesn't actually have any elbows, just rounded flesh. Every other joint works well with the sculpting, and doesn't take away from his overall appearance. One other change I wish had been implemented is a ball neck substitute for that useless swivel.

Articulation Score: 7 / 10

   

 The Hulk is an inherently fun character that lets us see what it would be like to live with unbridled aggression. He's got an amazing history and a huge base of fans for a reason, because he's just fun. This toy takes that already enjoyable character and brings him to life in your hands, although not perfectly, it's still a joy to play with. His smaller size makes him perfect for a kid's hands or allows you twice as much space on your display shelf as a large figure, but without compromising the quality sculpt and paint like some smaller toys do. His articulation is enough to allow you to play with him or find a cool pose and his size makes him stand out in your soon to be huge Marvel Universe display. He doesn't include an accessory or have any sort of action feature, although you have to question how necessary they are when you're getting a classic character who wouldn't really make use of either anyway. Hasbro ups the ante here by also including their online Fury Files element, in which you receive a code with Hulk that allows you to unlock some backstory and secret information online in a continuous narrative. Including a story and play feature outside of the toy itself is a great element that adds even more potential to keep people interested. There's also a neat little card with an image a biography included in the package. It's stuff like that that makes a toy fun to play with, but it doesn't hurt when the toy itself is fun too, and the Hulk accomplishes both of these. 

Fun Score: 9 / 10

 At $8.44, Hulkie here definitely isn't a steal. Coming in at a considerably higher price than both GI Joes and DC Infinite Heroes, he would have to do some amazing things to justify that price point that is well above other lines at the same scale. And sadly he doesn't do those amazing things. Sure he's a large toy for the scale, feels heavy in your hands, and required a lot of plastic to form, but that's not enough to make him cost an extra $2 than what he reasonably should. He doesn't include any accessories and shouldn't have been particularly demanding from a design standpoint. He does have a lot of attention being paid to his sculpt and paint and Hasbro went all out with the online Fury Files feature and similar pack-ins. I think at this price point for such a small scale, we should almost be seeing Build-A-Figure pieces included with everyone. I don't think Hulk is going to fall apart, and he'll probably be a lot of fun for a long time, it's just that people don't have this kind of money for this kind of toy anymore, even though he is a well made, large, and well produced toy. 

Value Score: 6 / 10 

Summary

 7 - Has a lot of details worked into his body but some of them are soft, wonky proportions that still manage to work, head is tiny ...and ugly, he's big just like he should be. 

 7 - Great idea with the dark wash and brush effects, but not always well executed, some slight color mismatching, face looks pretty bad, colors work really well together, generally looks good and avoids looking too toy-like. 

 7 - Considerable number of points for the scale, nothing is broken, generally looks good with the sculpt, some really limited ranges of motion, hips and neck are useless, somewhat fun to pose and play.  

 9 - Some sort of accessory, action feature, or slight articulation increase is all it would take for a 10, great online setup, iconic design and backstory that everyone loves, classic character, great for play or display, pack-ins are interesting addition. 

 6 - He's big, durable, has awesome pack-ins, exhibits good production values, and has some attention to detail being expressed, no accessory or BAF piece. The price is just too high. 

Overall Score: 73 / 100 - This is a Good Toy

Hasbro's newest Hulk is a mediocre toy in most every technical category, that despite being fun, is a pretty poor value. 

P.S. This could be the figure I'm giving away this month, just leave a comment for a chance to win (if it's the one).

-The Articulated One