Marvel Select: Hulkbuster Iron Man

Well, here's a sight for sore eyes! Iron Man's Hulkbuster Armor had always been a fan favorite as well as my own! Based off one of the most iconic armor he wore in the 90s, the Modular Armor, this bad boy is named to do exactly what it sounds to do: go toe to toe with the Hulk. There are plenty of things to say about this figure, but suffice to say, it's my first Marvel Select review; not my first Marvel Select since I have a few (check out my last The Red review to check them out; they're wall mount displays), but this is the first one I decided to open and let me tell you, it was a good decision!

Marvel Select packaging reminds me of the way back when Toybiz in their 'pre-Marvel Legends' days. Unfortunately, this kind of packaging almost always guarantees that once it's out, it's no longer going back in(there are ways to open it so it can be put back in the case as if it was never taken out. Too much meticulous moments for me though). Though I have kept Marvel Select as wall mount displays because they look good in the case; this one just screamed to be opened though for a few simple reasons; one being more prominent than the others:

I have the Hulkbuster from the rider series still 'mint' in the box. I doubt I will ever open that guy because the price for a MIB Hulkbuster from the rider series is a bit too much nowadays. Had to get one open because of that reason. So moving on to Hulkbuster Marvel Select...

First and foremost before I go in depth I just want to point out that this is a beautiful figure. Again, I'll do some comparison in height, but just by built, it's a pretty steady thing. Solid. Sculpt is amazing and some of the details put on the armor is just breathe taking. So many things sculpted for fine details and not a lot of shortcuts(if any are noticeable). One thing I will say as a gripe is that Marvel Select is known for its details, and details include paint job--I have some minor paint distortions here and there especially on the chest area. Not noticeable, but up close it is. Though for the price of this figure, it's still well made and I can't really complain.

Now it's time to talk about his articulation to which, I'm really really impressed. There was a time when Marvel Select is just a detailed statue with some minor articulation. Well, from what I have seen with some of their recent figures, that isn't the case anymore. Just looking at this figure inside his box, it seems it's going to be limited but again, I'm impressed. He actually has some of the basic articulation that a Marvel Legends has; of course with the way this one is sculpted, certain things are hindered, though not by much.

One of the main things that will probably annoy most people is the fact that his head is so hard to move; it can swivel, but since the joint is so taut, it's hard to move his head. Some of these shots I took, it was hard to get his head to really move so it's not a perfect picture, but it's enough at most times.

And since we are talking about the negative, I do have to say that lack of alternate hands hinders a few of his pose. The open palm on the left makes a lot of sense for the repulsers, but two fists would make a lot of sense too since he is a melee armor to fight a being that is all punching and smashing. At least they gave us a right fist. Well, since this is a Hulkbuster figure, I can't not show him without fending off against the Hulk, right?

Was a really fun time doing all that. As you can see, he is a good size for Marvel Legends Hulk! AoU Hulk fit the spot just right! But what's a Hulkbuster without fighting more Hulks?!

vs AoU Hulk, Rulk, and Grey Hulk

It's probably a bit unrealistic that Iron Man beats ALL these Hulks, but it's all for fan depiction. Again, fun posing him and all. So here's a comparison of this Select with other loose Hulkbusters I own.

He is almost a bigger doppleganger of the 3.75 movie figure Hulkbuster. Almost identical, just obviously bigger. Th other "Hulkbusters" are a far cry; of course I don't have the Toybiz Marvel Legends loose for comparison. But how does he look next to 'regular' Iron Man armor?

I've always loved the Extremis Armor; it being part of the Terrax wave was a bit underwhelming since it was the first wave of Hasbro's 'new' Marvel Legends. So what I'm trying to say is that it's out dated now... but still a wonderful pose next to the Hulkbuster to try and replicate this cover:

One of my favorite comic book covers to date. The Marvel Select Hulkbsuter actually looks a lot like the one in this cover, actually.

Minor paint scuffs, tight joint on the head, and lack of accessories... sounds like Marvel Legends complaint right? Well, it doesn't hurt this figure that much since for the price, it's a damn good figure. It's a damn good figure period. For my first Marvel Select out of the box, it did its magic. Of course adding it to the red and gold hall of armors is a great thing! Love this figure! In conclusion, anyone who is an Iron Man fan(and is a fan of the Hulkbuster armor), this is a freaking must! I think it's a good substitute for the Rider Series Toybiz one. Least you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get a Hulkbuster now!

ML Thanos BAF: Hulk (AoU)

The green Goliath! Hulk has always been a stapled member of the Avengers despite his overall lack of control of his personality. Over the years that has changed and he has become more of a team member, and of course, with the movie Avengers, he seems to be more suitable for the job than the earlier comic book counter part of his. Being the first cinematic Hulk figure I own, how does this fare to the rest of my Hulk collection?

It's almost insulting to have Hulk smashed(pun) inside a small Hasbro box such as this one. If we were judging on size alone, I think Hulk would've made a good BAF, but let's be honest, if there are a five other Hulks that came before that weren't BAFs, why on Earth would it make sense that he would be one here? Well at any given rate, let's just jump on the figure and check him out.

I'm not a huge Hulk fan and I think I have made that known more than once. There is something awfully boring about Hulk and it may just be his aesthetics. Big brawny characters were never my type in any genre I am into. Slow, powerful, and just down right muscle is what Hulk is about; though he is the epitome of rage. Though for a Hulk figure, I say this one can pull it off both in cinematic point of view and comic book. This figure has the size, the mean look(does retain the Mark Ruffalo look, but Hulk has been drawn so many ways that this one can pass as comic book), the details on the muscle, and the right amount of green. Though one thing is that his pants does have an "Avenger" logo on it. It implies that Banner gets special pants that likely concurs with his 'condition' of always being angry. Oh, and this is 5th most used body mold Hasbro has; usually leans on the REALLY big male figures. Hulk is a proper candidate.

He lacks in accessory department. The right arm BAF piece of Thanos is the only thing he has to really offer. Wish he had the 'shock wave' clap alternate hands!

Articulation wise, well, he is surprisingly nimble for someone who just smashes, jumps really high, and yells for popularity. It's even more ironic that he has more agility to offer than some of the smaller figures that are suppose to be the fast, agile characters. It mostly has a lot to do with his leg articulation. This guy can do the splits if one really wants him to be in the pose. The one thing about this figure though is that he is too heavy for any of the figure stands that I own so no high jump poses for him. Also, no alternate hands leads him to limited dynamic poses.

House of M, King Hulk, Rulk, Grey Hulk, Planet Hulk, Maestro, and Spider-Hulk

So for someone who isn't a big fan of Hulk, I sure how a good amount, don't I? Honestly, it's hard not to have Hulk since he is a pretty popular character. I would imagine that I have a couple of other characters that fall in that category.

So all in all, I am glad that a movie Hulk is now in my possession. It's honestly a good figure and probably one of the most articulated ones I own. Would I want to own another Cinematic Hulk? Well if they do something to change his look, then possibly. All in all, I think I'm good with this Hulk. He does come in one of my most anticipated BAF set so why not? 

Marvel BAFs: Asunder

BAFs: Terrax, Blob, Fin Fang Foom, Anihilus, Armin Zola

Collecting can vary with the myriad of genres that supply tangible trinkets for people to purchase and 'collect'. The crowd of collectors can vary from Jordan collectors, Autographs, China Set, Books, and while there are a dozen others out there in the waters, obviously I fall in the category of Toy Collecting. Even in Toy Collecting there are sub sections to delve into! Comic books, Anime, Video game paraphernalia! Then we can even scrutinize even further by splitting comic books into their respected companies such as Marvel and DC ... etc. So now let's go into the meat! Toy collecting... I won't go in depth details as to it, but as of right now I am VERY much into the BAFs collecting craze. With the collection I have right now, I take full pride when I complete a certain character with the expensive and time strenuous effort through store searching and internet surfing.

BAFs completed: Iron Monger, Rulk, Onlsaught, and Apocalypse.

But just from the picture above, some have laid dormant in my collection and may or MAY never ever see full assembly. There are a couple of other missing pieces from other BAFs that I KNEW I wasn't going to collect from the get go so I threw away immediately(Brood, Mojo, and M.O.D.O.K.). But for some reason, I kept a couple and the picture above are what I have. Makes me ponder if I SHOULD. Let's delve into the complete 'family' tree of these BAFs shall we?

All pictures are from Marvellegends.net.

This was the first Marvel Legends that Hasbro produced that I came across with. Anihilus may have came first, but for some reason, I saw Blob first. Err... yeah no. And Movie Jean Grey? Wow. Atrocious.

I have Planet Hulk and Ultimate Iron Man. HAD Banshee... But as for the rest? White Drag Queen?! Err, I might've considered this guy, but seeing as I threw the wing of Anihilus away and we have a butch version of Emma Frost? Yeah No.

Now this guy! Hasbro made a lot of Legends BAFs and some of them are directed to certain characters. They made a FF BAF exclusive, a Spider-Man movie verse(yuck), and Hulk, which is where Fin Fang Foom omitted from. This Dragon is colossal! Probably the biggest BAF Hasbro has done. Suffice it to say, I'm not going to have Doc Samson or Absorbing man in my shelf or even SPEND the money on them. So... it may be a pass altogether.

The toy community raved when they announced Marvel Legends' return with a new BAF. With the exception of Klaw, these are all acceptable and enamoring characters! Thor doesn't come with a piece for some reason though so he is more of a fan service than a piece to build. Suffice it to say... this guy might see the light! (MIGHT is a very loose term for 'hell yeah').

Yup. So that concludes my rant in regards to this toy line. There are a few more coming out from Hasbro and ... believe me... I may have more problems with the lack of space in my room in the near/far future. 

Marvel Legends BAF: "RULK" (Red Hulk) Series

Rulk Series: Union Jack, Spiral, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Warlock, Silver Savage

This is the series that got me to really start paying attention to Hasbro's BAF line. Hell, it's the first of their wave that really got me to start seeing Hasbro Marvel Legends in a new light, PERIOD. After Toybiz passed on the mantle, I was a bit sullen seeing the 'Blob series' and the debacle of Movie Phoenix and Emma Frost looking so masculine. A combination of bad BAF and solo figures does not bode well with me. But again, the Red Hulk Series gave me some hope and that said hope perpetuated to the present when Marvel Legends was revived!

Onslaught Series

Red Hulk aka RULK's size is almost on par with Onslaught. Though truthfully that doesn't really say much considering how Onslaught compares to Apocalypse. But in regards to bulkiness, Rulk does abide by what most Hulk toys would depict the green behemoth. Detail wise I'm still leaning on Onslaught to take the cake between this guy and Apocalypse. But then again, for the most part, the sculpting of Rulk is pretty much intricate to what one can do with a muscular red version of Banner's angry side. Even got the blue pants immaculately if we are to judge things on that small detail. But missing black finger and toenails! 

Muscles and muscles! One would be extremely asinine to not adhere to that little detail since strength is all of the 'Hulks'(yeah, there are a lot of them! Agents of S.M.A.S.H would better define just a couple of them). A bit mundane, but again, that is what makes Hulk, HULK and that even applies to Rulk. That's a lot of 'ulking' there! Moving on.

Sadly enough there isn't much to be done with his articulation. I mean, there could be a few but there isn't a plethora of them that one can really put this guy on. All I fervently got myself into are a few angry postures and some intimidating "I'll punch the living pie hole out of you" innuendo!

"...hotter Rulk gets... stronger Rulk becomes!!!"

Basically for me its the pieces that came with him that got me to just 'catch them all'. Black Spidey, Jim Lee Wolverine, Spiral, and Silver Savage are ones I really wanted so when I have four out of six on hand, might as well get the other two and piece this guy together. I may sound like I disdain this figure a lot, I really don't. I've never been a HUGE Hulk fan, but he is part of the core Marvel team so I'll have to lean on him a bit. Just a LITTLE bit.

Okay, so I have more than enough Hulks to kind of push some inkling that I have some respect for this character. But for the most part, it was the fact that I wanted to have my fingers on all areas of Marvel's pulse. While a couple came with a set. Go figure.

All in all, I'm glad I have this figure. Hasbro did a decent job on him and if I was to just judge on colors alone, Rulk is my favorite out of all the Hulks. Though sadly, his story isn't that great to me. That and this Hulk uses guns??? What? Maybe for 'fan service' they should've had him have guns... but that would've entailed to them adding one more figure just to complete the set. Oh well.

The Return of Marvel Legends

Well it's no secret that I am a collector of toys! I've been collecting for some time now and I am beyond excited for the return of one of the my favorite toy line ups which are the Marvel Legends! What are they? Well Marvel Legends are different toys (sold separately obviously) that make up a set to create one big (or not) character. Of course its a ploy to make money because let's face it, Marvel or DC, not all characters are desirable to everyone. There are many characters in the past that keep the toy shelves stocked because a handful only adore the character so their sales aren't so high up, thus the surplus in the back stock for that particular character. So how do you sell a character like 'Klaw:

 Who isn't at all close to being cool villain or not? Well, let's put him in a series that make up one cool Character and line him up with some other badasses, and there you go. Toy sold. When Toybiz was the one in charge of Marvel Toys, they ended their days with Marvel Legends coming out with some Fan Favorite character to build with Popular and not so popular individuals that make up the set. I'm not going to post the whole set (If I even have the whole set) but just my favorite one from that series.

The Apocalypse Series

The M.O.D.O.K series (Sorry for the bad picture)

Toybiz came out with other such as the Sentinel series, Onslaught (Which made up of entirely baddies like Blackheart, Green Goblin, Abomination!), Giant Man, and so forth. Unfortunately or fortunately I was not able to touch all of them while they were in the shelves in your local store or toy store. Now most of them are at Ebay or Amazon for a non frugal price which I don't condone my wallet or myself to dive into that financial wrecking ball. Maybe one day! But not to digress.... After Toybiz, Hasbro came into play. They came out with their own Legends:

The Brood series

The Rulk Series 

Hasbro at first when they took over kind of put some doubt in my mind. I wasn't too fond of their toys, I felt it lack the meticulous detail and the selection of good characters (Emma Frost looked like a damn dude. That and X3 Beast as a choice with Jean Grey who also looked like a man?! Yeah.). However in the future that came they sure supplied with some really good line ups such as World War Hulk (all Hulk related toys), Ares series, and I can't think of anymore but a lot were impressive. Now the economy took a tank and I'm going to put my assumptions that that's why Hasbro stopped putting out the series. They turned to the more cost effective toys for both consumer and suppliers by coming out with the Marvel Universe toys which are small, thus less to make and half the price, which will still attract parents or collectors to justify the price. That went on for a few years, but finally, 2012 came and they rebooted the series with the main character to build is one of Galactus' former heralds: Terrax. and in their box it even mentions: "The Return of Marvel Legends". Now frankly, three out of the six are some intriguing characters that I like. I have two of them and here they are:

The box itself wasn't too impressive at first. It seemed kind of bland, but as I looked closer, it had a definite Comic Book feel. Not my favorite boxes, but I can manage and I grew fond of them. So my excitement for these toys to come out also reciprocates my dread of what it'll do to my wallet. But... everything in moderation should keep me safe! And like before, I will not be buying toys for the sake of the that one character (unless the character is well worth it). There is only one more character from this series and it is Hope Summers that I am planning on getting if she looks decent. But at any given rate... looking forward to the future of Marvel Legends!!! Hopefully some other collectors share my passion for their upcoming releases. Hopefully Spider-Woman will get a reboot as well!!!