Every now and again a figure comes along that just seems perfect. Often it's a figure you least expect. Sometimes it's even one you weren't prepared for. Such is the case with today's' review, the Marvel Universe Red Hulk figure. For all intensive purposes this figure is nearly identical to the Marvel Universe Green Hulk I reviewed a while back. That figure scored a 7. But Rulk will score higher and I'm here to explain why.



For starters I own all three Marvel Universe Hulk figures. Right off the bat, I have to commend Hasbro for making three Hulks in the exact same style and scale. Sure, it's easy for them because they can largely reuse the same mold, but it's also a real treat for us fans. All of the Hulks that came before have been so widely divergent in both style and scale that they often lack compatibility.

Although I haven't had the courage to open my Grey Hulk yet (He's slowly growing in value) I have looked at him plenty and I can safely say that even though he and Red Hulk share 90% of the same parts, Red Hulk is superior. This body was obviously made for the Red Hulk and then just given to the other Hulks. I haven't seen anyone else on the net review this yet, so I got in a scoop on the big guys. Let's get to the full review, shall we?



Packaging:
The Marvel Universe packaging is still attractive. With a nice picture of the Red Hulk up in the corner. As I've said before, I believe these are all done by Frank Cho and they are really what sells the package. I should mention though that all the red on the package actually made me miss Red Hulk in the store. Had my wonderful girlfriend not said, "Who's Red Hulk?" I never would have noticed him. I just assumed him to be a Hand Ninja.



I still have some minor complaints about the packaging being prone to tearing up the artwork, but it's a minor complaint as if you are careful enough you can get him out without damaging it. Inside he has a rubber band holding him in. Even in the package Red Hulk looks better than the regular green Hulk. I have no idea why, but he's posed better in the package.



Once you crack it open there is a nice container with everything held in place firmly but not too snug.

Articulation:
Red Hulk has all the same points of articulation as the other Hulk. That means he has a cut neck, ball jointed shoulders that work quite well, ball jointed elbows, cut wrists, ab ball joint with swivel... though not with a full range of movement (So not ab crunch really), ball jointed legs which can't do much, ball jointed knees that can bend a decent amount but not fully, and rocker ankles which work perfectly.



Despite having the same largely useless articulation in the legs as the other Hulk figures, he wears it better. In fact he wears all his articulation better. I don't know why but the other Hulk will occasionally fall over and looks a bit bow legged at times, but not with this one. They share the same sculpt so I don't know if it's Rulk colored glasses or what, but he's just better.



He's looks a little taller than the other Hulk in a few pics but it's probably about the same depending on how you have them posed. The head does look meatier so he seems taller even if he really isn't. If he is in fact taller it's by a tiny, tiny margin.


Dropping a gamma radiated elbow!

Sculpt:
Ed McGuiness draws the Red Hulk character in a unique way. It's not necessarily easy to translate into a head sculpt. As of this writing there are only two other Red Hulk figures. The first is the Hasbro Marvel Legends Red Hulk who looks a bit like an anime infused version of the character. The other is a Marvel Select variant which has a very good Ed McGuiness style face but his head is tiny thus inaccurate.

I'm happy to report that this is the BEST Red Hulk head sculpt to come out yet. In fact the entire body is the best Red Hulk body sculpt yet. As I said above, the Marvel Universe Hulk body was clearly designed for this character first. It just screams him. While the regular Hulks looked a bit "off", this guy looks like he leaped off the pages.



Interestingly there is no wash on this version of the Hulk as there was with the others. Both the gray and green Hulks suffered because of their wash and thankfully Red Hulk doesn't have it. He does have a bit of a wash on his pants though and they're probably the nicest pants of all three figures. Again Red Hulk just wins in every catagory.


Marvel's Brutes

Paint wise he's got a couple bits of slop but some of the key areas that give Red Hulk his personality, like the teeth and eyes are both painted perfectly. Each tooth really stands out and makes this guy all the more authentic. His hair is painted good as well and it has a little bit of the same rubbing design as the other Hulks so that his scalp color shines through but it isn't done to the drastic degrees that the others were.



Red Hulk has two fists instead of an open hand like the Green Hulk. This is great because Red Hulk loves to pummel and smash. All Hulks should at least have one fist. Two is fine too. I do feel that he could have had a gripping hand though to hold his gun. It mentions him carrying a gun on the back of the package, but he can't hold any guns. Still I'd take double fisted Hulk over patty cake Hulk every day of the week.



The fists also reveal another nice little detail, the painted thumbnails. Red Hulk has unique nails and they always stand out in the comics. Thankfully they do here as well. It's a little detail, but one that Hasbro gave us and should be applauded for.

Accessories:
Remember earlier when I talked about his gun? Well he doesn't come with it. In fact he comes with NO real accessories. Still in past Marvel Universe reviews I've mentioned the elusive "paper accessories"... Don't know what those are?



Basically it's a little manilla envelope with a letter inside as well as a bio card or Superhero Registration Act card. In a nutshell it's a little dossier with a nice picture of the character on the back as well. Typically the letters included aren't that interesting but in this figure's case it's a letter from Bruce Banner to Tony Stark begging him to let him out of the secret underground bunker that Hulk was locked in after World War Hulk.



Why does Banner want out? Because he feels that the only way to stop Red Hulk is with the original recipe Hulk. This really takes this figure to another level because as a kid, you get an instant storyline. Even if you don't read comics, you now have a plotline to follow with your toys. It makes them worth that much more in my view.



The other really nice part about all of this is that you feel like you're getting more. It's little things, but having filecards is what made GI Joe just so much better than all the other toys in the 1980's and I'm a firm believer that all action figures should have some sort of filecards. Since these tie into the storylines so well, it makes things even more fun. Certainly some weapons or crates or barrels or something would be nice, but these little bits do go a long way towards showing why these are just so much a better value to the DC Infinite Heroes.


He craps thunder & lightning!

Additional Notes:
Being completely honest, there is an intangible element with this figure. He just looks perfect. Sometimes that intangible element really makes up for areas that could be lacking. Plus when you factor in that this is the best Red Hulk ever made, it helps.



I almost bought the Marvel Select Red Hulk and I also thought about tracking down the Marvel Legends version. I'm so glad that I held out, because I have NO desire to get those figures now. I've got the best Red Hulk in my hands.



Value:
It's $8 to buy him. It sucks, it'll always suck. But you know what? I'm not feeling it so much this time. I guess this guy just has that much charm that I don't mind paying $8 for. Sure, he'd be THE GREATEST THING EVER at $6, but he's still damn good at $8.


Comparisons with Marvel Universe, X-Men Origins and Superhero Showdown figures...

Score Recap:
Packaging - 7
Sculpting - 9
Articulation - 7
Accessories - Nothing
Value - 8
Overall - 8 out of 10

I could almost go 8.5 out of 10, but I'll stick with a solid 8. He's just a perfect incarnation of the figure. Nothing is overdone. Nothing is missing. Nothing is too dramatic. Yeah his leg articulation could be better, but it's so minor at this point to continue to be redundant about that. This is a really fun version of a fun character and he fits in perfectly with his gamma radiated brethren. I really can't ask for much more than that or recommend him enough.


RULK RAGE!

If you have any interest whatsoever in owning a Red Hulk or a Hulk from the Marvel Universe line, get this one. The figure also gives me high hopes that future version of the green Hulk, such as the Secret Wars version, may be able to use this same sculpt but have a nicer head sculpt and be a knockout figure on their own.