The Good: Good sculpt, Exceptional poseability, Most of the coloring
The Bad: Very obvious seams, A few coloring issues, Low collectability/lack of accessorues
The Basics: The She-Hulk from Hasbro’s Marvel Universe action figure line is good, but not incredible.
Every now and then, I feel like there is some sense of order in the universe. This is my She-Hulk Year – where I am going through and reading every book I can find focused on She-Hulk – and today, while I was out at a pretty popular store, I found, on the shelf, a She-Hulk Marvel Universe action figure. This might not seem at all extraordinary, except that the store I was in is very well-trafficked and the figure was released in 2011. So, this surprisingly old figure was just waiting around for two years in Michigan, where I very recently moved, during the year I am studying Jennifer Walters. Kismet.
Unfortunately, despite my newfound appreciation for She-Hulk from such books as She Hulk: Laws Of Attraction (reviewed here!), the Marvel Universe figure does not get the character perfect. Despite having incredible articulation, the Jennifer Walters She-Hulk figure is not as accurate as she could be for the detailing and the obviousness of the seams is somewhat troubling.
The She-Hulk action figure is the only Marvel Universe version of the character in the popular 4” toy line.
Basics
She-Hulk is, apparently, one of the neglected figures from the Hasbro’s Marvel Universe toys, as I was able to find one on the shelves two years after its initial release. Based on the frequently comic character from She-Hulk, the She-Hulk action figure is a good representation of Jennifer Walters as She-Hulk.
Standing four and a half inches tall, She-Hulk is a skinny, one-piece wearing woman with white boots and biker gloves. The color scheme for the figure is very simple as most of the figure is green. Even so, Hasbro got the details for the coloring right. In addition to zesting up the white and purple costume by making the purple side-stripe a metallic sheen, She-Hulk’s hair is a very realistic blend of black and green that makes the hair look textured and real as opposed to like some sort of demented hat. The coloring details are impressive in that Hasbro managed to detail the tiny eyes perfectly, but her gloves have a chunk taken out of the center of each, which does not match the picture on the package, so that is somewhat odd.
The sculpt is great for the costume and wonderful for the face. The outfit is very simple as She-Hulk wears a one-piece bathingsuit-like costume, simple white boots, and fingerless gloves. The sculpt for the hair – which is made of a softer plastic so as not to inhibit the head’s movement – is exceptionally detailed as well, with almost every single strand apparently visible! The detailing on the sculpt is impressive in that Hasbro even included a navel for She-Hulk!
Accessories
She-Hulk comes with no major accessories. In fact, the only “bonus” for purchasing the figure is a 1 7/8” x 1 1/4" cardboard replica of a She-Hulk comic book cover. This is an anemic accessory to be sure.
Poseability
She-Hulk has foot holes, presumably for playsets that might have corresponding pegs. On her ownm though, posing She-Hulk is based entirely on balance. With twenty-two (!) points of articulation, She-Hulk has incredible poseability, though some elaborate poses make her look somewhat ridiculous. Because there are no pegs for her feet to provide real support, she must be stood flatfooted if one wants to display her standing. Despite having knees that bend as well as groin socket and waist with articulation, it's virtually impossible to get She-Hulk to stay standing unless both of her feet are flat on the floor/shelf.
What is surprisingly poseable is the head. She-Hulk has a ball-socket head, so the head swivels realistically up, down and to the sides. The hair is made of a more flexible, rubbery plastic and as a result, there is some tension in keeping the head up and it works wonderfully to have She-Hulk looking in other directions.
So long as one has her flatfooted, this She-Hulk can take on some pretty elaborate poses.
Playability
All of the articulation makes She-Hulk a decent toy for play and given the scale, this does seem to be more a child’s toy than a collector’s action figure. Things like double-articulated knees make one want to pose the figure in elaborate ways, but (barring that), she makes for a decent play toy that can take a great number of stances. This toy has a lot of playability, but no specific play functions (like spring-loaded limbs).
Collectibility
Hasbro Toys made a good figure with She-Hulk, but she was either one of the least rare or least popular figures in the Series 4 line. She is currently available at her initial retail price and given how erratically readers have responded to the character, it is doubtful there will be a sudden explosion in collectible value of this figure.
She-Hulk is Marvel Universe Series 4 figure #012.
Overview
Given how I have, rather surprisingly, become a fan of She-Hulk (the character and the books), I was biased toward the Marvel Universe She-Hulk action figure, but given how the figure comes with no accessories, like a base that would allow her articulation to matter to those of us who like to pose our figures on a shelf in interesting ways, she is much more average than extraordinary.
For other comic book character-related toys, please visit my reviews of:
Justice League New 52 Wonder Woman
Watchmen Walter Kovacks
The Dark Knight Rises Movie Masters Catwoman
6/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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