08.07.04 - Hulk Classics 2 - Absorbing Man - Jon
The thing I really like about Toybiz is that they manage to put out these sleeper hit lines. No one expected the Hulk Classics line to be such a hit with fans. After all the movie stunk, the movie figures stunk, and they shoved enough Hulk merchandise down our throats that we were pooping green even months after the movie already left theaters. So Toybiz did the only logical thing and released a series of classic comic themed Hulk figures with tons of articulation and fun action gimmicks.
Boy oh boy did these take off with the fans. The best part about these series is that each wave came with one villain. The villain was packed one per case and was only packed in a limited amount of cases as well. Both villains have been pretty sought over not only because they were hard to fine, but because they were figures we will probably never see in a Marvel line again.
Absorbing Man -
Captain America throws his shield at Absorbing Man, knocking him down.
Beast: "Cap, what is your shield made of again?"
Captain America: "A one of a kind that can't be damaged. Why?"
Beast: "Just wanted to know what we were fighting against."
Okay, I understand you may be thinking, "why does he have an action figure of Patrick Stewart in orange jail duds with a big green arm?" The answer is because I have a fetish for Star Trek characters with big green deformed arms. Well no in actuality this is the Hulk Classics series two Absorbing man action figure. Boy is this one hard to get. You would laugh at how many times I checked out KB outlets to find this figure. I bet the employees there thought I was a weirdo for walking in and walking back out ever day for a month.
Well I finally caved in and bought him off ebay. By the time I actually found one I would have probably paid over a hundred bucks in gas looking for this illusive figure. So I ended up paying about fifty dollars for this figure because I was still upset for never finding an Abomination. There are very few times I spend that amount of money on an action figure, the only other time I can think of was when I bought Keldor and tried to finish my Moby Dick's Resident Evil line. None the less, do I feel satisfied paying that much for a figure? No. Am I glad I have him? Yes. Do I suggest spending that much on this figure? Well read on and decide for yourself ...
Well the box is pretty boring on these Hulk figures. Its the basic formula of Hulk busting through a wall, because I am starting to believe that's all he really does anyway. They ditched the clamshell for the simple blister on cardboard. Its simple, but darn hard to keep these thing mint if you like your figures in a box. The price is right if you can actually find the figure, $6.99 is not a bad deal at all for a figure with so many accessories and points of articulation. Of course if you rely on ebay then you might as well drop the percentage rating about 25% on the final score.
So lets get to the figure. Sculpt is wonderful, its a very well done figure with loads of articulation. Thirty-six points of articulation is nothing to sneeze at, however if you do sneeze at him be careful because he may fall over. Sadly his leg joints got loose on me really fast and have caused for some headaches as I had to pick up all the other characters he wiped out on the way down my shelf. As far as sculpt he is very well done, a cool look for a very decent character.
Next up is paint. Again I have no concerns with paint and this figure. All of his arms have unique paint schemes and the paint on his body is perfect. The colors do not run and they are very distinguished from each other. I especially like the metallic looks of the extra arms, its a nice touch. So much talk of arms brings me to my discussion of the accessories. Besides War-Hulk, this guy has the most accessories in the line. We have three arms and his ball and chain. No not his wife, an actual ball and chain silly. The ball is hallow, which makes it easier to pose him so that he doesn't just flop over when holding it. The chain is cool too because he can slip his fingers into the rings. All the arms come fully articulated as well.
So in closing if you like Hulk, you like that classic stuff, and you like guys that can absorb the structure of what they touch then this man is for you. Then again if you need another villain for your Legends display he works well too, just good luck finding him.
Absorbing Man -
Articulation - 88%
Sculpt - 93%
Accessories - 93%
Paint - 89%
Price - 95%
Fun Factor - 87%
Final Score - 91%
What am I doing up so late with this review? Oh yea just bringing you the cold hard facts. Check back here as I am probably going to be reviewing Fred Krueger from NECA. I may do that or I may do that new 18" Crow figure from, again, NECA. A good Eric Draven is hard to find. So yeah, check back, I'll be here all week!
