It's always fun to review a brand-spankin'-new figure at Christmas time. I believe both Mattel's Bruno Sammartino and "NWA" Dusty Rhodes figures fall into this category as far as their features on this blog. After all, what's more fun to receive for Christmas than a wrestling figure? Forget those new video game systems, diamond rings or even cars! No gift cards, Nut-of-the-Month club or even fruit cake will satisfy you. You want a rassler. Who better to follow in the footsteps of Bruno and Dusty than The Hulkster himself?
Initially Mattel said that we wouldn't see any of the new Hulk Hogan figures before 2021, but indeed we have. Last month saw the release of The Hulkster in the Masters of the WWE Universe line and here we have his return to the standard WWE line. But this isn't any ordinary figure. It's an "Ultimate Edition" figure. What does that mean? The prices are higher, the articulation is greater, and there may be a few more accessories and parts than your standard Elite. Oh yeah, and you get moveable toes. Sounds fun to me!
While there were other Hulk Hogan figures done by Mattel, a "Hollywood" or nWo version was not yet produced before his departure from WWE in 2015. While I'd have chosen the famous "red and yellow" look for his return to the line regardless of what has already been produced, I'll go Hollywood! The packaging is a large window box which honestly displays more of the parts and accessories than the actual figure. While the packaging is designed to be impressive, I just can't see wanting to keep these in the package. The parts and accessories are useless just to look at. A friend of mine who collects solely for the purpose of autographs have shunned this line completely. For those of us who like to p...uhh..."pose," there are a ton of possibilities.
In the box with Hulk you get three interchangeable heads (smiling, yelling and pouty), bandana, tearing nWo t-shirt, weight belt, "spray-painted" nWo "big gold" belt, black and white boa, weight belt, sunglasses, and a pair of fists. That is a lot of accessories and definitely more than you would get with a single Elite. I'm kind of surprised to not see another set of hands (pointing?) and the cross chain, but we're still getting a lot. The shirt is soft goods so it looks great and "tears" in the front. The belts are well-made as usual with Mattel and stay on. The boa we've seen plenty of, but never before in these colors. Finally, the bandana is removable and works on any of the heads. That is a must.
I wasn't sure how I initially felt about the facial likeness based upon photos that I'd seen. In person I'm more than satisfied. I won't say that it's dead-on like some other recent releases as if the person is standing there in front of me, but it's very good. There are some great details all around on the figure, but the boots really stick out to me as a highlight. The paint applications on everything are pretty good this time on both the figure and the accessories. With the recent trend towards non-"vac" belts with the authentic shine, I'm glad that they went traditional here even if it's a belt we've had before.
This is the first Mattel figure to feature the "butterfly" articulation on the shoulders. While it doesn't offer really all that much more movement, it doesn't bother me as it seems to other collectors. I've come a long way from when I hated the "torso joint." We all change and adapt in life and collecting is no different. You can really make some great poses with this figure and can hear Hulk spread his nWo venom just by looking at him. I really love gloved figures and being able to switch between the fists and clenching hands really helps when setting different scenes.
I'm sure that we will see more "Hollywood" Hogan figures down the line. He had many different designs during this time period which are all available to explore. It is also being reported that a "red and yellow" Hulkster is coming in the Ultimate Edition line. To grab this one, you will probably have to order it online. As we know that's now the easiest way to obtain any wrestling figure, although there have been reports of the Ultimate Edition line returning to Target stores nationwide.
Either way, The Hulkster is back, brother!
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