Batted down the hatches, because San Diego Comic Con 2019–and the onslaught of new Marvel toys revealed there each year—are now just days away! But aside from a plethora of new action figures being announced, Hasbro also has three exclusive Marvel figures for the show. The SDCC 2019 Exclusive Marvel Legends Vintage Hulk figure is already pre-selling for $70-$80 on the aftermarket, but is he worth that inflation? Well, Hasbro sent over an early sample for me to review, so let’s bust this monster open and find out…

While most fans (including me) were psyched out of their minds when Hasbro announced the 80 Years of Marvel Legends Hulk vs. Wolverine two-pack, there were some collectors disappointed that the comic book Hulk coming our way was going to be more on the classic side and not a modern interpretation.

But fear not, modern fans: Hasbro had a plan for you as well, as they’d already slotted in a more modern/90s Hulk as one of their 2019 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusives!

And sweetening the deal, this exclusive Hulk is in the throwback “Vintage styled” Toybiz packaging. This Retro Marvel Legends packaging is a big selling point of this release, so Hasbro wisely decided to protect the cardback in a sturdy white box.

The outer box is pretty plain with the Incredible Hulk logo on both sides and some artwork of the character on the front, but it’s more about functionality than aesthetics in this instance.

The SDCC 2019 Marvel Legends Hulk exclusive packaging looks and feels exactly how you’d expect, giving me that nostalgic 90s feeling of being a kid and seeing first-time-ever Marvel figures in stores.

The cardback is sturdy, but it’s also humongous next to typical 2019 ML box packaging!

The classic look and feel of the back of the card looks awesome as well.

There is a real bummer here, though: the package has to be basically destroyed in order to open it up and get at the action figure! Yes, that’s how it was back in the good ol’ Toybiz days, and that’s what we have to deal with with the mass retail Vintage Marvel Legends as well—but dangit, for a limited exclusive like this one, it’s a real drag to have to ruin the package. Sigh.

I may end up picking up another of this figure in the post-San Diego Comic Con Hasbro Pulse online sale if I’m able to, but for the sake of this review I had to rip the package for this figure irreparably. Qué sera.

Thankfully, the actual toy here is as much of a joy to play with as it is to look at on its cool retro cardback! This figure is selling for the $34.99 at the convention, and it’s easy to see why: he’s as big, heavy and impressive as any Build-A-Figure we’ve gotten in recent years!

The powerhouse-looking bulky musculature may be my favorite that I’ve ever soon on a Hulk action figure, giving a truly authentic comic book appearance to this toy. The chest is spot-on. Even the bulging veins on his chest and arms look perfectly on-model.

The head sculpt is very accurate to its era, and I dig the black and green mix of paints on the hair. If you like the Hulk’s appearance from this time period, you’re gonna like this portrait.

Hulk’s fingernails and toenails all have paint deco on them, which is a nice detail that I appreciate to add a bit more differentiation to the colors on this action figure. The veins and the paint wash on the purple pants are similarly impressive.

Perhaps the most impressive surprise is the articulation, which exceeded my expectations. Here’s the full rundown:

• Ball-Hinge Head
• Butterfly-Swivel Ball-Hinged Shoulders
• Ball-Jointed Upper Torso
• Swivel Waist
• Swivel Biceps
• Ball-Hinge Elbows
• Ball-Hinge Wrists
• Swivel Thighs
• Hinged Ankles with Rockers
• Double-Hinge Knees

The biggest win here is definitely the butterfly-swivel ball-hinge shoulders, which give Hulk a tremendous range of motion on his arms. Where have these butterfly swivels been all my life…!

The extensive articulation is also high quality—nothing feels loose at all, and Hulk can solidly hold up other figures one-handed.

The only real con to the articulation is the head, which has a limited range of motion and can’t look any further upward than straight forward.

Sadly, we only get one accessory with this figure: the crushed lead pipe advertised on the cardback. I was worried it would either be too loose in his hands or too stiff to fit in comfortably, but the hands have enough flexibility to easily pop in the pipe while also holding it firmly. Still a shame we don’t get the extra hands the 80th Anniversary two-pack version will come with, though.

Overall: While this color scheme wouldn’t be my pick for “my” ideal Hulk, there’s no discounting that this is an outstanding Hulk action figure—easily the best comic book-based version that Hasbro has done to date, in my opinion. The articulation is smooth and solid, the paint deco is terrific and the sculpting details excellent.

The only real negative feelings I have about this figure are the fact that you have to destroy the retro Toybiz packaging to get at the figure (resealable packaging is doable and would have been great here), the lack of interchangeable hands and the inability of the head to look upward.

Nitpicks aside, Hasbro can pat themselves on the back for this SDCC 2019 Exclusive Hulk Marvel Legends release. A wonderful figure that really has me anxious for “my” preferred classic-colored 80th Anniversary Hulk to arrive in a few weeks.

GRADE: A