She-Hulk

Looks like somebody's going to be a lot less tense now. After being shot by two crime syndicate thugs, attorney Jennifer Walters received a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner, giving her nearly identical Hulk powers. Walters has the same savage strength but, unlike the green goliath, her intelligence carries over into her She-Hulk form. That unique combination of super strength and sharpened smarts made her one of the few heroes invited to become an official member of the Fantastic Four. "Few?" Even if we discount characters who just hang around all the time (Namor, Nova, Lyja the Skrull, Kristoff Vernard, Agatha Harkness, Tigra, Thundra, Wyatt Wingfoot, etc.), the New Fantastic Four (Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Wolverine and Hulk) and the Future Foundation, "official" members of the Fantastic Four include the Inhumans Crystal and Medusa, Luke Cage, Sharon Ventura, Ant-Man, Black Panther, Storm, HERBIE and the random girl Johnny Storm happened to be sleeping with one night. So yeah, not exactly an exclusive club. She-Hulk's sculpt is original. There was an earlier release, in an exclusive TRU Comic Pack with Wolverine, but it was a prepaint of this figure (and it was also a complete surprise, appearing with no fanfare one day last October). She's tall and muscular, but perhaps not as ripped as someone with "Hulk" in their name should be; on the plus side, she's at least as cut as Beyonce. Both her hands are clenched into fists, which suits her well. Her costume is the 2000s version, same as the Marvel Select and Marvel Legends ones wore. It's a purple suit with a big white stripe down the center (or else a white suit with purple panels on the sides, but since the traditional costume color is purple, no one ever looks at it that way). She's got fingerless purple gloves, and white boots that come up nearly to her knees (unless she's running around in kneesocks). The purple used for the costume is metallic, and there are shadows painted on the white - luckily, it looks better than the usual pale blue airbrushing. The green chosen for her skin is a nice dark shade, and her lipstick is shiny. Her dark hair spills down around her shoulders, and is painted with some highlights to give it volume and bulk. She-Hulk has no accessories, but her articulation is exemplary. She has swivel/hinge feet that mimic the range of a rocker joint, swivel shins where the boots stop, double-hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, swivel wrists, the first-ever double elbow joints on a Marvel Universe figure, swivel biceps, swivel/hinge shoulders and torso, a hinged neck, and a swivel head. Now, granted, her massive head of hair gets in the way of her neck joints a bit, but we're too excited about those elbows to care! Amazing, isn't it, that Hasbro can get double-hinged elbows on a 4" figure (technically 4⅜" - Jen's a big girl), while Mattel can't even get them on a 6" figure? The plastic flares out a little below her knee joints, and looks out of line. Not sure why that happened. The prototype image on the back of the card shows the figure with another swivel at the waist, but the final product doesn't have it and doesn't need it. She-Hulk is another hole in the "six-inch figures are ruining four-inch figures" theory. She has a great sculpt, great paint, and innovative articulation for the line. She's not easy to find, but she's worth the hunt. -- 07/15/13

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