So Age of Ultron has come and gone in cinema's and we are now finally starting to get Diamond's Age of Ultron Select figures in store. It has been over a year since we last had a Movie Select figure (Winter Soldier) and fans were hoping for big things from Age of Ultron. Sadly, and for whatever reasons, Diamond are giving us 3 figures from AoU and these are a simple repaint, a slight tweak and one new figure. There is no place for the likes of Scarlet Witch, Vision or even Ultron himself and according to DST no plans to return to AoU, or indeed any Marvel film, after the initial release. How much that has to do with a non-compete clause with Hasbro is not known. Coupled with what looks like a block on any Movie figures from X-Men, Deadpool or any of the Fox properties and with only one figure from Ant-Man (taking up a standard slot AND a Disney exclusive spot) it feels a bit of a low point for Marvel Movie Select collectors. In this review we are looking with the tweaked figure in the AoU series, that of The Hulk who has landed first (June 2015) ahead of Thor and Black Widow who are due in July. Hulk is an update to the 2012 sculpt that was released as part of the original Avengers wave. He comes in the usual Select oversized packaging which is now grey in theme, but still sports the Avengers Initiative logo. The side panel is a really nice illustration of Hulk, and the rear is made up of a large picture of the Hulk figure with some blurb from the film. The other two figures are shown on the rear panel, but interestingly Black Widow's picture is a shot of Scarlet Johannson and not the figure itself. Once unpacked you can't criticise DST for not going all out in terms of height and weight. Hulk is a real hefty piece and stands about 10" high, so well above the usual 7" human characters. There is no packed in accessories, or diorama piece and this is consistent with DST's usual approach on oversize figures. The sculpt is identical to the 2012 release other than some tweaking to the legs to represent Hulk's updated stretchy pants. The head, although not what I would have chosen in terms of expression, is nicely done and there is plenty of definition in the body such as muscle and veins. Both hands are sculpted into fists, but who would want anything different than letting Hulk SMASH! Articulation is OK, with a ball jointed head to allow Hulk to look left, right, up and down. The shoulders are ball jointed and Hulk can get his arms to a 90 degree angle to his body, ready to punch Thor. They can also be raised above his head in a smashing pose. Elbows are jointed and the wrists swivel There is a Torso joint to allow Hulk to pivot in the centre but no waist movement. The hips can move, but not far, and there is a thigh swivel. However, because of the trim on the new Hulk Pants you probably wont want to move the legs much as once the red trim is out of line it just looks odd. A knee joint allows for them to bend and ankle rockers allow's some give so Hulk can stand flat footed and with his weight you wont be knocking him down any time soon. Unlike most of my reviews I have left Paint till last as this is where there is a dramatic difference to the original 2012 release. Avengers Hulk was always a little dark in terms of the shade of green used on his skin and that meant that sculpted detail was also lost. This time the team at DST have lightened the green to a more screen accurate colour. Being lighter this allows for the muscle and vein definition to really stand out, and they have then also painted in extra details like Hulks man-boobs, chest and arm hair. The trunks are painted grey with a red trim which is done neatly enough. Up close the trunks have been dry-brushed almost, which doesn't look great, but at a distance it works. If I have one other criticism of the painting it is the fact that unlike the 2012 version, this time they chose not to paint his toe nails and that just feels like a detail missed to me. In terms of scoring I need to remove the emotion and disregard the fact this is probably an Age of Ultron figure few people wanted or needed. Taking him on his merits he is certainly improved since the 3 out of 5 I gave the 2012 release. The pants are more a design issue at the studio than anything else so I cant fault DST for simply replicating them. Where this figure has moved up a notch is the paint. which is certainly ten times better than the original and brings out much more detail in the sculpt. I am going to up Age of Ultron Hulk to a 4 out of 5.
