In 2018, to celebrate the first Ten Years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hasbro revisited a number of MCU films to bring us figures of characters that did not get a release first time round. One of these was Red Skull from Captain America The First Avenger, who was released in a set alongside parts to convert the figure to Hydra soldiers. Hasbro took the sculpt and tweaked the figure with his long coat and released it as a San Diego Comic Con Exclusive in 2018 along with a 1:1 Tesseract light up replica.
I purchased my figure loose and without the Tesseract.
Packaging 5/5
The SDCC 2018 box art was quite impressive and used imagery from the Captain America movie including the Tesseract power source level indicators and the Hydra symbol. The set also had a slip on wrap which utilised the film panel art of the First Ten Years set on the base of the box and round the back included a short bio of Red Skull.
"A brilliant scientist obsessed with domination, Johann Schmidt leads the HYDRA-Abteilung division which specialises in artillery and harvesting the power of the Tesseract to create super weapons. Bent on achieving ultimate power, Schmidt injects himself with an early version of the Super Soldier Serum and suffers the side effects, including deformation and developing a crimson visage."
The set was also numbered, as zero, to fit with the other 10 numbered boxes in the First Ten Years set of releases. The pack opened up with two side hinged panels revealing the figure and Tesseract within. The interior of these doors were illustrated also with items from the film including WW2 era records and a Captain America poster.
Paint & Sculpt 5/5
The head sculpt for Red Skull is identical to the main release, and is an excellent likeness to the prosthetic mask used in the movie. The eyes are intense under that deep ridged brow and Skull is also smiling which is a little disconcerting.
Skull is presented in this set in his long overcoat, a look I much prefer than the dress uniform used in the general release. The coat carries a number of overlapping panels as well as buckles and buttons all picked out in silver paint. A large belt ties the coat shut and is fastened with a silver Hydra belt buckle.
A further Hydra symbol can be found on the left shoulder, and rather than being a decal it is a sculpted relief piece that is then painted.
Accessories 4/5
As is his obsession, Red Skull comes with a 6 inch scaled Tesseract accessory. This is of course a simple cast cube in a blue translucent colour. It would go on to be re-used in the Loki and Corvus Glaive 2-pack in 2019.
The dimensions of the Tesseract are good and the colour deep and rich, with the translucency adding to the look. What is great is that Red Skull has a new right hand piece that is purely shaped to hold the Tesseract - making it a lovely display piece.
With this in his hand there is no real need for other accessories, although throwing us the Luger style pistol as a second display option would have been great.
Articulation 4/5
Red Skull has 19 points of articulation, but most of the leg joints are not really viable under that long coat.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : ball joint torso, ball joint waist
Arms : ball joint shoulder, bicep swivel, double joint elbows, pivot wrist
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rockers
The arms are fully mobile and with the double torso joints there is plenty of posing options for Skull even with the legs hemmed in by the coat. Skull stands perfectly on his own with ratcheted and secure ankle rockers
Summary
The only real issue with this Red Skull figure is the exclusivity. For me, this long coat Red Skull is one that every MCU collector should have in their collection - and is much more impressive than the basic release.
The sculpt and paint job are excellent, and matched by great articulation and a solid accessory that has been thought through as to how the figure can hold it.
If you can find this set or figure for a decent price, then you will not regret adding this Red Skull to your collection. I score it a very impressive 5 out of 5.
