WWE Ultimate Edition 13 Hulk Hogan review
Hulk Hogan is still considered the main name in professional wrestling for mainstream audiences. During his 80s heyday, he helped revolutionize the sport and made it an integral part of pop culture. For many 80s fans, Hogan was the man as he carried the banner for the WWF as its flagbearer through 1992.
With his career-damning scandal behind him, Mattel is back in The Hulkster business, which meant it was inevitable before we got Hogan in all his early 80s glory in the WWE Ultimate Edition line. For most Mattel collectors, the Defining Moments figure is the classic, definitive early WWF version of Hogan. But now the UE version looks to come crashing down as the standard other Hogan figures will be measured against.
Packaging: As with the normal retail UE packaging, this sports the white with red accents color scheme. This figure is based on Hogan’s appearance at the first WrestleMania so the render on the side reflects that younger look.
The back of course is the standout part of the presentation with an action shot of the figure and a reference photo. It’s cool having the stat breakdown.
Mattel’s WWE bios are done at such a high level I was a little disappointed with this somewhat simple write-up. I guess there’s plenty more Hogan figures to go so there’s no sense in writing everything with this figure?
Likeness: Hogan’s look definitely changed over the years. This is Hogan in his mid-80s look when he’s facing off against the likes of Rowdy Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, Nikolai Volkoff, Bog John Studd, Magnificent Muraco and King Kong Bundy.
The included head sculpts carry through fine until 1989 and later when his face isn’t as puffy and his hair gets thinner.
This head sculpt is terrific as it features a serious and ready for action expression. It’s the ideal neutral look for Hogan made even better with the more expressive alternate portraits.
Mattel went with the wide UE body for Hogan. He wasn’t ripped like a Kerry Von Erich and was just thick so this is a solid choice. There is some ab definition and wide pecs. The legs are a bit more defined than Hogan ever had, but the parts otherwise match up fine.
Scale: Hogan was 6’7″ in his prime so he should look up at the 6’10” Big John Studd while being noticeably taller than most of his rivals including the 6’4″ King Kong Bundy, 6’3″ Muraco, 6′ Orndorff and Piper.
Paint: Clearly the big plus here is Mattel actually/finally went with the accurate skin tone for Hogan.
The Survivor Series figure originally had the burnt orange skin tone, but this is the first mass market version with it. It’s perfectly done and shows off Hogan’s unique tan.
Mattel got the hair shade of platinum blonde just right as well. The trick with this set is finding a figure where the white overspray in the handlebar mustache doesn’t go past the sculpt. Overspray is common with these figures with this kind of complex two-tone printing.
The yellow laces on the boots came out just fine. My figure has a slight scrape in the left abdomen. Hopefully this isn’t a case where the tan will rub off if played/posed too rough.
MORE:
- WWE Action Figure Reviews
- DC Comics reviews 9/6/22 – Batman #127, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #4
- Samaritan review
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – The People vs Emil Blonsky review S1 E3
Articulation: Hogan was the ultimate brawler although he was underrated as a wrestler during his initial reign as champion.
There’s nothing in Hogan’s arsenal that will be hard to replicate.
From Axe Bombers, clotheslines, body slams, atomic drops or his signature big boot, atomic legdrop finishing combo you can pull them all off.
The butterfly shoulders make for more fun with the flexing poses.
Ultimate Edition Hulk Hogan has:
- neck
- bicep
- ball-jointed shoulders
- butterfly shoulders
- elbows (double-jointed)
- wrists
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hips
- thighs
- knees (double-jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: Mattel definitely wanted to make sure 80s Hogan got the full Ultimate figure treatment.
He’s got two alternate head sculpts. One is the fired up, frenzied face with bulging eyes and gritted teeth.
If possible, make sure to check the dot matrix placement of the eyes as it’s common to spot some with the iris printed too low. The other is a smiling happy Hulkster expression ideal for promos and end of match celebratory posing.
Hogan comes with his white Hulkster headband and his cross. While it’s not metallic, the sculpt and paintwork on the chain gives it a more authentic look than the chains that tend to stick up on a figure’s chest.
The one downside is the cloth Hulkamania shirt still has that nasty Velcro strip along the front. With the Ultimate presentation it’d be nice to get a plain shirt and then the Velcro one to simulate Hogan ripping his shirt.
In a nice cool touch, Mattel debuts Hogan’s 1985. Of course, the WWF is swapped with WWE. The lettering came out very clean. It’s got a unique flat silver so it stands out from the usual gold-plated titles.
Hogan has three sets of swappable hands. One is a set of fists, another is the pointing index fingers and open-handed ones for posing and cupping his ears.
Worth it? I was holding out for a sale on Hogan, but Target went even further and put him on clearance so I nabbed him for $16.09. It’s real hard to knock a potential Figure of the Year for under $20.
Rating: 10 out of 10
I’ve long suspected this was going to be one of my favorite figures from any line this year and Mattel did not disappoint. This is the iconic 80s Hogan and it’s going to take a massive effort to supplant it.
Where to get it? You can get Hogan at Targets, which have had him in plentiful stock and you can also grab him from Amazon. Entertainment Earth has him in a set with UE 13 Mr. T.