A timeline:
10-30-2008 I bought the Target exclusive Marvel Legends Union Jack. Part of the Red Hulk Build-a-figure wave, UJ runs me $9.99 plus tax. He comes with the torso piece, but I have no intention of building the Red Hulk.
12-28-2008 Marked down to clearance, I pick up Adam Warlock and Spiral for $6.98 each. That gets me a leg and a head.
12-30-2008 Possibly from the same Target location, I get Black Costume Spider-Man and Black Costume Wolverine. Also $6.98 each. Why didn't I pick them up two days ago? I could not say. Why didn't I pick up Silver Savage, the last figure I needed to complete the Red Hulk? I don't recall--it may not have been in stock, or I may have thought it would be there later. I put together the pieces of the Red Hulk that I had, minus the last leg. You can just see it, under the bumper of the Mach 5, on the third annual Year in Toys post.
05-2010 The Red Hulk's identity and origin is finally revealed in Hulk #22-23. Spoiler alert: he's General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross!
06-24-12 The Red Hulk appears on the 35th episode of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, "Nightmare in Red."
09-23-12 Red Hulk returns in "Code Red," ironically, as a pawn of the Red Skull.
10-07-12 "The Deadliest Man Alive" culminates the Red Hulk's A:EMH appearances; as he attempts to replace the Hulk on the Avengers. His plot and identity are revealed, and the disgraced General Ross is arrested.
02-02-13 I finally get the final Red Hulk piece, the right leg that came with the Silver Savage, finally completing the Build-a-Figure.
Today: I realize, to the best of my knowledge, I have to date never actually read a comic with Red Hulk in it.
About 51 months from the first figure to completion, which I think is the slowest Build-a-Figure completion yet! For comparison, the first series DCUC Metamorpho and the recent Hasbro Marvel Legends Terrax took me 20 days start to finish. Trigon took me about a year and a month, Grodd and Ronan the Accuser over two years.
Recently, I sold some Ares BAF pieces--the head, torso, and a leg--from the Walmart exclusive wave of 2008, right about the same time as the Target exclusive Red Hulk wave. Initially, the Red Hulk figures were $15 each, but they were "corrected" to $9.99 pretty quickly, and I think clearanced out before 2009. The completed Ares figure, however, is crazy expensive. Part of that may be because it was more figures, and stronger characters: Crossbones, Kang, Guardian, Vision, Ultimate War Machine, Heroes Reborn Iron Man, Scarlet Spider, and the Human Torch. Kang was a reissue of an impossible to find Fantastic Four figure, and he and Crossbones were both pretty great.
I may consider looking at more Build-a-Figure, Collect-and-Connect figures later. None of which took this long...
That's ok, I've never read a book with Red Hulk in it either.
ReplyDeleteI have, but it only for the Art Adams art, honest;)
ReplyDeleteAs for the Gen. Ross reveal, kind of a duh! moment right?
Congrats on completing that Red Hulk figure though. 51 months isn't too bad; I'm still waiting on finding the BAF Galactus head, and that's from '05.
The others took me less than 51 months, but still a significant amount of time to complete. Just waiting on the Ultra-Humanite's leg, Atom-Smasher's leg and arms, and the rest of Kilowog, minus his left arm.
Nice pic by the way. You know it was the 90's when the 2nd rate Avengers like War Machine, Thunderstrike and US Agent were a full team:)