Packaging - ***
Toy biz has decided to release the Hulk classics in the slightly cheaper blister packaging rather than Marvel Legends style clamshell packs. Most fans seem to favour the clamshell design; I seem to be in the minority in preferring this style. The main reason for this is that with careful opening of the pack figures can be reinserted into the packaging at a later date, and look almost ‘mint on card’.

Sculpting - ***
The sculpting of the Absorbing Man is very true to the comic character, and overall the look is very good. I have to be honest and say I did think from what pictures I had seen of this guy I had assumed he was out of scale, I was wrong. The Absorbing Man is in fact a touch larger than the Marvel Legends Captain America figure, and that is pretty much right in my books. The only flaw I can see in the sculpt is that the chain links that have been sculpted on to the right arm are significantly smaller than those that actually come with the ball and chain he uses as his weapon.  

Paint - ***1/2
Maybe I was lucky with my figure, the paint job is flawless. You can argue that he should have had his trousers painted in the old style black and white prison stripes that Hulk and Thor readers are more familiar other than that its spot on. Careful checking of the spare arms shows that great care has been used to insure the metallic finish goes deep into the joints, unlike my ML colossus figure whose paint wash disappears as soon as a joint is encountered.

Articulation - ***
Articulation is as you would expect very good. The Absorbing Man has 36 points of articulation and every joint serves a purpose. I do have a few minor complaints here though. The Absorbing Man has no waist joint and the right arm has no wrist joint, presumably due to the chain links that have been sculpted on the arm; I am not sure why though because the links finish more or less where you would expect to see a cut joint anyway. The most noticeable problem though is that my figure at least suffers from ‘Thor leg syndrome’ my Absorbing man’s right leg ball joint and right ankle joint are extremely loose and that can make him hard to pose. Hopefully this will not prove as common a problem as it did with all those Marvel Legends Thor figures. 

Accessories - ***
The Absorbing Man comes with his ball and chain (no, not his wife) this looks great and is about the right size. I am surprised that they have not put a wash of paint on the ball though, rather than leaving it a solid mat black. Two spare arms are also included. I think that the arms that are packed in with this figure have provided an excellent way to show the Absorbing Man’s powers at work. My only wish though is that they had included more of them, a normal flesh one would have been particularly welcome. 

Action Features - **
The Absorbing mans action feature unlike the Abominations does actually work! The Absorbing man has a ratchet mechanism connected to his arm that you wind up and on its release (via the hideous and intrusive looking button on his back) he swings his arm around and whacks his enemy with his ball…….cool!
If it was not for the evil looking button, I would actually not mind this action feature.

Value - *** (UK) *1/2 (eBay)
If you are in the UK Toys R Us are selling them two for one at the moment. That means they are only costing us Brits £4.00 each. On the other hand rarity value has made these guys go for a lot more on eBay. Prices are dropping already though. Prices are down from a high of over $100 to about half that now. 

Overall - *** (regular price) * (eBay prices)
The Absorbing Man is a very good figure, even his action feature works. Apart from the button on his back he is nigh on perfect. If Toy Biz can find a way to minimize the button size (perhaps they should look at the method used by the Big Jim figures from the 70’s) they would have got an extra half star at least, add an extra couple of arms and this may have even been a 4 star figure.