GI Joe comes and goes, and the comes, and then goes and then comes again, and then goes and comes back once more. Well GI Joe is back yet again with an indirect sequel to Rise of Cobra toyline called Pursuit of Cobra. POC has slowly trickled into retail finally and while I am not in love with all of the figures there are some that are pretty good as well as a few that are less so.  

One of the major changes in the line is the filecards, or as I see it, the loss of the filecards. Now all we get is a very basic description of the figure and sometimes a bit of information about the weapons they use (Note I said sometimes). Personally I feel this really takes out a great deal of character from the line since the filecards were generally how we got to know the figures and while sometimes the idea of going in a different direction became prominent, the cards still gave a decent base to begin from.  

So far though, most of the figures are those “Core characters” that have been done over many times, so in other words there is plenty of information about the characters elsewhere. However with new characters (i.e. Doom Cycle driver Storm Rider and the upcoming Shadow Tracker) this will become a problem cause all we will have is a cool figure with a cardboard characterization.  

Still no matter how you slice it the figures are what are important and first up is the bad guy of the bad guys, Cobra Commander. This figure has caused some frustration on the part of fans due to Hasbro being unclear about its availability. First this figure was announced as a mail away exclusive and came with a HISS drone that resembled a micro-machine. Then there was a sudden change around Toyfair in which the figure was going to be regulated to a chase figure. Now it appears by chase Hasbro meant one per case as I have now seen 4 cases distributed in the stores and all four had one Cobra Commander each. Of course the question is why isn’t Firefly or Alley Viper referred to as chase figures since they have the same amounts in the case and are in higher demand. Of course the frustration doesn’t come from the actual availability of the figure but the persevered rareness (or lack of rareness) that it appears Hasbro was attempting to create (probably to produce sales). Even if this was not the attempt, perception is 90% of reality and if customers think a company has tried to mislead them they are less likely to believe anything from that company (Marketing 101 here). Anyway enough with the publicity mixes.   

So to be blunt, the Rise of Cobra version of Cobra Commander was pretty bad. He looked horrid in the film and his figure was only slightly better. It appears that the designers took the basic idea of ROC Commander and tried to improve on it. They changed the colors a bit and added a new head. The head does have some resemblances to the clear version of the ROC version but looks to be different. The fact that it is no longer opaque is a vast improvement in itself. Just personal opinion but really not seeing anything of the Commander’s face is much better than hinting at what is behind the mask.  

One great detail is the classic Cobra Symbol on the back of the jacket. I’m not sure why the designers went with red other than to distinguish this figure from the previous version. Crimson is the other color of Cobra (the Crimson Guard) so I suppose this is an attempt to connect Cobra Commander with that as well. Cobra Commander comes with a banner type thing which is kind of neat but impractical. He also has the typical ROC ray/sci-fi type gun and also has a new gun that is apparently being dubbed “The Dustbuster” for its similarity to a hand held vacuum cleaner. I assume this is supposed to be the M.I.A.W. (Multi-Function Individual Assault Weapon, yes even the initial talk is getting lame) that is mentioned on the back of the package on what can be called the filecard. Alright to be blunt this whole thing is just stupid; it’s stupid looking with a stupid name and stupid acronym. The good part about GI Joe figures is the fact you can toss stupid stuff like this to the side and forget about it.  

So without the gun what is the final count, I think this is an individual choice. Personally I think it’s pretty decent and better than the ROC version but also I can see some flaws too. Still a good thing is that he will be easy to find if you want him. But also he brings in the fact that Hasbro is still recycling some items from Rise of Cobra. While if it was just this figure it might be forgivable, the fact is that other figures in the wave have many unnecessarily reused parts (i.e. Storm Shadow). But having this figure reminds me that I need to do some retro reviews too (Like of ROC Cobra Commander).  

Next is Alley Viper, Cobra’s Urban foot soldier. Many have called this figure the pinnacle of GI Joe action figures to date. I don’t think I would go that far but it is pretty darn good. The new Alley Viper appears to be a repaint of the Defense of Cobra Island Pack version which was modeled after the original. I am a bit conflicted on this, on one hand we have yet more recycling going on and yet on the other hand we get a figure that hasn’t been in as wide release. Also it’s an army builder and as such is easier to justify a repaint of rather than another version of a tired character.   

So the Alley has an interesting assortment of weaponry. He has knives and guns as expected. He also has a backpack that I am having putting together (The gun on the pack to be exact) some have said they are having no problems with the pack however but there are some who are saying they do. This sounds like some kind of flaw in the machines that make the figures that might have been corrected early but still produced several pack/gun combos before being fixed. Of course this is a guess, but there is defiantly a problem with my Alley Vipers Back pack. Alley also comes with a shield that holds his tonfa for him. I find this a nice feature and welcome it.  

Lastly he comes with several helmet choices. First is the regular helmet that looks just like the original Alley Vipers helmet. Also there is a gas mask which makes perfect sense and isn’t a bad design at all. Then there is the “resolute” cartoon series style. Now I may peeve off some people here, but I am not a huge fan of the Resolute look of the Alley Viper. Some people love it but I find it to be kind of ordinary, too ordinary in fact. One thing I loved about the original Alley Vipers was how different they were from anything before them but in the Resolute cartoon I felt they looked like any old Cobra Trooper. Perhaps that was the point, but to me it was kind of less than stellar. Thankfully if your preferences are like mine (or not) you can pick what exactly the Alley Vipers wear based on your own tastes. So in that area Alley makes a minus into a plus.  

Ultimately I have to say this is a cool figure, not perfect but defiantly worth picking up. Even though I haven’t been a huge army builder in some time now I still think owning at least one of these is a worthy addition to the Cobra Ranks.  

So after the Alley Viper comes Snake Eyes version 1758. OK maybe not that bad but there are a few too many of him floating around. So why on earth would I break my rule to not buy characters I have an abundance of to get yet another one?   

Partly because he does use parts from Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes. Last year when everyone was going ga-ga over City Strike Snake Eyes, I was perfectly happy with Paris Pursuit SE, he quickly became my favorite version of the character. I know I got a ton of heat from the GI Joe boards for picking Paris Pursuit over City Strike in my favorite figures of the year. Of course I asked those who said I should have included him what CS brought to the character that hasn’t been done before as opposed to Paris Pursuit (who although only had a long coat did have something different to him that had not been seen before). Best answer I got was that City Strike was the “Bee’s knees” and yes I reacted the same way the gecko did to that one.

Anyway this figure has some parts from Paris Pursuit and in my mind he is Paris Pursuit after he has taken off his coat. Sure that isn’t accurate but it fits for me. The sword and sheath are the same as Paris Pursuit but this time the sword doesn’t come off as easily as the Paris Pursuit version (which the coat would force the scabbard out). I only have two knocks to the figure, first is the slightly oversized Uzi/mac-10 inspired guns, I think I give him the smaller Uzi’s from the ROC versions of SE. The way they hang on the figure is an issue as well. They look as if they will smash his knees in real life.

The figure has some bulk to him but is not overly bulky. One of my major issues with some of the 25th anniversary figures and beyond has been the arms seem scrawny. This is intended to be the Desert version of SE, but really he could be for any environment as there is nothing totally desert about him.

My other knock is the fact that the visor does not cover the eyes completely. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if Hasbro hadn’t painted they eyes on this figure. From below it is easy to see the skin around the eyes. Not sure why Hasbro did this since it creates an effect that the visor is misplaced on the face.

Still even with those minor knocks he is still a solid figure, if you are not overwhelmed by Snake Eyes then he is worth grabbing (Unless you want to wait for what looks to be a much better one coming in 2011).

Up now is Storm Shadow, specifically Desert Storm Shadow and wow what a disappointment. On this one I should probably have two scores, one for the figure and one for his accessories cause the accessories are the only reason I grabbed this figure.

Let me concentrate on the positive first. The swords combine just like in the GI Joe Movie (and makes me wonder why they didn’t do this with the battle damaged Stormy instead of the goofy back pack he got. The chain is a bit long (it looks like if it were for real it would be around 10-12 feet which is impractical for self defense). The two handles also make it a bit impractical (after all if you are swinging it at an opponent how do you effectively catch the handle again). Even though it’s impractical it is still kind of fun and I kind of like it. Lastly there are shuriken, I have some from an old Chap Mei Ninjas set that I gave to Storm Shadow years ago. Funny to is that the throwing stars went on that figure the same way as it does on this version of Storm Shadow (on pegs on the thighs).

Now to the figure, uuuugggggh, how do I say it nicely, he is horrid. He recycles the battle damaged storm shadow (which at this point I hope you see I am getting sick of the recycling going on with this line already). The “skirt” attachment pulls up to the chest making Stormy resemble Steve Urkil. There is also the new head which is tattered to death and a new neck piece that appears to be a torn shirt just draped over the shoulders. Yeah there isn’t much I like about the figure itself.

The figure appears to have been inspired by Prince of Persia, which would make sense since I am sure at the time this figure was designed it was assumed Prince of Persia would have been more popular film than it ended up being. Since there are other “inspirations” in the line (i.e. Duke/Solid Snake, Spirit/Billy of Predator, Quick Kick/Bruce Lee) this makes even more sense. However it also screams of a lack of ideas on the part of the GI Joe design team. While GI Joe always took inspiration from a vast amount of places there was still enough original thought involved. While the original Quick Kick looked like he was inspired by Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon there was enough added to make him feel like he was semi-original. This doesn’t seem to be the case with the latest sets of “inspired Joes.” Instead they are direct photocopies which scream of a lack of thought and heart. Two aspects that made GI Joe the juggernaut that it was in the 80’s in my opinion.

So the figure, I say five stars for the accessories and no stars for the figure which balance out to about 2 stars for this figure overall. Buy it for the accessories and give them to your favorite Storm Shadow is the best option.

Next up is my favorite Cobra Mercenary, Firefly. For a while there Firefly was the hardest working man in Cobra. Every TRU box set seemed to have a new version of Firefly. The 25th anniversary versions were ok but fell way short of the coolness factor of Firefly with a combination of skinny arms and gear that choked him. While this was corrected later with a more unique looking comic pack version (repainted as a TRU exclusive) the arms still had the same problem. So how does the POC version stack up? Pretty well actually.

It should be mentioned right off the bat that Firefly comes with less than stellar accessories in some cases. His forearm guards (which attach to his vest on the back) are odd and it’s hard to determine why he would have them. They look like they might be there for hand to hand combat but nothing is said about this. They defiantly are not for protection from explosions. In addition Firefly has two swappable heads. The first one is the (seemingly) Mortal Kombat the movie inspired ninja type mask that is reminiscent of the originals. He also had a weird alien/predator inspired head. Some have speculated this helmet gives 360 degree vision and explains its odd shape. Whatever the reason I just don’t like it. While I get that Hasbro is trying to modernize the troops (and in some cases future them up) I just feel the look of the helmet is too alien (for lack a better term) and detracts from the reality base of GI Joe.

Now GI Joe has always had some oddball concepts that pushed the envelope of believability. Serpantor, B.A.T.s, ect are but a few examples. Even still when the concepts were way out there, there just seemed to be a reality base that kept the Joes feeling real. Personal Opinion but I think you can only push that boundary so far before you (for lack of a better term) alienate the audience. The second head on Firefly actually pushes that boundary to the edge for me.

But another good thing about action figures is that if there is something you don’t like in as far as accessories go, you can toss it to the side and forget about it. If this was his regular head I doubt I would have bought him, but since he has swappable heads the extra one is not a factor necessarily. Thus that is why I give the figure such high marks.

Last up is my favorite Joe, Beachead. To put it mildly BH has had a rough road with his figures throughout the various runs of GI Joe. However he has had less than good luck with Hasbro’s versions of his likeness. His first version had a huge melon head that probably cemented the melon head myth of the ARAH line. This version has several repaints, one of the funniest is a Tiger Force version done by the GI Joe Collectors Club which is now often referred to as “The Great Pumpkin” Beachead. His second version is most notable because it looks much more like a Cyber-Viper than a ranger. In the Spy Troops years BH got a version whose head was fine but the hands were massively oversized. The VvV figure was better but also didn’t quite have that “Beachead” feel. The 25th anniversary figures gave a few stabs at Beachead as well but most notably on those were the skinny arms that just didn’t seem to fit Beachead at all.

Way back in the day when I did serious minded photo-comics, I took a ton of heat over Beachead. Specifically, I had a fight in which Snake Eyes was blamed for a murder (in fact it was Storm Shadow in disguise who later planted the bloody sword in Snake Eyes quarters). The Joes chase Snake Eyes into a warehouse and it comes down to Beachead and Snake Eyes. In a very brutal fight Beachead won, barely. My purpose was two-fold, 1. was to show that Snake Eyes was not invincible as he seems to come across as in the comics and 2. To establish Beachead as a certifiable bad ass character (at least in my Joe-verse). Many who read that was not happy about that turn of events, others thought it was cool. I guess it’s just a subjective thing.

So there is a new version now, how does he stack up. Pretty good actually. The arms are a tad thin from the front but not as bad at the 25th version. The mold and paint on the figure are somewhat unique while still recognizable as Beachead. Of course this figure comes with a bunch of gear and of course he can only carry a few things.

Now to address some of the knocks many people have on this figure. First only one knife, yes it’s true he has one knife and two sheaths (thus one will always be empty) but also the knife is pretty ordinary and I am sure anyone who has been collecting for longer than a year will have a spare they can use here. Next is the flippers, well just like Firefly’s arm guards they can be tossed aside. I’m not sure what the heck these are supposed to be but they look stupid and just need to be tossed. The one knock I will concede on is the oddball thing on his thigh with a cord that leads to his foot, what is it, what is the purpose of the cord? I have no idea and I don’t like it. The thing about the cord and machine is also that it is unremoveable. If it could come off I think I would be ok with it, but as it is it’s just not something that seems to fit this figure.

Even with that knock I still love this figure, he is a great Beachead with no major flaws (as in wonky proportions and still looks like Beachead). Is he perfect, no, but nothing ever is. But he is danged good.

While it’s too early to tell, but so far the POC line has several hits and a few misses. Some of the figures on the horizon make me question if the line has the legs to last but only time and marketplace will tell for certain.