Toy Review: POC Wave 3 Snake Eyes

Pursuit of Cobra
Commando Snake Eyes

It has been awhile since my last GI Joe review. With the mediocrity of the of Rise of Cobra toy line it’s no wonder that it’s one of the lines that I lost track of. With few exceptions (Desert Ambush Scarlett), most of the figures that came out after the movie were pretty terrible (*ahem* Cover Girl *cough*). I still can’t understand why the costume designers gave movie Snake Eyes a mask with molded lips. Who thought that would be cool? It’s like the Bat-nipples from that Schumacher movie. That and the Big F***ing Guns pretty much ruined the whole line for me.

But then I started seeing shots of Hasbro’s follow up, Pursuit of Cobra (PoC). The new line was focused on re-imagining our favorite characters from the old TV show, much like Transformers Classics did to that franchise. The new figures were more realistic, and sported colors schemes that didn’t look as if a kindergartener had finger painted them. They were also better accessorized, with more guns, more gear, and more display options. With several army builders on the Cobra side, this made the line irresistible to me.

It was too bad they weren’t available here in the Philippines.

Luckily, I’ve met some pretty cool people and one of my fellow collectors was able to get a few figures from waves 1 to 4 shipped home.

The ride home from Megamall was spent looking at these new figures and drooling in anticipation. I couldn’t wait to try them out. As soon as I got back, I started opening them one by one and with each new figure, I was convinced that this really is going to be the best line for 2011. It’s hard to beat the playability of these toys; there’s just so much you can do with each of them. The best one by far though is Mr. Arashikage himself, Snake Eyes.

There are 3 Snake Eyes figures in this line, 2 of them are part of the “Desert Battle” group which features figures geared for Desert Combat. The first was in Wave 1 and was originally set to be the “Arctic Threat” Snake Eyes, but was re-colored and re-purposed. This version is the second version, the “Commando” Snake Eyes from Wave 3.

The packaging of the PoC line is EXACTLY the kind of packaging I prefer for figures. It has clear text on the front identifying the figure and toy line, a large, clear window displaying the figure and it’s accessories in a manner that won’t warp the toy, and no annoying tape or twist ties. The back has an explanation of the line and it’s sub groups, as well as the requisite GI Joe bio card. While I do miss the old cards with all their pseudo-military gobbledygook, I can’t help but be distracted by the unbelievably photography on this card back.

It is awesome. So awesome I feel the need to Google a more potent synonym. How about “splendiferous”? Yes, the toy photos on the back of these cards are splendiferous.

This splendiferousness (splendiferocity?) is that they’ve gone back to what they did with Sigma 6, creating dioramas and lighting the toys in them, taking group photos. This both LOOKS better than the stuff they do on their Marvel lines, and showcases more of the toy line. The photography carries to the catalog included in the pack, too. Underneath the figure stand, folded nearly into oblivion, is one of four old school poster catalogs featuring a scene from one of the missions (Desert Battle, Jungle Assault, Arctic Threat, and City Strike).

Like I said, splendiferous.

Once you’ve gotten over the packaging, the awe continues when you break it open. The plastic tray is full to capacity with little black gear. There’s an alternate visored head, web gear, explosives pack, two swords and sheaths, two black knives, a knife sheath that attaches to his web gear, the web gear, a third fancier sword that looks like the one that came in various 25th Anniversary Snake Eyes figures, a rifle, a submachine gun, two different pistols, two suppressors that fit on the SMG and one of the pistols, and his display stand on top of the catalog.

Whew.

And it turns out his knee pads are removable, too. I didn’t know that until I checked www.yojoe.com. Jeez, Louise.

Two heads are better than one and PoC Commando Snakes is the perfect example. Hasbro’s included an extra head that features the louvered visor that many people are more familiar with. It’s easily switchable with the goggled version that he’s packed with. Simply pop off one and pop on the other. Personally, I prefer the visored version best.

His torso sports a textured sweater under the removable web gear. His right arm has the Arashikage standard tampographed (a method of printing detailed designs on irregular surfaces) in red while his left has the white GI JOe eagle logo. Aside from a glossy coat of black on selected areas like his gloves, that’s about it for paint. He is Snake Eyes after all, and Snake Eyes is best recognized in black.

The new figure also sports some great new articulation that Hasbro’s adopted for the line. Both his wrists feature a hinge-post that allow the wrist to not only swivel, but also tilt up and down.

Sure they’ve done this before, but normally, the hand tilts in and out, which was never very useful. Now, the tilt allows the hand to go to a position that lets the figure get into a pose that looks closer to a soldier shouldering his rifle. This is all kinds of cool and I’m infinitely glad they did it. It’s also great for any sword-wielding figures!

In addition to his rifle, he’s also got the two pistols and the Uzi. One of the pistols and the Uzi have small, long barrels poking out. These plug into holes on the tiny suppressors that are included. REMOVABLE SILENCERS? HELL, YES!

He’s also got the two knives. They’re smaller than the ones typically found in the 25th Anniversary line, but this time, they have functional sheaths. This was wowsome.

That’s right. This was so unspeakably welcome when I found it, I made up a word.

And to top off all this bad-assery, Snake Eyes can carry most of this gear on his person. He’s got a holster on his right leg that holds a pistol AND a suppressor (you could connect the second pistol to the suppressor and he can carry both), the two sheaths on his shoulder and right leg, his scabbards have pegs that fit into holes on his back and belt, and he can hold two more of the remaining three accessories. DAMN!

Even if you don’t like loading up you Joes, all of this stuff is nicely sculpted and doesn’t require any special fittings. You can use them for any of the Joes in your collection who were late to the party and didn’t get the good gear when Joe HQ was handing it out.

So far, this is the BEST 4″ Snake Eyes figure from any of the previous lines. It is better than either the Hall of Heroes (HoH) Commando Snake Eyes or the HoH Snake Eyes with Timber. It blows the Rescue Mission Snake Eyes out of the water. City Strike Snake Eyes? Feh! Paris Pursuit? No.

PoC Commando Snake Eyes is the stuff that Willis was talking about.

And guess what? He’s now available in local toy stores! Playkit finally decided to bring the line in and they started distributing these figures to stores yesterday (February 19, 2011)! Get him now.