G.I. Joe: Retaliation - Cobra Invasion 3-Pack Firefly (Pre-Production Sample)

Note - This is a pre-production sample of the figure and may differ from the retail release

First and foremost I have to give huge props to Josh who very kindly lent me this figure so that I could provide a review to the readers of GeneralsJoes. I continue to be flattered and honored by folks who check out my website, and that people are willing to let me use a pre-production figure for review purposes makes me feel really good about what I do. So huge thanks to Josh, I really appreciate the gesture, and folks who enjoy this review should thank him, too, it wouldn't have been possible without him.

At one point it was safe to say that Firefly was considered the "Boba Fett" of the G.I. Joe universe. Mysterious, deadly, and one of the favorite characters of many G.I. Joe fans out there. When Larry Hama pulled back the veil a little and integrated him with the Arashikage Clan, I can't help but think he lost some mystique with a lot of folks and perhaps fell out of favor, especially once he started wearing lime green in the early 90's.

My own love for the neon 90's meant that I still latched onto Firefly as one of my favorite characters, and I was somewhat disheartened when the 25th Anniversary line gave us the Beachhead repaint with the hiked up webgear that really didn't represent the Cobra Saboteur in a way that I enjoyed. But something happened in 2009... if you cast aside the awful figure that came with the Cobra Gunship and look at the Toys "R" Us exclusive version, Firefly started getting some amazing figures in 2009, and in all honesty, he hasn't let up since.

G.I. Joe: Resolute, Pursuit of Cobra, G.I. Joe: Renegades all gave us some pretty spectacular versions of this timeless Cobra character, and with him being such a main focus in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation film, you had to suspect we'd be seeing plenty more of him. But I'm not sure anyone really expected the 30th Anniversary homage onslaught this this "Cobra Invasion" 3-Pack offers. This Firefly is everything a lover of the classic Firefly could possibly want. It is spectacular.

The bulk of this figure is from the 30th Anniversary Lifeline figure, which is a surprisingly effective base template to build from. It continues to amaze me just how well some of these common parts work for such a diverse group of characters. How a pacifist medic and a ruthless saboteur can essentially be based on the same figure template is incredible. The biggest difference parts-wise is that Firefly has what appears to be a wholly new torso and new headsculpt, which is pretty surprising as well, considering this is for a three-pack that is generally repaint intensive. This second wave of three packs all told have all had a nice array of new parts, although it's likely they are only new to us, and still use existing tooling, just not yet released to the masses. Firefly's torso is a pretty standard two-pocket shirt over a nice knit-collar sweater and looks terrific and very nicely inspired by the original 1984 version of the character.

Because of the new 30th Anniversary style parts, articulation is terrific, with swivel ankles (not the rockers) but with the new double-jointed wrists. Elbows bend deeply, there isn't much extraneous gear hindering movement either. Paint applications are extremely solid as well, if a little monotone. Firefly is pretty much different shades of gray from head to toe with some nicely applied camouflage that looks much clearer here in the final version than it did in early samples shown previously. The best color variation appears once you start putting his accessories on him...

As mentioned, the Firefly figure itself is pretty much just different swaths of gray, but adding his terrific gear gives him some colorful life. He's got terrific green grenades built on amazing new Firefly webgear, obviously designed and built just for the Cobra saboteur. It fits much better than the previous one for the 25th Anniversary version and has some great detail sculpted within.

Adding to the colors are some excellent sculpted bombs, done up in great looking metallic silver and red. Not only do these bombs look great, but they also plug into the webgear on the front and on the back. Very nice addition to Firefly's repertoire.

The figure comes with a familiar pistol and pair of knives, plus a grenade launcher and shotgun, previously seen in the 30th Anniversary line. As a nice homage, the weapons are also a greenish color, which matches the color scheme of the original Firefly's accessories.

Everything considered, this figure is simply fantastic. A great base figure, an impressively accurate vintage color scheme, some terrific weapons. Great articulation, nice 30th anniversary style updates, and a whole lot to love crammed into this one figure. Combine that with the fact that he comes in a pretty neat looking 3-pack for a decent price, and you have more or less a no-brainer. This is one excellent, excellent figure, and I dare say yet another definitive version of the character. Folks who want something new and exciting have plenty of Fireflys to choose from, and now folks who are devoted to the classic look have their own as well.

Now somebody give me my "neon 90's" version, dang it.

GRADE: