G.I. Joe vs. Cobra - Snake Eyes

First and foremost for all of these 2002 reviews, I am going to streamline a little bit. If you want basic information and pics of filecards, packaged figures and what weapons came with whom, go check out YoJoe. Eugene has all of the basic pictures up and they’re great as usual! He’s got the necessary information. Me, I’m just gonna tell you what I think of ‘em!

The ultimate G.I. Joe character, a staple in Hasbro history returns as expected here in 2002. This ninja-trained commando, the most popular Joe character by a long shot is back and ready for action! 

Why, Hasbro, why!?! This figure is SOOO cool. The dramatic, detailed mold…the cool straps and great muted colors. His head mold alone screams Snake Eyes to me. But they just couldn’t get it all working together.

His visor and clenched facial features look very cool and bridge that gap between Commando and ninja warrior nicely. His broad, muscular chest underneath the great brown/gray webbing is another nice touch. He’s got that skintight bodysuit which gives him that ninja flair underneath all of the military touches.

His arm detailing and blue wrapped bandages on his ankles and shins really adds that very nice touch to the overall figure, and he comes with a great assortment of accessories. His awesome submachine gun that originally came with the ’89 version and appeared again in the ’00 version really works well with this figure and adds a great military touch. His twin swords and great criss-crossing scabbards are excellent as well, and the knife fits beautifully in his leg sheath. All in all, this figure appears destined for greatness.

So how did Hasbro screw up this should-have been classic? Again, it’s the legs. I get the impression that the designers wanted to make him able to do some assortment of ninja moves, like side kicks, etc, but also wanted him to be able to stand in action. Well, it doesn’t work real well. Granted, he can throw a GREAT sidekick (see below), but besides that pose, and only a scant few others, Snake Eyes just does not stand well. He must be in permanent lunge, which is unfortunate for those of us who use these figures for dio stories, as it makes any kind of versatility an issue. It is really unfortunate, because this figure could have easily been the ultimate version of Snake Eyes…but the pre-posed legs just really takes away too much.