HissTank.com forum member slang got his hands on the so-far unreleased Resolute version of Destro, and did up a review over there. He was also kind enough to agree to share that review and the images here on GeneralsJoes as well.
Keep in mind that the current release of this figure is up in the air…Hasbro stated in a recent Q & A that there were no plans to release Resolute Destro in 2009, but I for one am hoping that they change their mind. I think they were pretty surprised about the response for the animated feature and the action figures as well, so here’s hoping their faith in these designs is renewed and we end up getting these awesome looking figures on shelves and pegboards. Enough of that, though…here is slang’s review:
Overall, when I first saw the images of this version of Destro I knew I had to have it as my modern update to the character. I was underwhelmed with the ROC version when I got him, mainly because of the mask and fairly “large” hands.
The replaceable mechanical arm is a sweet touch. While there was no indication of this in the movie, the torn fabric at the topic of this lends itself to a great scene in which he is caught in some sort of blast and his arm catches fire or something 🙂 My only concern with the arm is the rather small post used to attach it. I would think that constant arm swapping would easily lead to it breaking off. Then again, this is a factory sample, so perhaps in production it would be sturdier.
The skirt is in keeping with the Resolute Cobra dress code, and just like CC, it is only removable if you separate the torso. (At least I couldn’t find a snap or anything on it). It is slit, so at least Destro can show some leg once and a while. I love the skirt on this Resolute version, it gives him a great trench coat look and makes him rather menacing. The boots are nice and tall, with pant legs tucked in. This being a sample, the pants below the knee joint are the same color as the boots, and not painted to match the upper leg.
Paint scheme is very nice, overall it is a nice dark blue, with the red striping, gold braid and silver buttons standing out nicely. Upper body articulation is great, with wide movement for both arms and head. Legs, as to be expected, are somewhat restricted by the skirt.
Accessories are nice, especially the aforementioned replacement arm and the opening MARS briefcase, which not only holds his sub machine gun, but also has a flip up computer monitor. The band of plastic that attaches the two sides of the case is starting to “whiten” from stress after only one open/close, so again I would think that regular use would lead to it breaking. His two pistols are on the small side, but fit nicely into the great holsters on his belt.
This is my first review for the ‘Tank, so hopefully this does the figure justice and you all can see the pics. If anyone has any questions, fire away!
no images were found
A huge thanks to slang for passing on these images and the review to GeneralsJoes…this figure is a GREAT one!
So… It seems Destro and Luke Skywalker have the same surgeon. 😛
Great figure and review. I honestly hope Hasbro releases him even if he has to be integrated into the movie line.
Man, I LOVE this Destro!!!
-Anonymous
Awesome figure, but leave it to Hasbro to get caught off guard by the success of Resolute. A well done animation based on the characters as written, not moviefied, I mean modified, and we LOVE it? Hasn’t this been what the whole 25th anniversary thing has been about since day one?? How could they have been surprised when this is what we’ve been asking for for years?
I’m not trying to rag on Hasbro, they aren’t Mattel which is a HUGE bonus in their favor, but they do make their fair share of head scratching moves as well.
Reasonably cool, but those skirts all the Resolute Cobra names are saddled with are awful.
The mold would be also be a great base for a Cesspool figure.
Valo: What Resolute did I watch? That doesn’t sound anything like what I saw. The Resolute I watched was full of poor pacing, plotholes, bland action, and dull characters with shallow motivations.
Oh, and Super Ninja Punches. Almost forgot about those.
Love, love LOVE that Resolute Destro…and the cartoon. I am intrigued by the seemingly vast divide between fans on Resolute…people seem to either love it or hate it. I’m in the love camp. I see all these “alterna-takes” on Joe refreshing and inspiring.
I know I’ll get sniffed at for this, but Resolute brought me back to Joe. I’ll always be a fan of the Hama-verse, and I’m glad he’s in on the new IDW mythos, but I’ve enjoyed all takes on Joe…They’re a great, versatile toy, so how couldn’t creators see great, versatile ways to tell Joe stories. The best part is, we can take what we want and leave the rest…”like your salad bar.” /rant
-Nas
ROC destro will still be my display destro but damn i think i found my Alexander
looks like a fun toy can’t wait to grab him
@Fred
I admit it isn’t perfect, but I’ll take compressed story over accelerator suits any day, but that’s just my take. I won’t trash the movie because it’s not fair to compare something that has yet to be released with something that has, but I’m saddened that all the things I had hoped to see in a Joe film have been few and far between, and yet we’re getting so many things that are apparently supposed to be cool but just come off as weak.
My point to the post though was that I’m amazed how Hasbro could be surprised that mainstream media exposure would create a demand for Joe product from said media exposure, and from what they’ve said has no plans to capitalize on it. Considering they have made it sound like they’re putting all their eggs in the movie’s basket and that the future of modern Joe lines depends on movie product setting the world on fire, I would think they’d be eager to capitalize on ALL forms of exposure, Resolute included.
“I’ll take compressed story over accelerator suits any day”
You aren’t. You’re taking ‘turning the atmosphere into a death ray’, ‘conveniently on FLAGG and undestroyed stratospheric balloons’, and ‘punches that knock people back 25 feet’ over Accelerator suits.
“Considering they have made it sound like they’re putting all their eggs in the movie’s basket and that the future of modern Joe lines depends on movie product setting the world on fire, I would think they’d be eager to capitalize on ALL forms of exposure, Resolute included.”
I’d say that they probably didn’t. The 5 or so unreleased Resolute figures were originally slotted into 25A waves 14, 15 and beyond, remember? It seems that they had every intention of fulfilling a predicted demand for Resolute figures… but then the major retailers (Target, Wal-Mart, TRU) failed to order the figures in sufficient amounts and strong armed Hasbro into going hard into the movie line, likely based on the success of the first Transformers movie and its toyline. It’s also the reason why the Alley Viper lost it’s single card release and ended up in the Cobra Island pack.
Frankly I’m disappointed with the nebulous future of the Resolute toys myself; while I did not like the movie/series very much, the character design work WAS excellent, and I would happily buy the figures of Roadblock, Scarlett, and Baroness (if the skirt was easily removed).
I’d also say the Hasbro Network plan (the Discovery Kids deal) seems to imply an intent to establish a foothole in cable that they control, possibly to produce NEW cartoons to promote their product.
I could be wrong, but I don’t remember seeing Resolute Destro listed as part of any of the single waves. Also, Hasbro could have handled this a lot better, in the sense that there hasn’t been anything new at retail save the five packs in months, until the movie product hits shelves I can say for myself I haven’t spent a dime on Joe since early March, and it’s almost June, so if the major retailers are responsible then they have kind of shot themselves and Hasbro in the foot. I’m just wondering if they are going to clearance out 25th Joe stuff before the movie hits or just send it back to Hasbro.
I understand your reasons for not loving Resolute, I didn’t love it, but I found it enjoyable. I’m just curious are you excited for the movie?
Not really excited for the movie, but I am excited for the movie toyline, which has a lot of cool looking figures.
I am cautiously optimistic about the movie itself. It could easily be exactly what Hasbro would want a GI Joe movie to be (an unexceptional but fun PG action movie that reinvigorates the brand among children). The character changes, if played right, could easily work.
And, personally, I’m fine with changing the characters to give it a new spin, provided they actually write good new versions of the characters; my problem with the Resolute characters was not necessarily that they were changed, it was that the were changed and given no depth. Of the characters given actual motivation in Res, we got two people outright stating that everything they did was for love of killing despite appearances and Cobra Commander saying he wanted to take over the world so that he’d have a lot of money.
Changing Baroness to have a romantic past with Duke to give her more personal conflict with the team, and into being married into nobility as a part of a terrorist plot could both easily work, for instance, and ‘blaming the Army for letting her brother die’ can be just as valid a motivation as ‘blames American soldier for murdering her brother’ if they execute it right.
Oh, and one other point: the whole 5 month gap in new product is shit… but it’s obviously retailer driven, much like the near identical gap in Transformers releases. With the two BIG summer movies for Hasbro’s two biggest in house brands, the retailers, looking at the phenomenal success of the last Transformers movie, decided to reject anything other than the toylines that they feel will be similarly succesful.
The existence of all these new molds, the rebranding of the comic two-packs, the leaked ‘Snake Eyes vs. Night Creeper’ and ‘Arctic Scarlett vs. Cobra Commander’ art, and the carded samples of the Vine BAT and NF Falcon all point to Hasbro having planned to release all sorts of new GI Joe stuff through at least March. But, if the orders aren’t there, the toys won’t come out. Hasbro, to recoup the pre-production costs and to placate disappointed fans, even decided to force some of the product out anyway through internet exclusives.
Could it have been done better? Absolutely. Is it unfortunate that they are canceling wave after wave of stuff? You bet. Is it fair to blame Hasbro for not being able to force Wal-Mart into buying stuff they don’t want to sell? Not really.
Reso Destro rocks…just got mine in today and he is worth it…..