Alley-Viper

When I first heard about this figure coming in the single packs, I was sure this was going to be an amazing example of a 25th Anniversary style figure.  Knowing what Hasbro was capable of with sculpting, accessories and figure design, I was absolutely sure, this figure would blow my socks off.

Well, we never got it in single pack form, but seeing it in the 7-packs, it nearly meets all of my expectations.  Perhaps the main reason I like the Range-Viper so much is that it was such a pleasant surprise, but the Alley-Viper simply meets my expectations, so it didn’t “wow” me quite as much, but it’s still a damn nice figure.

The Alley-Viper uses the ’89 Snake Eyes body “under the hood” with some new arms, new legs, and a new head.  But it’s really what’s on top of that stuff that makes the figure what it is.  His large, bulky flak vest is suitably imposing and bullet proof, and his helmet with facemask both look really, really nice.  Even with the gear, though, the figure is very well articulated, posing and moving exceptionally well, especially considering all of the gear he’s wearing.  The vest does limit things slightly, of course, but it’s still fairly realistic considering what a normal guy all padded up like that would be able to do.

The truly astounding thing with this figure are the two knife sheaths, though…one on his upper chest, and one on his right forearm, with removable knives that slide in effortlessly, and are easily removed, yet never in the way of posing the figure.  These are done so nicely and so out of the way, that I really wonder why stuff like this can’t be done with other figures as well.  The paint apps are as bright as normal, but reminiscent of the vintage version of the figure, and this is a very nice update.

The gear only serves to make a good figure great.  I’ve already mentioned the helmet, knives, and vest, but I’ve gotta talk about the backpack and submachine gun as well.  Well, the backpack is the one weak point of the figure.  I appreciate the fact that they endeavored to make the grappling gun removable, but there’s no way for it to stay in place either.  I’ve seen recommendations for using the clear rubber band that comes with the figures, but that seems like a placeholder to what should have been a better solution straight out of the box.

His machine gun is terrific for urban operations, and much better than the one in the 80’s, I think.

Whether he’s all equipped, or fairly unequipped, the Alley-Viper is a great figure that moves well, looks nice, and has a bunch of awesome gear.  How can you go wrong?  Alley-Viper was always one of my favorite figures back in the day, even with the bright colors, and this one lives up to those expectations.  I don’t rate him quite as high as Range-Viper or Zap, mostly because of the backpack issues, but he’s still a fantastic figure who deserves a place in anyone’s collection.

Buy this set at Big Bad Toy Store!

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