Snake Eyes (Paris Pursuit)

Who would have thought I'd get this giddy over another Snake Eyes figure? I mean, seriously? What did we get, like 40 of them released in the last 2 years alone? Snake Eyes has been up and down and back and forth, done a million times over, yet some how, some way, Hasbro produced a version of the immortal ninja commando that I actually CARE about. I still don't know how they did it.

Sure, he doesn't look like much up there. Actually, he looks kinda silly, in a "different shades of black with really baggy pants and sleeves" kind of way, but once the whole package fits together, he is one awesome looking ninja Commando. Of course, simply because he is a ninja Commando, he's pretty awesome just by osmosis, but this figure actually delivers.

Snake Eyes' trusty visor gets a bit of a facelift in the Rise of COBRA line, becoming a somewhat translucent lens system, which actually makes all sorts of sense. Somehow, some way, Hasbro designers managed to make his visor semi-clear, yet with lines etched in it to emulate the horizontal "blinds" of the original visor. It's pretty remarkable. Where the first version of the Rise of COBRA Snake Eyes had a pretty permenantly attached visor, this one clips in at the ears, and fits pretty well. Sure, if you jostle the figure hard, it might go a little askew, but for the most part it stays where it's supposed to and works impressively.

Underneath the visor, the head sculpt is all new, which is a saving grace, especially for folks like me who hate the sculpted lips in the movie, and on the toys.

It's kind of funny, there's really nothing overly complex, fancy, or incredible about this figure at all. Generic torso sculpting, nice baggy sleeves...basic combat pants and boots. But when it all comes together, it just looks bad ass. Really bad ass.

It's the trench coat that really pulls it all together. It's a somewhat rubbery material, but slips over his shoulders easily, and fastens tight with the strap over his chest. Obviously, his arms are bulky to simulate the sleeves of his coat, and the coat just looks incredible. The way it's sculpted to drape over the figure and swing at his feet, all the while not significantly restricting movement...it is all really nicely done. The strap across the front also doubles as a strap for his sword sheath, which hangs nicely at his back, holding the trademark Snake Eyes blade.

While the coat is definitely the focal accessory here, the great thing about Snake Eyes is he comes with a ton of other excellent gear as well. He has a nice little combat knife, a great pistol (that's different than some of the other small ones that come with other figures), and of course comes with one of my favorite assault rifles in the line so far. Most of the Joes seem to be coming with bullpup submachine guns, so when a figure has a rifle with a little more balls, I definitely take notice. A great machine gun, to be sure...looks like a Heckler & Koch G36, but I'm not an expert.

Of course, this version of Snake Eyes also comes with trusty Timber...and like the Anniversary version, there seems to be a variant. Early versions of Snake Eyes have a black Timber with brown trim, but recently a gray version has been spotted as well. It's currently unknown which is the rarer version.

So, yeah. Somehow, some way Hasbro found a way to make me care about Snake Eyes again. They certainly didn't do it with version 1 of the Rise of COBRA figures, but they captured that energy this time around. From head to toe, this is one impressive action figure, regardless of who's underneath the coat and how many times they've been released in the line. If you're at all hesitant about owning yet another version of G.I. Joe's most immortal character, don't be. This one is quality.

Buy this figure at Big Bad Toy Store!

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