G.I. Joe: Retaliation - Snake Eyes

When your unquestionably most popular character is a dude who dresses in all black and wears a mask, you'd imagine that the idea well would sort of run dry after a few years. Believe it or not, Hasbro is going on thirty years of Snake Eyes figures and somehow they still manage to make the figures interesting.

Oh I won't argue that this particular figure even approaches the legendary status that was achieved with the Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3 version...and I won't pretend that this Snake Eyes is new and different enough to be compared to the Resolute version or even the recently released Renegades version.

But yet, even though it comes across as "just another Snake Eyes" there is still something about this figure that captures my attention. The very unique almost leather stitched body suit adds an air of realism to the figure, making him look like he's wearing some state of the art stealth suit rather than ninja jammies or straight up military commando gear. I'm not entirely sure what the source of the suit he's wearing is, but I know that it looks really awesome.

Now if this figure does suffer from anything it's that he loses some cool points for his lack of webgear. As I'm sure many of you remember, I reviewed the 3-Pack version of this figure some time ago, and absolutely loved it...but a big part of that love was the awesome Devils' Due concept webgear that the figure came with. Unfortunately on the straight up single-card release, this webgear is absent, leaving folks who want it to either pre-order the 3-pack or order the Amazon.com 4-Pack. I think in the long run both of those options might be better bargains.

I have read some complaints about how the figure is shaped, but really I like it. He's very muscular with some pretty huge deltoid and trapezius muscles, but I dig that look. Snake Eyes should be ripped, and he should be muscular, and I think this figure fits that profile pretty well.

I'm also happy to report that Snake Eyes' articulation is flawless. He has full range of motion in his knees, has the rocker ankles everyone loves as well as the multi-jointed wrist. Giving the ninja figures all of these parts is a great move, I think, and I love how poseable this figure is.

Then we get to the accessories. Ohhh those accessories. And quickly the favor turns towards the 3-Pack and 4-Pack and away from the single pack.

Yes, in the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra line, there were a lot of gimmicky, spring-loaded weapons. But one thing that series did well was to take those gimmicky weapons and still make decent, functional accessories out of them. G.I. Joe: Retaliation, not so much. Snake Eyes has a large and bulky vest with some swing-out wings that also serve as a zipline for the figure. Yes, there is some of that fun element that I talked about with the Red Ninja figure, but the winged backpack looks pretty ridiculous.

There is one cool piece of this accessory compliment though, and that's his gun. For some reason it gives me a big Sigma 6 vibe, and I mean that in a good way. It's far from realistic, but the shape and style is cool enough that I think it still works, with the exception of the bright blue color. Again, another benefit of springing for the Amazon.com pack is that the weapons are all black. The sword is also pretty cool, with a very streamlined blade and hilt.

All told this is a very cool figure that suffers a bit from being the worst of three different versions all being released at the same time. Sure, the Amazon.com pack is $40, but with four decent figures, it might be worth investing in that one rather than four of the single packs. Something to think about. On its own merits, this figure is pretty bad ass, I just wish there were some other elements that made other versions of this figure even better.

GRADE:

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