Big Boa - Figure Subscription Service (Wave 1)

In spite of what you might remember from the Pursuit of Cobra and 30th Anniversary, Hasbro (or the Collectors' Club for that matter) can not always create perfect action figures. It's actually pretty rare that everything comes together with accessories and figure tooling to create a rendition of a character that is so close to perfection.

Big Boa manages to do that, and do it with flair.

I find it amazing that so many fans are eager to get this figure in hands, considering the propensity fans have to hate the Cobra figures from 1987. Crystal Ball, Raptor, Cobra La, Croc Master, and Big Boa have always had a mild stigma about them. In spite of that, the Collectors' Club invested some serious money making Big Boa the central figure in this first series of the Figure Subscription Service and they do it marvelously.

The figure tooling, from neck to feet, is G.I. Joe: Resolute Roadblock which is exactly the right choice. He is huge, he is muscular, and while there are some differences from the vintage version it looks close enough to work. Fantastic articulation, with great elbow motion, and I cannot think of many structural problems with this figure. It's an awesome base to work from.

Big Boa's new head sculpt is nearly flawless, looking very much like the vintage version, but with the air hose sculpted directly onto the helmet and not a separate piece as it was back in the day.

I think where this figure really shines, though, are with the color choices. The blue and the red colors are bright, vibrant, and pretty fantastic. In a world where G.I. Joe and Cobra can be defined by fairly muted colors, it refreshing to see this strong vintage aesthetic. As readers probably know, I have an affinity for brightly colored figures, and Big Boa does not disappoint in the least. These were some bold choices and I think the Collectors' Club killed it.

ACCESSORIES

Being the Cobra trainer, Big Boa doesn't come with any firearms but that doesn't mean he's not well-equipped. Like some other selections in the Figure Subscription Service the Collectors' Club used Big Boa as an opportunity to get some previously unreleased accessories into collector's hands.

At the tail end of the Rise of Cobra line, a version of Duke was supposed to be released with training equipment. Like so many other figures of that time Duke ended up on the cutting room floor. Apparently his accessories were tooled up, and now the Collectors' Club is using those parts to equip the Cobra trainer. As I said earlier, it's rare that figures and accessories all come together this nicely, and kudos to the Club for making this work. Probably my favorite aspect here are the boxing gloves. They do not actually fit over his hands, but are instead swappable hands of their own, which works extremely well. They fit seamlessly, the hands come off without issue and Big Boa looks excellent either bare handed or all gloved up. The fact that the Collectors' Club designed and tooled these new accessories is terrific.

The end result is one heck of a beautiful update to a great vintage release. Presentation on the single card is excellent, the figure design works on every level, and his accessory compliment really works. This is a terrific figure, and I think any Joe fan needs to find a way to pick this bad boy up.

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