Spy Troops Wave 1 (Wave 5) - CLAWS Commander
Maybe it's this figure's similarity to one of my all-time favorites, the Crimson Guard...maybe it's the sinister looking facemask...maybe it's the fact that he sings in the Cobra Glee Club. Whatever it is, something about this figure just rocks my world.
When I first opened him and looked at his face, something hit me...I don't know what and I don't know why, but I immediately knew this guy was going to be big. He was going to be important. Don't ask me why or in what capacity, I have no idea yet, but there is just something about this figure that I love, which is downright strange, because there are things about this figure that are pretty flawed.
The mold, all in all, is nice. Very simple, regal mold, which works. The long, red coat is definitely something I can see a Cobra Leader wearing, and this coat is sculpted nicely. The coattails hanging from his waist is also another new thing that Hasbro has taken to doing which works well most of the time, and definitely works well for the CLAWS Commander. I like the belt/holster combo and the whole jacket ensemble really looks authentic. His legs are pretty plain and boring, but that serves his purpose fine. The jackboots are nice, and work as well...which leaves us with...his arms. Good grief, they're freakin HUGE. Perhaps the CLAWS Corps are culled from mutated gorillas kept in a special pen by Dr. Mindbender, but for crying out loud...all of the CLAWS arms are way too long, the Commander's included. And it's not only that his arms are long, but his right arm is considerably longer than his left! Pretty strange, but I'm sitting here staring at them now. It isn't especially noticable unless you set the figure up with both arms hanging at his side, but it is definitely noticable then. And, as if the long arms weren't enough, CLAWS Commander has those near-useless "Mindbender Hands" as well. The hands are turned in such a way so that holding a weapon realistically is a statistical impossibility. He just looks silly in pretty much any pose.
But again, this figure called out to me. I refused to let him go out like that! Using KennyD as an example, I immediately sawed off his hands with an exacto knife, rotated them perhaps 45 degrees and reglued. Would you believe it worked wonders? His hands now work just how I like them! Unfortunately the arm length isn't an issue as easily solved, but this was a step in the right direction.
But despite those problems, I can't help but love the figure. I can see him as a Cobra right-hand man, barking orders, but not afraid to get in the middle of the fight. His helmet suits him absolutely perfectly as well...even without it, his stark white hair and angry look really make him out to be cool, but with the helmet on, he looks downright sinister.
So don't let his arms fool you! You're going to buy this 2-Pack to get Crosshair anyway, take this figure out, play with him a little bit and see what you feel...I know I'm probably strange, but maybe some of you will get that same feeling I did and this figure will end up in a lot more Joeverses than mine.
