Spy Troops Wave 1 (Wave 5) - Iron Grenadier
I've made no secret of the fact that my favorite subteam in the Joe Universe is without a doubt, the Iron Grenadiers. I've always loved Larry Hama's portrayal of Destro (at least until he became a full-on good guy...I could have done without THAT) and I really enjoyed how he was presented in the Sunbow Toon as well. Destro in any medium is just very, very cool, and I think a lot of the Iron Grenadier figures were vastly underrated.
From Annihilator to Nullifier to Darklon and even TARGAT, these figures were GREAT figures and I really enjoy the whole IG subteam. That being said, I was really looking forward to their new ground trooper coming out in Wave 5. When I saw the first pictures I was a little hesitant. Something looked a little funky...a little out of proportion. I couldn't tell if it was the legs, the shoulders or what, but something didn't look quite right. Which I was a little upset about, because the rest of the figure looked phenomenal. Still, I kept hope alive until the figure was actually released. And now that I have four of them...I had nothing to worry about!
This new Iron Grenadier is flat out fantastic. From the bolted face mask and red ribbed pads...from the metal-plated gloves to the Cobra symbol kneepads. This figure is SWEET. The mold is just terrific. The thick, wrinkled leather screams the IG subset just like it's trademark in the 80's...his combo leather and metallic trimmings just all fit together near perfectly. That ribbed pattern at his left side is a great touch, and I love the nice assortment of pouches, holsters, and belts. Heck, even the boots and turtle-neck style tunic each add a nice little bit to the overall figure. I did finally figure out what was bothering me in the original pictures, though...his feet seem a tad small for the rest of his body. Maybe it's because of his height, or perhaps it's his broad shoulders, but the feet don't mesh quite right. Also, because of the broadness of his chest, his arms are a tad limited in their movement. But man, these are minor issues in a great, great figure!
Of course, the mold is great, but it is made even greater by the color applications on this guy. He has the necessary black and red trim, but Hasbro picked some really cool places to put the red. It stands out just enough, but isn't overbearing...it just works alongside the silver trim to bring the figure together. Not only that, but he has blue trim as well, which perfectly matches the 2002 Destro! While the non-O-ring Destro isn't a figure I plan on using, I think it's very cool that Hasbro thought to make them mesh together as they did.
His accessories are kind of strange, to be honest. The helmet is on the small side, but once squeezed on there just right, fits well and looks great! The shoulder pads are on the large side, though, and truthfully I don't really like to use them. All four of my IG's are operating without their shoulder pads, and I think they just look better that way. Perhaps I'll keep them around for more regal events, but as combat troops they don't work quite so well. Personally, I think the camo-suit is just plain silly for the IG especially...I just stuck it with Recondo, and the color actually mixes darn near perfectly. However, at least the IG does come with a kicking weapon! His bullpup submachine gun is way beyond cool! A great smaller, more portable weapon, yet it looks like it could pack a punch if need be. Powerful, yet small enough to fit in a suitcase...suits the IG to a "T"!
All in all, I think this figure is great...awesome sculpt, good accessories and a cool trooper figure. He almost looks too stacked to be a straight up ground-pounder, but I'm absolutely certain I'll find a place for them in my Joe universe. GREAT figure!!
