Spy Troops Wave 2 (Wave 6) - Depth Charge w/ Wave Crusher
I can say without hesitation that one of my favorite figures from Wave 5 was Barrel Roll, a figure packaged with a mini-vehicle instead of being packaged with another figure. Now that Wave 6 has come by, I've got to say the same thing about this Wave.
My first glimpse of Depth Charge came where many others come, a prototype being illegally sold on eBay. When I first saw the proto, I immediately felt a draw to the figure. His design was sleek and slick...something that the joe figures have not been known for as of late. His proportions seemed spot-on...not only that, but his accessory compliment was terrific, and his mini-vehicle looked GREAT.
Now that I have him in my hands, I can quickly say that my opinion has not changed in the slightest.
Ever since Torpedo came out in 1984, I've had something against guys permanently sculpted in scuba suits. Most likely due to their limited purpose, they often were discarded and went unused. For some reason, that doesn't bother me with Depth Charge. Right up front I'll say that I probably will not use this figure much. I don't have a place for a Joe in a wet suit in most of my missions, but in missions that this guy will work for, this guy will kick butt for! As I thought when I first saw the figure, his mold is sleek and nice. But instead of just giving him a normal wetsuit, Hasbro has him pretty nicely molded. The suit has assorted paneling and layers, which really make an otherwise dreary mold come to life. The pattern on his chest is especially cool, which meshes with his legs in a cool way.
His colors are also drastically different, yet they still maintain some subtlety and coolness about them. A light gray and bright blue hue, his uniform still isn't too bright and still maintains a little covertness. Like Blackout as well, Depth Charge has a new twist to his articulation...instead of swivel arms, there is a joint at his elbows which provides the swiveling feature as well as the bending feature. This new joint seems to work just as well as the old as far as I can tell. It does allow for some painful looking "reverse bending" but still maintains the functionality of our beloved "Swivel Arm Battle Grip".
Perhaps this guy's coolest feature, though, is his Spy Troops gear. It's not often that I say that about a figure, but in this case it really holds true. His helmet is reminiscent of the Moray for certain, but it's not that so much as it's his cool as heck "Wave Crusher" vehicle.
When I first got the BUGG, only a couple of years ago, I immediately fell in love with the mini-jet ski's that it had. I could only picture a platoon of Eels swimming to the surface with those folded up on their backs, only to break out the jet ski's and combat assault on unfortunate frigate. Very cool ideas popped into my head with those, and equally cool ideas are popping into my head for this one. I almost wish the jet ski mode didn't have such an obvious Cobra symbol...I could see this being a plain old Joe attack vehicle. The transformation of this thing is quick and simple enough to be done quickly, but there's enough to it to make it a real "change". I can already see Depth Charge and a group of other Scuba-Joes slamming out of the water on their scuba sleds, only to transform in mid air and be standing on Jet Ski's, racing towards Cobra...very, very cool.
And as if all this wasn't enough, Depth Charge comes with some way cool goggles that fit over his helmet-less head, and his machine gun is absolutely rocking. Yeah, he's got a great mold, a pretty cool paint job, and some wicked accessories. Depth Charge pretty much is the total package...not to mention a pretty cool filecard, which had to have been written by Larry Hama...who else would write about a scuba character who hates the water? :)
To make a long story short, I pretty much consider this figure a must buy for Wave 6...get him and Blackout first, then from there on, you're on your own.
