COBRA COMMANDER

Cobra Commander is packaged with Duke in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Cobra Commander the Uzi Duke is holding and the rifle with the sliding stock. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Cobra Commander's is written decent enough, but could be better. The look of the figure is decent. He is a little too bulky for being Cobra Commander. It's been presented since 1982 that Cobra Commander has a build to him, but he's not muscular. The high collar is sort of odd of a choice in design too. It's almost as if they were sculpting Destro and decided not to use this as Destro. But instead of starting from scratch with Cobra Commander, they decided to use the started Destro mold. I have no way to prove that, but generally looking at the figure, it looks like it. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I'll give Cobra Commander 7 Cobras. Due to his size, the articulation problem, his Ultimate Warrior looking logos on his arm bands, and his Beanie Babie looking knife hilt on his leg, I have to take marks off. He's a nice figure to have, but it's definitely one that will take a back seat to any others later on.

COBRA C.L.A.W.S

Cobra C.L.A.W.s is packaged with Heavy Duty in the new vs packaging style. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Cobra C.L.A.W.s the uzi and the large gun that came with last year's Fast Blast Viper. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Cobra C.L.A.W.s is well written. The figure has a futuristic look about him. He has the over all look of a heavy combat soldier, but reminds me of one character from the G.I.Joe Extreme line. He also almost has too individualistic look about him to say he's one of several soldiers. I've tried putting more than one together to see how it looks, and it just doesn't seem to work as well as the Vipers or other Cobra soldiers. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I give Cobra C.L.A.W.s 6 Cobras. He'd score higher if he had looked more like the concept drawing and not so much like a stand alone character. Also he has somewhat of a stumpy look about him due to him not being proportionate. A later remake of this figure would be great.

DUKE

Duke is packaged with Cobra Commander in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Duke the backpack that's obviously made for him, the "celphone", and the large pistol like gun. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Duke's is written decent enough, but could be better. The look of the figure is rather plan. He looks like a regular troop and not so much as what most fans expect Duke to look like. He also has a helmet that's permanently attached to his head, so you have no option. He's pretty bulky too, and even though you kind of expect Duke to have a larger than average build, he never has seemed like a character that'd be overly built. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I'll give Duke 7 1/2 Cobras. Due to his size, the articulation problem, his blandness, and a non removable helmet, I have to take marks off. A remade version of Duke would be preferred, and I can see this version being put away once Hasbro does release something else.

FROSTBITE

Frostbite is packaged with Neo Viper in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Frostbite the backpack with skis that's obviously made for him and also the rifle. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Frostbite's is written decent enough, but should have had some inclusion about his past in G.I.Joe. The look of the figure is excellent. His bulky size works well since he is a cold weather trooper. He's a really nice designed figure and the only thing that could be better is his torso looks little too short for his legs. The simulated fur collar looks great too. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I give Cobra Frostbite 9 Cobras. The only thing keeping him from having a full 10 is because of his articulation. The detraction that's made due to his articulation, or any wave 1 figure causes a full 1 Cobra to be taken away. He's definitely a figure to get though, and would be put away only if another retooled version is made.

GUNG HO

Gung Ho is packaged with Destro in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Gung Ho the rifle with the sliding stock, put the gun he comes holding into the holster, and placed the knife in the sheath. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Gung Ho's is written decent enough, but could be better. The look of the figure is decent. He is a little too bulky even for Gung Ho. He has a goatee now where all past figure only had the long moustache. This really isn't a problem to me since it's feasible that he could have grown the other hair, but some fans say it just isn't Gung Ho. His outfit is the only part of him that seems less likely to be something Gung Ho would wear though. But he's an ok figure. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I'll give Gung Ho 7 1/2 Cobras. His slightly out of character look, overly bulky size, and of course the articulation problem are the reasons for his rating result.

HEAVY DUTY

Heavy Duty is packaged with Cobra C.L.A.W.s in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Heavy Duty the backpack, the 50 cal. gun that was packed with Double Blast last year, and put the small gun in his leg holster. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Heavy Duty's is written decent enough, but should have given some history of his past with G.I.Joe, or at least went into better detail of the character. The look of the figure is like a mix of Roadblock and Heavy Duty. He looks ok, but he's change from the older versions of Heavy Duty. He's also too bulky. Hasbro has established Heavy Duty to be a character that is suppose to be well built, but the figure doesn't look right. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I'll give Heavy Duty 6 Cobras. If he wasn't so wide in the chest and it didn't look like Heavy Duty became obsessed with Roadblock, he'd have received higher ratings. His articulation is an automatic 1 mark off though.

MORAY

Cobra Moray is packaged with Wet Suit in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package now that Hasbro has rearranged the Moray, but early packing variations have him with his back turned. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Cobra Moray the trident he came holding. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Cobra Moray's is written well. The look of the figure is nice. He has breathing tubes that connect to his chest, though no apparent oxygen tanks are present. He also looks a little thin. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist, though a plus is that it looks ok on this figure. I'll give Cobra Moray 8 Cobras. His articulation and unproportionate skinniness cause rating deduction.

NEO VIPER

Neo Viper is packaged with Frostbite in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Neo Viper the gun with the scope. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Neo Viper's is written well. The look of the figure is great. He does look better in the concept art, but the figure is nice anyway. I can't necessarily think of the Neo Viper as the "grunt trooper", but he is a great Cobra addition. I see them more along the lines of a armored attack battalion, like a special unit. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist though it's not as bad on this figure. I'll give Neo Viper 9 Cobras. If he had full hip and waist articulation, he'd get a solid 10!

SNAKE EYES

Snake Eyes is packaged with Storm Shadow in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Snake Eyes the obvious black sword sheaths and the swords with the straight hilt. I also took an extra uzi from another pack with Cobra C.L.A.W.s because no gun looked right for Snake Eyes that he came with. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Snake Eyes' is written decent enough, but could be better. The look of the figure is rather poor. The colors almost make him look more like a Cobra trooper than Snake Eyes. It isn't exactly what I've come to expect Snake Eyes to look like. His legs are way too spread apart. There's no reason for him to be made this way, and as a result I've only found one pose he looks good in. Incidentally, it's pose that does make the figure look great and seems like the way he was sculpted. The trouble is that this is an action figure and should be able to have the free posing play so a kid could have fun with it. He looks like he's either been kicked hard or carrying a load. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I'll give Snake Eyes 4 1/2 Cobras. Even though Snake Eyes is my favorite character of G.I.Joe, a poorly done figure doesn't get a high ranking. As a Snake Eyes fan, he a figure worth having, but he'll be put away once newer versions are made.

STORM SHADOW

Storm Shadow is packaged with Snake Eyes in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Storm Shadow the white sword sheaths that obvious go with him and he also got the swords with the claw hilt. I also gave him the small dagger. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Storm Shadow's is written decent enough, but should have went into detail to describe him being back with Cobra. The look of the figure is decent. He would have had a better look if they would have made him closer to the concept art idea. The bold red on white is rather Cobra like, but just doesn't seem very Storm Shadow like. He has a wide stance, though nothing like the Snake Eyes figure. He's also a little too bulky for a ninja. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I'll give Storm Shadow 6 Cobras. His rating is due to the wide stance, a little too bold of colors, and his articulation is severely needed for this figure. He's worth owning, though later versions of Storm Shadow would be better to own.

WET SUIT

Wet Suit is packaged with Cobra Moray in the new vs style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. When you open the package, he comes right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restraints holding him in. There are several accessories. I gave Wet Suit the backpack scuba gear and the obvious mask that's his. He also kept the spear gun he was packed holding. A plus would have been the inclusion of a stand. You also get a fairly nice background drop that you can use to place in front of your figures if you set them up on display. Attached to the background are the filecards. Wet Suit's is written decent enough, but could be better. The look of the figure is pretty good. He has little valves on his elbows and legs that look like some weird exhaust system. The scuba outfit looks more like space armor, but works ok. He's just not exactly a scuba soldier as I've come to expect with G.I.Joe. This figure also has the simple forward/backward articulation for the hips and a simple rotating joint for the waist. I'll give Wet Suit 7 Cobras. He gets marks off for having a scuba outfit that's not quite up to par, and of course his articulation is needed for nice poses. Ankle articulation on scuba figures also is needed.

REPAINTS

The repaints are nothing more than the wave 1 figures done in a different coloring. With wave 1 figures still on the shelf, the idea alone just isn't that great. Sure Hasbro will make money from us collectors buying them for our sets, but I just don't see kids wanting them when they aren't mass buying the regular versions. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just the way I see it. The differences aren't really worth it even from the stand point of a customizer. The variations are ideas that I couldn't think of a single reason I'd actually paint these figures in this way. If you haven't bought any wave 1 figures, buy the original versions. The only exception that really looks cool is the Storm Shadow done in grey and a deep red. The Cobra troops (Neo Viper, C.L.A.W.s, and Morey) are cool to have in alternate colors because you can use them as commanders or a new division of their particular squad. I'd collectively give all the repaints a simple 4 1/2 Cobras. They're repaints, and in most cases they aren't made to look better than the first version. Plus repaints get a lower rating by default.

Big Ben

Big Ben is packaged with the Cobra Alley Viper. They are situated in a fairly nice pose to show off the "vs" theme. Both figures are shown off well. When you open the package both figures come right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restrants holding them in. There are several accessories. Some are held in with tape. It's pretty self explainitory which weapon goes to which figure. Those that are not in a situated pose with the figure are just extras you can use with ether figure. You also get a nice background that can be used for displaying your figures. Attached to the background are the filecards. Big Ben's is written ok. Big Ben will be retiring from G.I.Joe by the time Hasbro gets though with him! He came into G.I.Joe as a regular trooper, but then he was repainted and stuck out in the Arctic as a snow trooper. Now he's getting normal clothes back and is a regular trooper again. There are more version coming out too! Still in all, this is a nice repaint version of Big Ben. I couldn't really fault the figure based on all his uses this time! I can only give Big Ben 10 out of 10 Cobras simply based on the look of the figure. He's really nicely done. If you have the other versions on him, I'd still recommend picking this one up.

Cobra Alley Viper

Cobra Alley Viper is packaged with the Big Ben. They are situated in a fairly nice pose to show off the "vs" theme. Both figures are shown off well. When you open the package both figures come right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restrants holding them in. There are several accessories. Some are held in with tape. It's pretty self explainitory which weapon goes to which figure. Those that are not in a situated pose with the figure are just extras you can use with ether figure. You also get a nice background that can be used for displaying your figures. Attached to the background are the filecards. Alley Viper's is written ok. The Alley Viper is an odd concept to me. I can understand the idea of a so called "riot gear" Viper being needed to control a crowd, but that's assuming they are in control of a city or country. Cobra has Springfield, but they can handle a "crowd" with mind control. They're really for use in urban attacks. They are specialized in knowing how to come in to a city and take it over in a manor that doesn't require total distruction. They're appearance and gear just give the insinuation of a "riot gear cop". Cobra Alley Viper easily gets 10 Cobras! He's a great looking figure and very recommended for everyones collection. There's been other repaints in the past of ts figure, but this version out does them all including the original.

Cobra Slice

Cobra Slice is packaged with Sure Fire. They are situated in a fairly nice pose to show off the "vs" theme. Both figures are shown off well. When you open the package both figures come right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restrants holding them in. There are several accessories. Some are held in with tape. It's pretty self explainitory which weapon goes to which figure. Those that are not in a situated pose with the figure are just extras you can use with ether figure. You also get a nice background that can be used for displaying your figures. Attached to the background are the filecards. Cobra Slice's is written fair. Cobra Slice has been through a repaint before when he was just called Slice. Hasbro took a nice red colored figure and turned him BRIGHT orange. Now they have returned him to red. Hasbro did a nice job with him too. He could have been better, but I'm just partial to the original. I give Cobra Slice 8 11/2 Cobras. I think he could have been done better.

Cobra Viper

Cobra Viper is packaged with the Mirage. They are situated in a fairly nice pose to show off the "vs" theme. Both figures are shown off well. When you open the package both figures come right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restrants holding them in. There are several accessories. Some are held in with tape. It's pretty self explainitory which weapon goes to which figure. Those that are not in a situated pose with the figure are just extras you can use with ether figure. You also get a nice background that can be used for displaying your figures. Attached to the background are the filecards. Cobra Viper's is written ok. Next to the regular Cobra Trooper, this is the second most wanted figure. Any and all repaints/re-releases are fine because these are troopers! Different colors on them just mean different divisions. There is a down side to this figure though, and the down side is the figure's butt! Hasbro is using the original Cobra B.A.T. legs and waist to make this figure complete. They are not using the original legs and waist. This is distracting somewhat. You can write it off as some kind of weird armor underneath, but it's better if you can fix it by adding a little putty and paint. It's not necessary to mess with it, but if it's too distracting, it is a way to fix it. I give the Viper 9 1/2 Cobras. The butt keeps him from getting a full 10. He's a great figure and looks very nice. Hasbro just should have picked another waist mold to use.

General Tomahawk

General Tomahawk is packaged with the Headman. They are situated in a fairly nice pose to show off the "vs" theme. Both figures are shown off well. When you open the package both figures come right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restrants holding them in. There are several accessories. Some are held in with tape. It's pretty self explainitory which weapon goes to which figure. Those that are not in a situated pose with the figure are just extras you can use with ether figure. You also get a nice background that can be used for displaying your figures. Attached to the background are the filecards. General Tomahawk's is written ok. This is the 3rd painting of this figure. The first time was with the talking commandos. He had a large back pack with the sound features. This unfortunately is the down side to this figure. While the colors done on him are really great, that flat back just looks stupid. It wouldn't take Hasbro long at all to fix the extra roundness to make it look right. The flat back is easily helped by giving the figure a backpack, but it still looks dumb. I've come to like the "Tomahawk" name with Devils Due's explaination though. I only give General Tomahawk 8 1/2 Cobras. It's a 3rd generation repaint for one thing, and that flat back just has too much of an eye distraction to it. He's not necessarily a figure I'd say to rush out and get if you already have one of the other two versions.

Headman

Headman is packaged with the General Tomahawk. They are situated in a fairly nice pose to show off the "vs" theme. Both figures are shown off well. When you open the pacakge both figures come right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restrants holding them in. There are several accessories. Some are held in with tape. It's pretty self explainitory which weapon goes to which figure. Those that are not in a situated pose with the figure are just extras you can use with ether figure. You also get a nice background that can be used for displaying your figures. Attached to the background are the filecards. Headman's is written fair. Headman makes use of the original Headman mold. They've changed some things up and just made him a petty theif and such rather than a drug dealer. He looks ok, but the bright orange suit could have been better. Giving him the old Range Viper grenade launcher is pretty neat since it gives a TommyGun look to him. I can only give 8 Cobras here. He's an ok figure and should be in everyone's collection, but his orange suit and over all look is sort of odd. He's an odd addition to Cobra.

Mirage

Mirage is packaged with the Cobra Viper. They are situated in a fairly nice pose to show off the "vs" theme. Both figures are shown off well. When you open the pacakge both figures come right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restrants holding them in. There are several accessories. Some are held in with tape. It's pretty self explainitory which weapon goes to which figure. Those that are not in a situated pose with the figure are just extras you can use with ether figure. You also get a nice background that can be used for displaying your figures. Attached to the background are the filecards. Mirage's is written good. Mirage is a great reuse of the Mega Marine mold. He is done in colors that are a million times better than the original figure. He hs that futuristic military look about him, but he's still a nice figure. I give Mirage 10 out of 10 Cobras! There's really nothing bad here at all. He's a great figure and a must to put in your collection!

Sure Fire

Sure Fire is packaged with the Cobra Slice. They are situated in a fairly nice pose to show off the "vs" theme. Both figures are shown off well. When you open the pacakge both figures come right out. There's no tape, ties, or other restrants holding them in. There are several accessories. Some are held in with tape. It's pretty self explainitory which weapon goes to which figure. Those that are not in a situated pose with the figure are just extras you can use with ether figure. You also get a nice background that can be used for displaying your figures. Attached to the background are the filecards. Sure Fire's is written good. This is a old style figure with a new head painted up to match the new style figures. Sure Fire looks great and has a very nice military look to him. I give Sure Fire 10 out of 10 Cobras! He's just a real well done figure and is definately one to add to evryone's collection!