AGENT SCARLETT

Agent Scarlett is packaged with Zartan in the G.I.Joe vs Cobra style packaging. She has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. Opening the package is easy. The figures come right out without any ties, tape or other restraints holding the figure in. The weapons are a little too secure. I had to cut the bubble pack to get some of them out. You also get a nice background with the Agent Scarlett filecard attached. You even get issue #1 of the mini comic with a reverse poster on the other side. This poster alternates from pack to pack between Cobra or G.I.Joe. Scarlett doesn't give you the right impression from what you see on the webpages. She does look better in person. Now that isn't saying that Scarlett is perfect however. She suffers from what many female toys suffer from when it comes to a boy's toyline. Well even some of the girl toylines too. What I'm refering to is the breasts. They are a little large. They need to be slightly reshaped. Also this figure has the same thing as the other new sculpts, large shoulders. It's not so bad on the male figures, but it stands out too much on the females. There needs to be a new standard male and standard female body shell that's used to start with. Maybe We'll that can happen once Hasbro is done experimenting with the figures trying to change these into the best possible toy they can. One other thing worth noting, and it's rather odd. Scarlett has 1 swivel leg at the thigh, and the other leg is normal. I found that kind of weird. I give Agent Scarlett 8 1/2 Cobras. It's a nice figure, but it has all the looks of a "first" with a toyline. It looks like an experimental figure. Something not quite up to par as Hasbro had intended, but a good starting point where we should eventually see some improvements with the future waves to come!

DESERT CLAWS

Desert Claws is packaged with Dusty in the G.I.Joe vs Cobra packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. Opening the package is easy. The figures come right out without any ties, tape or other restraints holding the figure in. The weapons are a little too secure. I had to cut the bubble pack to get some of them out. You also get a nice background with the Desert Claws filecard attached. You even get issue #1 of the mini comic with a reverse poster on the other side. This poster alternates from pack to pack between Cobra or G.I.Joe. This is just a straight repaint of of the CLAWs figure. It would be fine enough if he had the O ring already. He doesn't though, and he's painted an off white. The off white makes him look more like an arctic trooper rather than a desert trooper. I give Desert Claws 5 Cobras. He's just a straight repaint of a non-O ring figure. He doesn't fit in well with the figures now and easy to pass up. He's even packed with Dusty which make him even less likely to be in everyone's collection. I only recommend this one to completists.

DUSTY

Dusty is packaged with Desert Claws in the G.I.Joe vs Cobra style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. Opening the package is easy. The figures come right out without any ties, tape or other restraints holding the figure in. The weapons are a little too secure. I had to cut the bubble pack to get some of them out. You also get a nice background with the Dusty filecard attached. You even get issue #1 of the mini comic with a reverse poster on the other side. This poster alternates from pack to pack between Cobra or G.I.Joe. I wasn't really thinking of this figure with this wave. I kept forgetting that he was in it because like most, I already have him from the Sand Razor. Vehicles should come out before figure packs because alot of people would just as soon pass this one up. Dusty is a really nice figure though. He has added plastic parts to give him longer detail to his shirt/jacket. He has a nice detailed head piece and Hasbro even gave hair detail underneath rather than like most companies that just doesn't bother to paint the extras. I'll give Dusty 10 Cobras. Since the Sand Razor had this same exact figure (with an alternate paint style), he's not going to be high on everyone's list of figures to get. Even if you do have the Sand Razor version, this pack is worth getting. Maybe add it to your "in package" collection!

FIREFLY

Firefly is packaged with Nunchuk in the G.I.Joe vs Cobra style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. Opening the package is easy. The figures come right out without any ties, tape or other restraints holding the figure in. The weapons are a little too secure. I had to cut the bubble pack to get some of them out. You also get a nice background with the Firefly filecard attached. You even get issue #1 of the mini comic with a reverse poster on the other side. This poster alternates from pack to pack between Cobra or G.I.Joe. Some people aren't exactly happy with this figure being Firefly, but once they get him they usually change their mind. Sure he has a head that's a little too small and his legs are a little long, but just seeing the articulation Hasbro has brought in this figure is really something to see. The wrist should have went ahead and had articulation though. It's the only thing you really miss. The thigh articulation is cool, but if it's either this or wrist articulation, wrists are the way to go. All that minor stuff aside though, you'll truely enjoy this figure! I can only give Firefly 10 Cobras. He's a truely innovative figure. It really doesn't matter if you like him as Firefly or not, this is a figure you MUST have in your collection. He's the first to implement this level of articulation.

NEO-VIPER COMMANDER

Neo-Viper Commander is packaged with Sgt. Stalker in the G.I.Joe vs Cobra style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. Opening the package is easy. The figures come right out without any ties, tape or other restraints holding the figure in. The weapons are a little too secure. I had to cut the bubble pack to get some of them out. You also get a nice background with the Neo-Viper Commander filecard attached. You even get issue #1 of the mini comic with a reverse poster on the other side. This poster alternates from pack to pack between Cobra or G.I.Joe. The only difference in this figure from a Neo-Viper is the head and color. The head is way too small. A simple repaint and head change would have worked better had the head been proportioned correctly. But this is the same Neo-Viper body with the simple swivel hip. It's now really out of place with the return of the O ring. I'll give Neo-Viper Commander 7 Cobras. Like I said, he's just a repaint with a new head, and the head is too small. Your going to get him anyway cause the HAVE to get Sgt. Stalker! He's ok and will look nice commanding your Neo-Viper army no matter how big or small it is.

NUNCHUK

Nunchuk is packaged with Firefly in the G.I.Joe vs Cobra style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. Opening the package is easy. The figures come right out without any ties, tape or other restraints holding the figure in. The weapons are a little too secure. I had to cut the bubble pack to get some of them out. You also get a nice background with the Nunchuk filecard attached. You even get issue #1 of the mini comic with a reverse poster on the other side. This poster alternates from pack to pack between Cobra or G.I.Joe. Rumor has it that this figure was going to be Quick Kick. He was designed to be this character until he made it to the stage of getting his filecard written. It was at this point that Hasbro wanted continuity and realized that Quick Kick is dead in the G.I.Joe universe. Whether this is true or not, we have a figure named Nunchuk now. He is a cool figure too at that. Martial arts experts, Ninjas, and the like have always been present in the G.I.Joe continuity. This character is a nice addition! He come with swivel ankles that give you an ability to pose him really nice. He has sculpted feet that really look great. The wrists are articulate even! But this is a something to take note of. The peg that holds his hands on are very small. They need to be bigger due to the soft plastic being used. Paint getting into these joints nearly have an effect like glue and you can easily twist off a hand and break it. You can look at my main G.I.Joe site and see how to fix it if this happens, but an average kid would have a terrible time with this. The hands come off pretty easy (too easy) also. This "problem" isn't really that big a deal to a collector, but there is potential for trouble with young kids. I give Nunchuk 10 Cobras. Innovation is the name of the game with Wave 2 figures! This figure will have you calling him Quick Kick more than Nunchuk, but he's still one to have!

SGT. STALKER

Sgt. Stalker is packaged with Neo-Viper Commander in the G.I.Joe vs Cobra style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. Opening the package is easy. The figures come right out without any ties, tape or other restraints holding the figure in. The weapons are a little too secure. I had to cut the bubble pack to get some of them out. You also get a nice background with the Sgt. Stalker filecard attached. You even get issue #1 of the mini comic with a reverse poster on the other side. This poster alternates from pack to pack between Cobra or G.I.Joe. There are no extra articulations on this figure, but once you have him in hand it really doesn't matter. The sculpting done on this figure is really nice. He's truely feels like a new updated version of Stalker. The "Sgt." added is no big deal. I'd go as far as saying this is THE BEST Stalker to be made as of yet. He is really well worth having. You can only think of Sgt. Stalker as a perfect 10 Cobras! He's that good. Yeah the lime green jacket is rather loud, but it really seem to fit the figure well. To me anyway. Plus even with that, if you don't like these colors there is a repaint coming out done in darker colors. You'll get the darker look along with the same amazing sculpt!

ZARTAN

Zartan is packaged with Agent Scarlett in the G.I.Joe vs Cobra style packaging. He has a nice presentation in the package. You get a good look at what your buying. Opening the package is easy. The figures come right out without any ties, tape or other restraints holding the figure in. The weapons are a little too secure. I had to cut the bubble pack to get some of them out. You also get a nice background with the Zartan filecard attached. You even get issue #1 of the mini comic with a reverse poster on the other side. This poster alternates from pack to pack between Cobra or G.I.Joe. Zartan is a nice figure. He captures a lot of what we've come to know Zartan to be. That's on your initial look. Once you really get him in your hands and study him, he's not what you probably would have been wishing the figure to look like. He has his hood, but it's not quite sized up right. It's also removeable and leaves a bald headed Zartan when it's not there. There are no masks or any other hints to give you any thought that he's a master of disguise. His hands are a little clunky with them being a little larger than the average figure. I guess this was done due to the swivel wrists. Plus he has the larger shoulders. I give Zartan 9 1/2 Cobras. He's not exactly what most would picture him to be. You do get the added swivel wrists, which is nice. He also is a very well sculpted figure. I might sound a little harsh in my review of this figure, but he is one of my favorite characters. Because of that I have high hopes when it comes to a figure of him. You do get a really nice figure and he is one that you should buy for your collection, but I can't help but hope for something even better later in future waves.

WAVE 1.5 REPAINTS

These are repainted versions of Viper, Alley Viper, Big Ben, and Mirage from wave 1.5. Hasbro is releasing these as army builders. The general thing said is that these are just packing for the new wave to even the shipment out. Either way we have more versions to create new divisions for Cobra! Alley Viper has been repainted with all his blue from wave 1.5 being done in red. He looks like a commanding officer for the blue guys to me. His mask sheild is black for some reason. All weapons are the same. Big Ben has been repainted with a sky blue shirt and tan paints. All weapons are the same. Mirage is repainted in lighter colors. That's really about the only difference here. All weapons are the same. Viper is repainted in a really great color scheme. Next to the original, this is the best one yet. Some might argue that the Crimson Vipers are the best, but I think everyone's more in favor of this black and blue version. If it wasn't for the reused BAT waist that gives the Viper a flat backside, I might would army build myself! I'll give these repaints 6 1/2 Cobras as a whole. It's a nice effort getting more troopers out there, but it would have been even better to have seen these as new versions of these characters.