Topic: Some GI Joe Retaliation figures reviewed

[zedhatch]

So after nearly a year without GI Joe the Joe and Cobra conflict is back in a huge way with GI Joe Retaliation.  While normally I don't say much about packaging but dear lord this is horrible.  I reminds me of the Wolverine Origins packaging. 

OK, so we did have a first wave for Retaliation last year and that wave was lackluster at best.  While some good figures were in there (Red Ninja) most were easy not to buy with reduced articulation and new gimmicks that annoy the crap out of me (Roadblock).  This was the stuff I have waited all year for and it has finally arrived and is arriving in force.  Sure the Dollar General stuff was good too but again we needed something fresher.  So how do these new figures match up.  Well there are a few places they miss the mark but overall they work well. It's a bit hard to figure out where to begin so I just kind of put the ones I have found at random for now. 



First up I am going to argue a bit with many reviewers I have read on the web.  I really don't think the head sculpt is a good likeness of Adrianne Palicki.  That isn't to say the head sculpt is bad but when you compare it to the actress well...



I just think she looks a lot different.  Then again I wouldn't mind a figure like this one:



Hey, we need a good Wonder Woman (we'll see if the DC Injustice line from DC Collectibles will live up to that or not later I guess).



Her body is a recycled Renegades Scarlet which is both a good and bad thing.  I'm not sure if Lady Jaye actually wears an outfit like this in the film but I have yet to see one like this in the stills from the movie.  Surprisingly she does not come with some gimmick weapon but instead has a nice complement of different guns, rocket launcher, and other weapons that have been done before but at least give her a healthy supply of options.  Not sure if all this gear reflects anything she does in the movie but I guess we all will figure that out soon enough. 

I wonder if some recycling of 25th parts like the torso along with some new parts would have produced a better result that on the surface appeared more movie accurate.  She seems virtually unchanged from the original pictures we saw which is fine.  While it is odd to see Lady Jaye with a ponytail after so many years of seeing her with shorter hair is odd it doesn't take away from the character even though it almost seemed that shorter style was iconic to Lady Jaye.     



Overall verdict is she is worth it but I doubt she will substitute for the DVD set Lady Jaye at this point.  There is a touch of cheap fell due to the straight recycle of the body but it's not so terrible that I would think anyone would regret the purchase. 

Next up, THE ROCK!



Roadblock (unlike Lady Jaye) has a fantastic likeness of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.  So much so that you want to scream "Do you smell what the Roadblock is cookin'?" (HAHA, see he's a chef and, uh, yeah).  Rock had another figure last year with some limited articulation and a weird tab thing attached to the hand.  That was an easy pass for me.  I was going to wait for the "Ultimate" Roadblock but I really wanted a Rock-Roadblock soon.  I caved and grabbed this "Battle Kata" Roadblock. 

My major knock is the huge holsters on the thighs.  Their placement and size are reminiscent of Wild Bill from the 25th line, only this time it's much worse. 

Rockblock is loaded with impressive amounts of articulation.  In fact he can almost pull off a Shawn Michaels pose. 



The "Battle Kata" concept is kind of weird though.  Apparently Rockblock uses handles and switches out weapons  (I suppose after he has broken them or something).  . 








Now the presence of this figure has brought a ton of speculation about the Rock's role in the GI Joe Retaliation movie.  First there is the presence of the Arashikage symbol on his forearm (which has lead to a speculation of a "Ninja-up" of nearly every aspect of the franchise).  Then there are the weapons themselves which stretch the point of believability.  Looking at the picture below kind of drives that point home.   



Those guns just look plain weird.  His vest kind of match what he's got on the figure too.  What gives?  Who knows.  Personally I am just going to wait for the movie and work from there.  Also there is a place on the vest to put the handles, however they look dumb there so I just put them on the guns and put the guns in the huge holsters. 

I will probably cut off the holsters at some point though.  They are just annoying. 



The figure looks to be all new which is refreshing with some of the recycling going on in the GI Joe line.  Beyond his "Battle Kata" weapons he also has the machine gun used with 25th Roadblock (ammo belt added later from 25th Roadblock BTW).  It makes sense as it is a weapon that came with 25th Roadblock as well.



I like the figure overall but I think I would have to recommend holding off until the "Ultimate" version coming very soon.

Now on to a figure that has been getting a great deal of talk of late.



Blah, blah, blah, John McClaine, Blah, Blah, diehard.

That is pretty much the opening of every review for this figure I have read.  Personally I like to think I have my own David Addison Figure.



Kudos if you didn't have to scroll down to get that reference.

So I am going to be blunt here, I'm not that huge a fan of Bruce Willis.  I know I generally don't like 90% of the movies he is in.  I mean I don't hate him either, but I can probably count on one hand the movies I actually like that he has been in.  I have hated any movie he has traveled in time (12 monkeys, Looper), and much of the time I feel his being there doesn't hurt or help the movie (Expendables 2 might be the exception just because he was there as "Bruce Willis" in a way).  I did like the first two Die Hard movies but after a while John McClain became sort of the stereotypical "cannot be hurt" action hero and my enjoyment faded.  So I guess I'm saying that unlike many reviewers I wasn't waiting with baited breath for this figure. 



Now that is no way a knock to the figure, but I wanted to present some perspective here (Mostly because every review I have read thus far goes on and on about how this is a "Bruce Willis" action figure).  How big a role Colton plays in the story (Some have suggested this is only a cameo appearence) remains to be seen and really is a subject for another day). 

Now up front I will say I am a bit confused by the multi-colored wrist band on the left arm.  I want to say it's "American" due to the Red, White, and Blue.  However, truth is it's just kind of weird.  Is it a watch?  Friendship bracelet with the Rock? I mean what?



So I guess my major knock would be (GASP) the head sculpt.  Overall it looks spot on but there are angles that it looks sort of goopy (straight on for instance like in many of the press pictures).  It's not wholly terrible but enough to notice.  Also the reuse of the torso seems unnecessary.  As far as we know this is the only Joe Colton we got.  I figure we need to make it a good one with ALL original parts ect.  Hasbro doesn't see it my way, oh well. 

Colton comes with a weirdo zip-pull rocket launcher that is so honestly stupid looking I'm not even including it in the review.  I mean let's just admit these gimmicks are stupid and not even worry about them any more.  I'm still convinced (somewhat) these are the real reason prices are up on Joes (see my DG Cobras Review for more on that).

Colton does have a nice shotgun and set of pistols that have been seen before but work well with him to say the least.



I would have to catagorize this figure as a "Must have" figure.  Some minor flaws but he is going to be notable in GI Joe History I am sure.  His likeness has some minor issues but not near as many as some of the Rise of Cobra Joes.

Next is what I am calling the sleeper of this entire line.



When we first saw this guy he had Wraith's head (for whatever reason).  Somewhere along the way someone grew a brain and left that head out leaving the head for the Crimson HISS driver and thus we have a Tron Ninja for our Cobra forces. 

Of course the lines and the way they are painted on this figure remind me of Tron, but in a good way.  It's an interesting design with nice and different form to him.  Granted he is mostly recycled but it works.  I kind o wish such ingenuity went into Lady Jaye as well. 



I know I haven't spoke much on rocker ankles this time because it seems to be becoming standard.  Joe Colton is the one exception so far but all these figures (up till; now) have had them and the many more coming down the pike appear to as well (with some exceptions). 

Who is the Cyber Ninja, is it an individual?  Is there a Cyber Ninja in the movie maybe?  The back of the card gives up a minor write up that tells us virtually nothing beyond he combines high tech with ancient fighting techniques (gee thanks genius, his name kind of clued me in on that fact). 

Cyber Ninja's arsenal is a mix.  There is the hot glue gun looking things he borrowed from Rise of Cobra but his swords are very cool.  He has a lame zip line suction cup thing too which I will skip.  His weapon complement is pretty solid with the exception of his giant stapler of doom:



Yeah, I mean with this and the glue guns he kind of looks like the Cobra scrap booking agent or something.

Of course (like always) I have tons of extra weapons so switching his stuff out will not be a big deal.  Still it's hard to figure where he will fit into my collection.  The write up doesn't give us much to work with so for now I think I will just make him an individual.  If he shows up in the movie that might change though. 



I would have to recommend this figure, when I first saw the press pictures I thought he would be an easy pass but this review made him seem like something that should be bought.  I am kind of glad I did get him.

[zedhatch]

Now on to a 3-pack, the only pack I was interested in for reasons that will become apparent I'm sure. 



One aspect of these packs that boggles my mind is the fact that they are $23 while the regular figures are around $10.  If you do some very basic math that works out to be a really good deal but at the same time one has to wonder how they can cut the costs so easy.  There are some strong arguments out there that suggest the prices lately are much more arbitrary than we want to believe and I have to say the 3-packs kind of back up such claims.  Of course if one says that too loud we run the risk of upping the prices on the 3-packs (if the arbitrary nature of the price turns out to be true) so you run into a bit of a double edged sword with that. 

So I will start off with the weakest of the pack as well as the weakest figure I have found in the Retaliation line thus far.   



This figure is a prime example of "looks good on paper."  He has all the necessary articulation (including wrists) and of course the weapons are good (really the only aspect I gave the figure any stars was his weapons).  But this figure is just horrid. 



First off, what the crap is up with the gray spot on his mask?  Did Storm Shadow throw up?  Sneeze?  Forget to take his mask off before drinking some protein shake.  It just looks weird and stupid.  Adding to the issue is the gray under the armpits that somewhat look like he has been exercising and his antiperspirant failed.  So I have dubbed him "Aren't you glad you used dial" Storm Shadow. 

In addition the arms and legs are ultra bland with no detailing whatsoever (the arms have some, but it almost looks like it's just there to be there).  A few wrinkles aside he is very static.  I suppose that might be why the gray is in place for the figure in order to break up the blandness but the placements just add to the "WTF!?" factor.     



As I said, the accessories are good although they are recycled.  However the lacking accessories for DG Storm Shadow give such accessories a good home to go to.  By the way, for those who didn't hear it "I'M USING THE ACCESSORIES!"  Just mentioning I got this pack on the boards earned me some rather out of the blue requests for the accessories.  Now if you know me at all one thing that irritates me to no end is unsolicited requests for something.  If I am giving it up I will probably post something.  I just consider it rude and I know I wouldn't imagine attempting such an act on a fellow collector.  When I get such messages there is a huge part of me that tries to avoid being rude back with some message like "What the hell is your problem, you want it that bad go buy it yourself, man."  But thankfully I never go there.

So did I derail that review enough LOL. 



The Storm Shadow burn out continues but really if you can avoid this part of the pack do so.  He is a tired character and is a huge letdown after 30th or DG Stormy.  He really had no business in this pack other than Hasbro wanting to add a "central character" to the mix. 

Next up is a figure that I freely admit surprised me. 



So up front let me talk about one of the most annoying aspects of action figure reviews.  Right when you want a figure for a comparison shot is the moment that it apparently swipes Bilbo's ring and disappears.  I know I have the Shock Trooper somewhere, hell I even did a review of the figure, but for the life of me I cannot track him down.  I'm sure in a month I will find him and scream "Damn you Gene Hackman!" to which my wife will respond "Finally found a figure you've been looking for?"  (PS the Gene Hackman line relates to Uncommon Valor, just watch the film and you might get it).

So on the name, I admit Cobra Invasion Trooper almost makes it sound like Hasbro just ran out of ideas and went with whatever.  Still the effect of the figure isn't too bad at all.  I gave him the vest that sat with Firefly since Firefly is probably not going to get any use out of it and it looks just like the vest that came with Shock Trooper.  Part of me feels it was intended for Cobra Invasion Trooper but who knows. 



The figure has a decent complement of weapons and accessories.  He works well with what he has.  The color isn't nearly as bright as I expected either so although he is an odd shade it's not so terrible as to not buy him (unlike Alley Viper which is entirely too bright). 



Overall this figure works for me.  He's not something I might have bought in a single pack but in this multi-pack he works great.

Now to the star of the show:



So the major thing here is that Hasbro finally fixed the bandoleer that has irritated me since the 25th version.  That alone makes this figure worthwhile. 

It wasn't until I got him in hand that I realized the irony of this figure.  He has many recycled parts from Lifeline.  It works and works well.  I didn't recognize it until I had him.  Pretty sure not all of the parts come from Lifeline but the legs absolutely are from him.  Still it works. 



Now for whatever reason the camera (and I have noticed this on other reviews) is not picking up on the camo pattern in the body, legs, arms, ect.  Not sure why this doesn't show so well but at first I thought the figure was just all gray.  However, he actually does have a camo pattern similar to his version one.  I think they should have went a bit darker but what can you do. 



The figure also comes with some nifty bombs that attach to his bandoliers.  They come off which is a perfect addition to the figure.  The one weak point would be the rest of the accessories.  He has a hollow backpack (boo to Hasbro for going cheap there) and some green guns that are nowhere near his originals but work for the most part.  Still the color throws one off a tad.  I think recycling the POC versions gun might have been a better route (or maybe even the 25th's guns). 



Some have dubbed this version "Ultimate" Firefly.  Not sure I would go that far but it is the best version done in the Modern Era (and is loads better than either the Single Pack version out now or the "Ultimate" version slated for later this year).  He has some differences from the Version 1 but the differences are not a huge thing that detracts from the overall figure.  I would have to say if you get any of the Firefly's this would be the one. 

So that's it for this round of GI Joe.  Good to see them back on the pegs in force.  So until next time "knowing is half the battle, the other half is big honking missiles."