Is it possible for a man with no face to look familiar?
Absolute power! Total control of the world - its people, wealth, and resources. That's the objective of Cobra Commander. This fanatical leader rules with an iron fist. He demands total loyalty and allegiance. His main battle plan for world control relies on revolution and chaos. He is responsible for abducting scientists, business people and military leaders, then forcing them to reveal their top-level secrets.
This is the second Pursuit of Cobra Cobra Commander, but now he's closer to the original Real American Hero version of the character than the movie version. Nearly every part of this figure is taken from other pre-existing figures. So fittingly, everything we have to say about him will be taken from other pre-existing reviews.
Okay, almost everything: the coat and arms are new. They were designed for a "Jungle Assault" Cobra Commander,
but that was cancelled when Hasbro rejiggered the line. Honestly, the look says more "Arctic Threat" than Jungle Assault. The jacket fits over the same torso the other two figures had, so it ends up very bulky. He looks like he's been hitting the free sundae bar in the Terror Drome's cafeteria. So in other words, perfect for a thick winter jacket, not so great for a guy in the hot, humid jungle. Technically this figure falls under the "City Strike" banner, though, so it's not terrible. The details are very good, we just wish the coat were more fitted. Oh, and he's wearing a little ascot!
Cobra Commander's head is the same used for the Resolute Cobra Commander, which means he also gets the new helmet with the sculpted stripe on top. The mask has a central "seam," rather than being perfectly rounded. And thankfully, it's not vac-metallized, like the disappointing version in the "Best of '80s" box set.
The set has a load of accessories - which makes sense, since they all come from existing molds. There's a softgoods cape with Cobra-logo clasps, from one of the comic packs; a snake baton, which we took for a microphone;
a command staff from the all-villain box set; the Resolute sword and dagger; a "gravity bomb" with a timer; a storage container from the MASS Device DVD set; and a case of rocks previously available with a different Cobra Commander! Gah! The storage container and the rocks are molded in bright blue plastic, and the filecard identifies them as Compound Z, the stuff that will be used to make Zombie Vipers. Oh, and of course he has the usual Cobra Commander gun.
This is a nice Cobra Commander - if you've somehow managed to miss every other G3 Cobra Commander. The only thing it has going for it is the new coat, and even that makes him look too heavy. Of course, it's exactly that feature that made me buy him: the combination of being dark blue and slightly heavy will make him a nice base for a Miles Mayhem custom figure. Now, what are the names of those sites that cast new GI Joe heads and masks?
-- 09/30/11
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