G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Snake Eyes (Wave 1)

Presenting: the G.I. Joe Pusuit of Cobra Snake Eyes (Wave 1) Aka, the 1st Snake Eyes whose eyes can be viewed while not dressed as a Ninja (Can you name the other Snake Eyes figurine where you can see his eyes? Clue: It's in the 25th Anniversary series). He looks like a freakin Spetsnaz Commando about to storm a Communist hideout. I'm particularly fond of this figure because it's one of the first times that Snakes Eyes is portrayed in a modern commando outfit with ninja trimmings - not the other way around. Commandos are real people, they get shot, they get hit by shrapnel, they don't jump around and appear spic-and-span clean at the end of the battlefield. This particular version of Snake Eyes is both realistic and cool at the same time.  He comes with everything you see in the picture to the right: stand, rail gun rifle, katana, katana scabbard, Timber the wolf, armored vest, visor and two MAC-11's (Instead of his traditional UZI) that are not depicted here. 

There are a few things which I would love to change with Snake Eyes - though  you're free to agree/disagree. First off is that because you cannot remove the ballistic jacket, he's top heavy. I'd like to see some armor on his shins. Something more substantial than the knee pads.

Snake Eyes also has a solely assault load-out as the Rail-Gun Rifle doesn't leave much room for stealth. I'd replace it with a quieter multi-purpose rifle that can be used to snipe as well as to assault like a modified M4 or an XM8 -although I haven't seen an XM8 with a silencer yet so probably an M4.

It would also be nice if he had a pistol or a knife. This is the first Snake Eyes that I've seen that doesn't have either. A small side arm on his leg with a complementary blade on the other thigh would be nice.

I mean the sword is great, but there are practical needs for a knife and a pistol that a sword and rifle cannot fill.

This is the first time, if I'm right, for anyone to attempt articulating Timber. His head bobs up and down whenever you push down on his tail. It's a simple lever mechanism. Unfortunately it won't lock in place. He looks better with the head raised.

He does come with two MAC 11s. As you can see in the images below you can actually clip these two to either his vest or to the carabiners on his leg straps. But that seems unlikely and it is kinda dangerous to be running around with live weapons flopping against your thigh. The only spare ammunition Snake Eyes carries that is visible on his vest are for the MAC 11s. I would love to see a variant of this with a back-pack holster for the MAC 11s. 

After he throws his empty rifle and expends all his MAC 11 rounds, old Snake Eyes falls back onto his Katana. note that he draws it here with his left hand. It took me a while to realize that, with the scabbard bent as it is, it would be awkward for him to draw it with his right hand. He'd end up with the blade facing him and have to turn the blade. The quickest draw was therefore to slide the blade over to the other side.

As you can see from above articulation is EXCELLENT!!! And the raising visor with the actual eyes is a nice touch. This is definitely one of the nicer Snake Eyes in the market if you see Snake Eyes as a commando more than a ninja. But if you're a hardcore Ninja fan, then this isn't for you and you'll want to see him broken back down into form fitting body plates or having no armor at all. If that's what you're after, get the Wave 2 Tornado Kick Snake Eyes or the City Strike Snake Eyes.

This particular figure is quite common and retails on the black market for anywhere between PhP 500 to  PhP 1,250 depending upon who you ask. 

It's worth it.