G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Cobra Trooper (Wave 5)

Presenting the Cobra Trooper from Hasbro's G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra series Wave 5. I found it pleasantly surprising that Hasbro decided to included the POC Cobra Trooper in the same series as the G.I. Joe Steel Brigade Trooper. Almost as if Hasbro was begging to have the two compared. The only attempt that Hasbro made to separate the POC Cobra Trooper from the POC Steel Brigade Trooper are their "scenarios." The POC Cobra Trooper is in the Urban scenario while the POC Steel Brigade Trooper is in the Desert scenario. There have been many Cobra Troopers released over the years so I thought that this was nothing special. These are, after all, the Cobra Troopers - the cannon fodder that you see running away from the G.I. Joes in the cartoons. But I have to say I actually like this particular figure.The POC Cobra Trooper has its faults as you will see, but it does have some things going for it. 

The POC Cobra Trooper's blister card reads "One of the namelss, faceless legions of the Cobra Organization. Each Cobra Trooper is highly skilled in the use of explosives, infantry weapons, sabotage and the martial arts. They swear absolute loyalty to their leader, Cobra Commander. Their goal is to conquer the world for their own evil purposes."

The POC Cobra Trooper comes well armed with a MR-SCI Precision Rifle - which is standard Cobra Issue (Which looks incredibly like a Dragunov Sniper Rifle - which is what the 25th Anniversary Cobra Trooper claims to bring).

The POC Cobra Trooper also comes with a Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher, a tactical knife, two pistols with two silencers, one battle harness and a roll of barbed wire - similar to the roll that came with POC Dusty - which I then forgot to shoot, but hey! It's just a roll of barbed wire that you won't really miss right? 

Whats to like about the POC Cobra Trooper?

While made out of spare parts - again (Although it can be argued that the POC Steel Brigade Trooper is built from the spare parts of the POC Cobra Trooper) - the sculpt is far better than previous figures. Most Cobra Troopers that came in the past have always felt to me like "ho-hum" figures just assembled at random with little care for articulation and detail. This POC Cobra Trooper's detail and articulation is much-much better. Detail improvements include:

• The new suit. The POC Cobra Trooper no longer wears a skin-suit. This actually looks like a detailed uniform.
• At the very least he's not a suicide trooper and actually carries extra ammunition on his left thigh.
• The POC Snakes Eyes Ninja Commando pistol and silencer holster has been added. 
• Another Cobra insignia placed on his left shoulder - which is a small detail, but it is nice to know you belong to an evil terrorist organization
• POC Cobra Trooper has a sheath for his tactical knife. Do you recall that weird brace where you slid in the blade from the 25th Anniversary Cobra Trooper left thigh? This looks more comfortable
• The POC Cobra Trooper has hair. You can remove the POC Cobra Trooper's bucket (Which has a nice matte finish by the way), but at least he has hair this time instead of the 25th Anniversary Cobra Trooper's awkwardly bald look. The POC Cobra Trooper actually looks good without his bucket. 
• The POC Cobra Trooper now has the new wrist articulation that the Shadow Tracker has, which allows for a better grip of weapons by the POC Cobra Trooper - it also allows for the Cobra Trooper to seem like he's screwing on the suppressor of his pistol. 
• The Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher. While it may only have one shot - unlike the 25th Anniversary Cobra RPG Trooper, it still does give the POC Cobra Trooper an alternative before using his rifle. Note in the pictures of the POC Cobra Trooper that he has the same high level of articulation that the new POC figures have. 

But my favorite thing about the new POC Cobra Trooper is his ability to dual wield matching pistols with silencers - not even the POC Snake Eyes Ninja Commando had matching pistols. 

If you've dual wielded as Lara Croft, in Halo, Counterstrike or Stranglehold, then you know how much fun it is and how cool it looks. I'm definitely looking forward to someone making a Cobra Trooper skin for public use. The POC Cobra Trooper can also fire normally or "gangsta" style. 

And when all else fails, the POC Cobra Trooper can fall back to using his tactical knife.

What's not to like about the POC Cobra Trooper?

• Sadly the POC Cobra Trooper is made out of spare parts - again (Boo Hasbro). Although as mentioned, it is possible that this is the primary mold and everyone else is the spare part. Though I suppose that's unlikely. 
• The POC Cobra Trooper also only has one of the new wrists with the upgraded articulation. He does not have the right hand which allows the figure to hyper-extend weapons. The POC Steel Brigade Trooper has this, the POC Cobra Trooper can only rotate his hand. CORRECTION COURTESY OF AARON WEST ON FACEBOOK: Apparently he does have both wrists, however mine is stuck. Aaron also suggests that freezing the Joe then working it gently may free the stuck joint.  
• The POC Cobra Trooper comes with a battle harness that was recycled fromt he 25th Anniversary Cobra Trooper. It is an ill fit and mine constantly keeps getting un-buckled.  
• A back-pack would have been nice. Something to give his Rocket Launcher additional ammunition or hold the launcher or rifle. 

All-in-all though, the POC Cobra Trooper is a fine upgrade to what has traditionally been cannon fodder and finally here is a cannon-fodder figure that you won't feel cheated or disappointed after buying. the POC Cobra Trooper is definitely waaay better than the original and worth collecting. Hail Cobra!!!

Now the only question that remains is... who would win in a bucket bashing fight?