G.I. Joe Renegades: Snake Eyes

Presenting Snake Eyes from the spanking brand new GI Joe Renegades line. Sadly I haven't seen the new G.I. Joe Renegades cartoons and I have to say that I am not a big fan of "anime" type action figures with their wiry bodies - which is why there is a plethora of Star Wars action figures over the past few years that I haven't bothered with.

I'm also not so sure about Renegade Snake Eyes' "X-Force: colors. I'm sure someone out there will be taking him and customizing him soon.

Anyway, I picked this particular Renegade Snake Eyes off the black-market (Victoyoyoys) as part of a set of four that includes Duke, Cobra Commander and Firefly for PhP 2,400 - or PhP 600 each (Which matches the Amazon price of US$ 12.99 to 14.99 plus shipping).

Over the next few days I'll present each of the four and Renegade Snake Eyes here will kick things off.



The new X-Force Deadpool, erm,,,,, G.I. Joe Renegades Snakes Eyes comes with the following accessories:

• 1 Hand Forged Katana Sword
• 1 Wakizashi Sword - so he can commit seppuku
• 2 "Tek-Sai" - I don't believe this is a real weapon and I do believe it refers to the switchblade like "sais" that he comes with.
• 1 Plasma pulse blaster with silencer
• 1 Removable back-pack
• 1 un-removable side holster for the Plasma Pulse Blaster. 

Renegade Snake Eyes' blister card also mentions a Arashikage Blade with Stand and a Ninja Grappling Hook, but neither of these were in the packaging. His blister card as usual lists his name, birthplace and grade as classified. Renegade Snake Eyes' Blister card reads "Snake Eyes is a mysterious ninja who helps Scarlett and the other Renegades. He never speaks or shows his face, but he does reveal himself to be an extremely powerful ninja. He was trained by the Arashikage ninja clan, the same clan that trained his sworn enemy Storm Shadow, the Cobra Ninja Mercenary."

Now there are those who will argue that Renegades Snake Eyes is a repaint/rebuild of the Resolute Snake Eyes - two separate cartoons generating cost-cutting opportunities at Hasbro -  but.... I really think that Resolute was just a basis for Renegades because I feel that  no matter what you do, Renegades is taller than Resolute - as you can see in the photo next to here - and that height difference begins in his legs.

But yes, not much difference there: Black cargo pants with two ammo pouches each; combat grade knee guards and steel toed boots.

What's to like about G.I. Joe Renegades: Snake Eyes?

Well it's a Snake-Eyes so seriously there's NOTHING NEW TO SAY!!!!. There's only so much that you can do with an action figure. Sometimes I wonder why I bother.

Ranting aside, Renegades Snake Eyes' has some really nice things going for it. First up is that "stapler gun" hanging from his side."  I personally don't like that it's a "plasma pistol" because it deviates from reality and till any government starts killing people with hand-held plasma ejectors, it's not going to happen.

However, you have to admit, it looks good! Almost like his traditional UZI that you slapped a hatchet too so he can bash people on the head when he runs out of ammunition and that holster is something previous Snake Eyes figures should have come with.

Another thing to like about Renegades Snake Eyes is the new blade sheath which is more reminiscent of  Storm Shadow and is a definite improvement over the Ninja Commando Snake Eyes figure which also has two blades.

Of course he probably cuts himself a lot.

Still what's so nice is that Renegades Snake Eyes when it comes to his blades is his new Pursuit of Cobra hand articulation which allows for better handling of the blades, hyper-extension and general bad-assness. As can be seen in these next few photos:

   

What's not to like about Renegades Snake Eyes?

I have to say that those Tek-Sai look really weird. Personally I think it would have been better if they just gave him real sais or even a couple of knives. They also fit awkwardly into that open back-pack on his back and keep falling out. What are they? They look like regular double edged throwing knifes - check out a few throwing knives here. If I'm right, you push a button and the blade splits open and becomes reminiscent of a sai or a three pronged blade. It looks like something you can or should just throw and there are better tools for that. 

Other than that, and the wiry cartoon animation look that some may not appreciate because it makes him look like a teenage Snake Eyes, the Renegades Snake Eyes is a nice addition to your G.I. Joe collection.

No, that's not all of them. Just those that were not in storage