G.I. Joe Retaliation 2012 Toy News

Hasbro is all set for next week's SDCC 2012 where it will reveal this year's G.I. Joe Retaliation toy-line up. And I have to say I absolutely love what I see! The full line-up of toys can be seen here at Hasbro's site.

But here are some highlights that I'm looking forward to including the SDCC exclusive Kim Arashikage (White Ninja on the Right) - which makes me wish I lived in San Francisco (If anyone reads this blog and is going to the SDCC, please do PM me, I'd so love to have one sent over.The Kim Arashikage on the left is the retail version.



The nicely sculpted G.I. Joes include Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in his role as Roadblock, and a new Combat body-armored Snake-Eyes.

Opposing them of course are the Cobras including a new Cobra Commander that's more inspired by his original cartoon look, a Zartan that that taps into his ninja roots; and a new sleek Storm Shadow. 

Hasbro's 2011 vehicle selection presents us with very nice upgrades - not just the usual re-colored re-issues - to the  G.I. Joe VAMP (Now a Ninja Combat Cruiser) and AWE Striker (Now a Ninja Commando 4 x 4):

And! Check out the new G.I. Joe Ripper! We did a piece a few weeks back  on how the Howe & Howe Tech Ripsaw looked incredibly like the Cobra Hiss Attack Scout.

The Howe & Howe Tech team actually did mention that they were preparing their Ripsaw for a major Hollywood movie and had to create a working prototype that could run in the Desert at high-speeds. But they did not mention what movie it was. Guess we know what movie it is now.







There's even a brand new Ghost Hawk II that will come with Duke.

But perhaps the most interesting item in the Hasbro offering is this: Shockwave! Yes, the Decepticon assassin can now transform into the modern Cobra HISS tank. I'm not a fan of the Transformers crossover into other genres like it has with Star Wars, but THIS! This is interesting and I want it.