G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Storm Shadow Desert Battle

Presenting: the Desert Battle Storm Shadow from the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra line. Ok I have to admit that it took some time for me to get this up here in the blog and I almost considered forgetting about it, but I had the time and he's really cool so why not?

In March of this year, we talked about the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3 Snake Eyes - which I believe is the counter-part of the Desert Battle Storm Shadow - and how cool he was because Hasbro gave the character so many different accouterments to choose from. Desert Battle Storm Shadow is no different and comes with a plethora of weapons that make him look really cool! Consider these images:

G.I. Joe City Strike Team Kills Captain America

(Click on the image for a larger perspective)

Not having much to do one Sunday morning I realized that Captain America dressed in Cobra Blue would never be able to work with the G.I. Joe Team. This cast here includes the entire G.I. Joe City Strike team save for Ashiko and his Cycle Armor. The cast includes (L-R) General Hawk,  Beachhead - who looks really good with Captain America's helmet on - a very guilty looking Lowlight, Snake-Eyes- trying out Captain America's shield - and Quick-kick.

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Cycle Armor

Presenting the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Cycle Armor or Vehicle-Integrated Sub-Compact Weapon System.

When teaser pictures of the POC Cycle Armor first started leaking to the internet, I have to admit to being quite excited. My nostalgia was rooted in afternoons as a child spent watching Macross (Robotech) and the really, really cool Cyclone Armor System (Image lifted from onesixthwarriors.com) . The two looked quite similar - hooved feet, wheels behind the shoulder blades, fore-arm mounted weapon systems, the POC Cycle armor even seemed to have a similar helmet/visor system that the RDF troopers had.

So G.I. Joe meets Robotech?!!! Winner! Without a doubt, it was a definite must have. Sadly I was to be  disappointed.

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. 

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

Presenting the G.I. Joe Steel Brigade Trooper from Hasbro's G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Wave 5. I fondly remember the G.I. Joe Steel Brigade Trooper from way way back in 1987 when he was first introduced as a mail-in promotional prize. In essence, the G.I. Joe Steel Brigade Trooper was probably the first "Frankenstein" born of Hasbro spare parts - save for the head which was an original piece - or probably the only left-over of a failed figure. While the G.I Joe Steel Brigade Troopers were supposed to be personalized, they were all the same and the only thing happily personalized was the blister card that accompanied the figure. Back then you filled up the form that was usually found in comic books, assigned a military specialty, a personality (Whether he was brash or cool-handed, etc...), and a name. You could even make the G.I. Joe Steel Brigade Trooper a ninja - which seemed really weird considering his uniform. Sadly I never got one since the promotion was only open to United States residents. Still it was a cool idea so it was a pleasant surprise to see that the G.I. Joe Steel Brigade Trooper was part of the Pursuit of Cobra Wave 5. They return as the "Grunts" of the G.I. Joe Team: Special forces members who just not as good as the G.I. Joe members yet but are quickly climbing the ranks hoping for the day they can claim a unique name for themselves. 

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Cobra Jungle B.A.T. (Wave 5)

Presenting, the Cobra Jungle BAT - from Wave 5 of the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra line. I've never really liked the name BAT. Call them what they are "Battle Android Troopers!" They deserve a name with the dignity worthy of their toughness and literally undying resolve (Like the "Battling Bastards of Bastogne"). The first time I saw the Cobra BAT was in the Marvel Comic Book when the PIT was compromised by Cobra Commander and Destro leading an army of Cobra BATs. And boy were they tough! They literally refused to die and just kept on coming. They only finally gave up when General Ryan blew up the PIT and buried everyone. Most of the Bastard Android Troopers probably looked as shot-up as the picture to your right. But they still just kept on coming.  Wave 5 of the G.I. Joe Pursuit Line presents a Cobra BAT Variant, the Cobra Jungle BAT which is modified to be resistant to heat and humidity - which you can read as, Hasbro took old BATs, stabbed their chest panels with pencils several times and gave repainted them with jungle cammo. 

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Hawk (General Clayton Abernathy) G.I. Joe Commander

Presenting the G.I. Joe Commander General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy from Wave 5 of the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra series. My wife and I found the Pursuit of Cobra General Hawk yesterday evening in the same store that I purchased the Pursuit of Cobra Wave 6 set. It was again being sold as a set. Surprisingly my favorite toy supplier Victoyoyos called this morning and offered me the same set. He's offering the entire set of 6 for PhP 3,300 (PhP 550 per figure). I picked it up in Greenhills for PhP 3, 800 (PhP633 per figure), so go contact Victoyoyos instead. We first saw the Pursuit of Cobra General Hawk courtesy of a shared review taken from TNSi back in March. Since then the G.I. Joe Commander has gained/regained his trademark chest holstered pistol. I have to say I like this particular incarnation of General Hawk. He has a very modern look to him very reminiscent of the American troops currently deployed in the middle east. Initially I thought that General Hawk would be a figure assigned to the "Desert" scenario that the G.I. Joe figures are being molded for. Surprisingly despite the light camo, POC General Hawk is part of the "Urban Warehouse" Scenario along with Low-light, Snake-Eyes and Beachhead. 

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Rock Viper (Wave 6) AKA Rock Lobster

Presenting The G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Rock Viper from Wave 6 of the series. I've been laying off talking about the Cobra Rock Lobster ahem... Cobra Rock Viper because I really, really don't like him. Personally I'd only suggest purchasing a Cobra Rock Lobster ahem... Cobra Rock Viper for spare parts - and even then, it leave a sour flavor in my mouth. That's how much I don't like the Cobra Rock Viper. I have to admit to being hopeful for the Cobra Rock Viper when I first bought it along with the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Series 6 set in the black-market here in the Philippine, because it looked like an interesting figure with so many cool gadgets inside.  Since I bought him as a part of a set, The Cobra Rock Viper only cost me PhP 700 (Available on Amazon for US$12.95 plus shipping). But closer examination of the packaged figure upon reaching home started revealing flaws: that was City Strike Snake Eyes' Rappel pack! 

What's he doing with a Tactical Spear - I mean really? The only time I see mountaineers with a pointy object is when they're hiking, not climbing mountains. I'm no mountaineer myself, but I've yet to see anyone use a spear for climbing. If anything, it sounds like a spear would be more of a hindrance than a help. I mean the Cobra Rock Viper's blister card reads "Cobra Rock Vipers are mountain assault specialists trained in mountaineering and vertical assault. They are experts at climbing treacherous terrain of rock, snow or ice. They use sophisticated climbing gear and weapons designed for COMPACTNESS and VERSATILITY"  I see a glimpse of versatility, but compactness? And it gets worse.

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Cobra Shock Trooper (Wave 3)

Presenting the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Shock Trooper from Wave 3 of the series. I have to say it still really escapes me why an international terrorist organization whose purpose is to rule the world, would need as a SWAT trooper. Cobra has nothing but expendable Shock Troopers, so why actually designate a group of official Cobra Shock Troopers?  This honestly feels like a failed G.I. Joe concept figure. Maybe an alternate version of the Joe SWAT member Shockblast. The existence of this figure is so odd that there are actually forums questioning what purpose Cobra Alley Vipers serve given the presence of the Cobra Shock Trooper.

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Crazy Legs (Wave 6)

In Memoriam - KIA, Trucial Abysmia

Presenting the G.I. Joe Assault Trooper CrazyLegs from Wave 6 of the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra series. G.I. Joe CrazyLegs has yet to hit the international market and is not even listed as a pre-order on Amazon. At first glance, CrazyLegs may seem to be a very simple action figure - nothing flashy, quirky or strange enough to make CrazyLegs a worthy member of the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Line. He comes with a heavily modified Beryl 96 (?) Assault Rifle, an alternate SMG-R Submachine-gun, a pistol, a parachute and a helmet with goggles. G.I. Joe CrazyLegs's is also dressed like a reject Power-Ranger - Hasbro remained quite true to what he originally looked like when he was first released in 1987. But G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra CrazyLegs has one single VERY INTERESTING trick that most G.I. Joe figures do not have - which we will show later

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Iron Grenadier

Presenting the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Iron Grenadier! I guarantee that this will soon become one of the  holy grails of the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Series. We wrote about the Cobra Iron Grenadier recently because of the "uniqueness" of the Cobra Iron Grenadier's main weapon after ToyNewsInc  reported about the Cobra Iron Grenadier in Feb of 2011. 

They slated the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Iron Grenadier for release in the US in Spring 2011. A quick glance on Google showed that - as of this writing - there were no Pursuit of Cobra Iron Grenadiers out there yet save for previews and pictures from the February convention. So when I passed through Greenhills a few days ago, I had to grab it. It was the only set available in the entire area! I had a strong feeling that this particular figure had been pre-ordered (read a smuggled) and the buyer had an extra that he wanted to recoup his operating cost from.\

This G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Series Iron Grenadier was part of a set of 6 new G.I. Joes purchased on the black-market for PhP 4,200 or PhP 700 each. It's available on Amazon for US$12.95 plus shipping AFTER APRIL 30!!!! I'm a week and a half ahead! The Cobra Iron Grenadier is a literal TANK! and a must have - especially if you can build an army of them.