G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Shadow Tracker

POC Shadow Tracker

Presenting the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Shadow Tracker. The Cobra Shadow Tracker is probably one of the sleeper hits of the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra series. I initially did not want to pick him up because, well seriously who or what is he? A guy dumb enough to stalk around in the jungle in a glow-in-the dark Jason inspired hockey mask and dreadlocks? Can you imagine what must live in that hair? And why is he carrying a vest with pouches for ammunition if he isn't carrying a gun? 

Plus there isn't much literature on the Cobra Shadow Tracker that can be found other than what's on the back of the Cobra Shadow Tracker's blister card. 

So I wasn't too keen on getting the Cobra Shadow Tracker. But I did. And after letting my imagination play with him, I found out that the Cobra Shadow Tracker has one feature unique to the figure that was never publicly announced and makes the Cobra Shadow Tracker a must have.

Cobra Shadow Tracker's blister card reads "Shadow Tracker works for Cobra as a wilderness hunter and guide. Scorning conventional firearms, he uses traditional weapons from around the world. he tracks his prey using primal instinct: He hears the dark whispers of the jungle, senses distant footfalls in the Earth, and taste his victim's fear in the wind. When Skydive lands in the jungle, Shadow Tracker instantly knows - and starts the hunt."

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

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Duke (Wave 1) A.K.A. Duke: Team Commander. This is easily one of the best G.I. Joes that you could invest in. G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Duke's detail is simply exquisite, he has a wonderful complement of weapons and accessories - that he can actually all carry at the same time (in fact the amount of equipment G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Duke is carrying is reminiscent of how much gear trained U.S. Army Rangers carry - I obviously watch too much Discovery Channel). G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Duke is a perfect look into what G.I. Joe would look like in the real world. In fact it almost has an "anti-G.I. Joe" feel about it. 

Personally the only thing I would change is the fact that G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Duke's blonde hair still stands as clean. It's like a lightbulb calling in the dark. A removable poncho would have also been a nice add-on and a leg holster for his pistol. 

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Skydive

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Skydive is one of the few G.I. Joe POC characters that were released locally c/o Toy Kingdom and sold at a more reasonable rate of PhP 499.75. If he looks familiar, it's because G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Skydive is a repaint/re-issue of a - supposedly - never officially released G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra Ripcord. We reviewed the G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra Ripcord earlier this year. The review can be seen here. "Batman" commented on that review that Hasbro either was unable to secure the rights of the original G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra actor's facial features or saw them as unprofitable, which resulted in the re-tooling of the figures back to their cartoons/comic-book looks which is why Hasbro did not officially release Ripcord wearing this, but came up with a new G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Skydive instead. 

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3: Ninja Commando

Presenting Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe The Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3. AKA Snake Eyes Ninja Commando.

This is probably one of the more reviewed figures in the market, so I'll keep this review short and simple:  Yes, Snake Eyes comes with everything you see here in this picture. Yes, it's sheer over-kill - and that's not even everything that he has yet. This particular Snake Eyes feels like someone at Hasbro got so sick and tired of all the criticisms and reviews that previous Snake Eyes have received over the years - "Oh he should have this... Oh he should have that... Oh Snake Eyes won't leave home without this...." that the toymakers decided to throw in everything into one toy and let the fans sort it out. The bad news is.... after opening the package.... I had to ask "Where's Timber?" (In the distance I heard a gun go off as a toymaker offed himself cursing my name).

Conrad "Duke" Hauser: G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3

Conrad "Duke" Hauser from the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3. What I find strange about this particular figure of Duke is that Hasbro decided to break from the rest of the Pursuit of Cobra line - which started out with a more modern, grittier presentation of the G.I. Joe world and took a step back to present a new Conrad "Duke" Hauser with a look more akin to the G.I. Joe Resolute line - in fact, the paint scheme is almost identical and the only major difference between the G.I. Joe Resolute Duke and this Conrad "Duke" Hauser is the dropping of his flak vest in favor of the more modern body armor. So he's clearly an odd man out. Conrad "Duke" Hauser also differs from the traditional Duke because of the almost invisible scar on his left cheek ruining his American "Captain America" looks. 

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Wolf Hound

Presenting the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Wolf Hound.

Where did I leave the keys?

The box describes the Wolf Hound as something that "Combines the stamina of a tank with the handling of an off-road vehicle." In other words, it's a half-track. Not really sure why they couldn't just say so.

It's basically a re-issue of the original G.I. Joe artic half-track the Snow Cat. I'm not really sure why they felt the need to change the name as there are no discernible differences between the two save for the size of the foot pegs and the driver (The Snow Cat was driven by Frostbite, the Wolf Hound is driven by White Out). It might have something to do with how the word Snow Cat now refers to modern snow vehicles - specifically trucks or cabs that have substituted tracks for wheels - so I suppose they wanted something a tad bit more ominous.

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Alley Viper

Presenting the Cobra Alley Viper. The card describes the Alley Viper as "Urban Combat Specialists. They are armed with close-quarters battle gear including blast shields, anti-armor weapons and assault tonfas." The original file card of the toy read "Alley Vipers are equivalent to police SWAT units or British Special Air Service Commandoes. They are selected from the most brutal and ruthless among Corba's ranks. As part of their training regimen, Alley Vipers are "required to survive a full burst of machine gun fire across their frontal body armor, execute a thirty foot jump onto concrete with full combat load and run down a hundred meter gas-filled corridor without a mask"

My love for the Cobra Alley Viper goes all the waay back to my teens. In the old, old G.I. Joe: A real American Hero Comic books Scarlett had to battle them when they came for her and Snake-Eyes. I found the concept exciting. Urban combat troopers carrying blast shields fighting up close and personal in blood red armor. Their armor was so-high tech that instead of relying on their eyes, they relied on a sensor suite in their bullet-proof helmet. I always wanted one, but never got one.

But now it can be said: "You know you work for Cobra when they forget to provide you with ammunition."

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Jungle Viper

Presenting the Cobra Jungle Viper! Released late this 2010 as part of Wave 2 of the G.I. Joe POC series, the Jungle Viper retails in the Philippine Black Market - as it has yet to be released in the malls - depending upon who you ask - between PhP 650 to PhP 1,200. 

The collector card on the back reads: "Jungle-Vipers are Cobra troopers with special training as silent marksmen. Their opti-camo ghillie suits have digitized camouflage blades, which makes them disappear from any detection devices. They also use multi-visual image systems that give them wide visual displays of surrounding territory." 

So he's not the  bird-man that he initially appears to look like. Those "wings" are all part of his special ghillie suit (To the uninitiated, a ghillie suit is a parka like netting worn by snipers that covers them from head to toe. Snipers attach local foliage to the suit to blend in with their surroundings. The result is the ability to move into position and stay hidden when required). When I first saw the model, I thought that he was an updated version of Raptor - the Cobra genius accountant who could... well... talk to birds so he dressed up as a bird. 

Apparently he's not. He's a jungle sniper.

Which is where it starts to go downhill