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: Snake Eyes (Wave 1)

Presenting: the G.I. Joe Pusuit of Cobra Snake Eyes (Wave 1) Aka, the 1st Snake Eyes whose eyes can be viewed while not dressed as a Ninja (Can you name the other Snake Eyes figurine where you can see his eyes? Clue: It's in the 25th Anniversary series). He looks like a freakin Spetsnaz Commando about to storm a Communist hideout. I'm particularly fond of this figure because it's one of the first times that Snakes Eyes is portrayed in a modern commando outfit with ninja trimmings - not the other way around. Commandos are real people, they get shot, they get hit by shrapnel, they don't jump around and appear spic-and-span clean at the end of the battlefield. This particular version of Snake Eyes is both realistic and cool at the same time.  He comes with everything you see in the picture to the right: stand, rail gun rifle, katana, katana scabbard, Timber the wolf, armored vest, visor and two MAC-11's (Instead of his traditional UZI) that are not depicted here. 

Avatar AMP Suit: Part 2.

Over the holidays, my wife and I came across an AMP suit in Greenhills - the armed version, so I just had to have it. Aside from the fact that it would make a great addition to my collection, I'd be able to compare it with my original AMP suit. Quite honestly, both are great buys. I know some may argue that having a GAU-90 30mm machine gun ups the value of this AMP suit; the olive drab of this AMP (Hereto-with referred to as the SecOps AMP - because it was obviously used by the mercenary Security Operations Unit on Pandora) suit is predictable, cold and military. One might call the paint job cold and unimaginative. So the blue green with yellow tacking of my original AMP suit (Hereto-with referred to as the RDA AMP - because it bears the markings of the Resources Development Administration, the group responsible for mining Pandora) in my opinion is better because it bears more imagination and creativity.

Personally if I could remove the GAU-90 from the SecOps AMP, it would be in the hands now of the RDA AMP - which I will probably try one of these days.

Jungle Viper: Welcome to the Jungle

While trawling through a G.I. Joe forum, I came across this image which totally reminded me of my Jungle Viper Review. I just had to share it. It totally adds to the Cobra Jungle Viper mythos don't you think?

G.I. Joe Steel Marauder versus the Avatar AMP Suit

The Dungeon received a request last week to compare the Avatar AMP Suit against the G.I. Joe Steel Marauder, so here it is.

First the bad news, the Avatar AMP Suit in my possession is a variant of the one more commonly found in the market or on E-bay. This particular variant does not bear the shoulder-slung GAU-90 30 mm machine gun. Instead it bears an optional slashing blade - as seen in the film.


So if you see this particular packaging and want the AMP suit with its machine gun, don't buy this.The package describes the AMP suit as a"Refinement of a military exeskeleton first used on Earth in the early 20th century and aapted during wars spanning the decades. Sealed models for toxic environments were developed and, with the colonozation of the Moon and Mars, pressurized versions with full life-support systems were employed in great numbers. Highly nimble, AMP suits are in constant operation on Pandora"

G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra: Steel Marauder

The G.I. Joe Steel Marauder Mobile Mech Suit has yet to be released here in the Philippines through retail outlets. You'll have to find one in Greenhills or in ebay - where I got this particular model (Check out Jedimarc76 as he still may not have moved the Cobra Deviant Mech yet if you're interested). The Marauder comes with Sergeant Joseph "Kickstart" Rivera, a plethora of stickers to attach and six missiles that can be launched from the Marauder's left arm - however it looks better without the missiles, so I removed them. To see the missles, check out my video review.

The box describes the Marauder as a "Suit that boosts strength and speed to tremendous levels! This highly advance battle armor gives the G.I. Joe Team powerful support and firepower in the battle against Cobra!"  Note that  Kickstart sits in a cockpit and operates joysticks and therefore lends none of his strength to the performance of the Marauder. This is therefore not a suit. It's clearly Mechanized Armor, a Mech.