Cobra Commander (2010)
As a toy collector, I’m not the biggest fan of the concept of “chase” items, especially when they’re planned and advertised as such. For me, there’s no thrill of the hunt when it comes to spending disposable income on toys. I don’t want to go through a bunch of hoops to collect them all. If others do, that’s cool. It’s just not my thing.
When the Cobra Commander (packaged on a Cobra-themed card) was announced as a mail-in, I thought it was a cool throwback to the old days of Joe mail-ins. Then it didn’t happen, and a different version of the figure hit as a chase item. I didn’t think I would be able to track it down, since I didn’t make many trips to the toy aisles any longer. However I lucked out and found a ton of them on shelves in one shot. I don’t know if this was a common occurrence at the time, but it was nice to snag one easily.
The collectors club later released the original planned version, but I passed on it. I was satisfied with one copy. I didn’t pick up multiples, so this one will most likely stay sealed. The Cobra card is a neat concept, and looks very good in the Pursuit of Cobra packaging style. And l love that snake skull helmet CC is sporting.
SHINY! This is a fun figure even you weren’t a fan of “Rise of Cobra”. And the whole presentation is visually striking. Hasbro was hitting their modern-era GIJoe stride about this time.
Not a fan of this look for the Commander, but this an honest packaging as it seems like so many collectors are really Cobra collectors first and Joe collectors…second…maybe?
One of the first things I noticed was the minimal usage of the G.I. Joe name on the packaging. If I didn’t know better, it gives the impression that the toy line is called Cobra.