Hazard Viper (2011)
Cobra has always had a history of making messes. What more would you expect from a terrorist organization? Bake sales? From the first Toxo-Vipers in 1988 to an entire force of environmentally unfriendly operatives in the 90’s, they’ve been at the forefront of bio warfare. The most recent line is no different, as we now have the Hazard Viper spreading nastiness all over mother Earth. Of course, it’s not just the usual toxic sludge and ozone depleting gases being released. Word is that zombies are on the horizon.
The look here is much more reality based than the old “Leaky Suit Brigade” of the vintage line’s Toxo-Vipers. The outfit is nicely bulky, as to be expected from a hazmat suit. The design eschews the usual Cobra imagery to go realistic with the mask. Most of this mold was released earlier in the year as the Volcano Viper from the Ross stores exclusive Lava Pod. The arms are from Skydive, also released this year. The case with canisters is a holdover from the Rise of Cobra’s the Doctor figure. The canisters apparently hold Compound Z, which ties into the upcoming zombie Cobra figure. Oh, and if you think zombies are just too crazy a concept for GI Joe, chill out. It’s been done before.
I welcome the bright color scheme, since much of what we got from the Pursuit of Cobra line was military drab. There’s nothing wrong with realism, but it’s nice to throw in the far-out stuff that’s always been a part of the small Joe lines.
One last thing–he also has a water squirting gun. Nice.
When I saw “leaky suit” I immediately thought of the Toxo-Viper my brother and I used to draw straws to see who would be stuck with him and Airtight… ANyway looking forward to getting this fig, hopefully sooner rather then later!
I was a weird kid. I liked Airtight and a lot of the other specialists that weren’t combat oriented, like Blowtorch, Lifeline and Barbecue. They had such cool accessories!
Nice!
I like the Toxo-Viper, and this figure’s an awesome update. Definitely a must-have!
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