Night Fox (2015)

It’s hard to believe that Night Fox has been around as a GI Joe character for five years. It seems like only yesterday that I was first surprised by the quality of this new driver figure. The 2010 original still stands as one of my favorite modern era figures, and a refreshing addition among all the homages to the olden days of the brand. I was excited to hear that the character would make an appearance in the San Diego Comic Con exclusive version of the Desert Duel set, and saw the press photo. He looked pretty good. Then I got the figure in hand. Uh-oh. Something is…off. Good gravy, man! What happened to your legs?! Looking back, I should have recognized it, but the photo was shot at a high angle, and minimized his stilt-like appendages. Speaking of press photos, what the heck kind of Photoshop filter is Hasbro using with them? Every year, the shots seem to have a painterly, satin sheen that makes everything look like it was sculpted using fondant. Weird.

Well, at least Night Fox isn’t articulated like an Adventure People figure this time around.

Retaliation Roadblock’s legs just don’t work alongside the other parts. They’re too long, and lack the extra articulation that’s become standard in the modern era. Actually, the reduced mobility doesn’t bother me as much as the scale. He looks ridiculous. I suppose I could choose to see it in a positive way, like just maybe there’s a chance it was purposeful, and the designers were trying to produce an homage to the early 2000s gangly-legged Joes. You know, like Red Spot or Agent Faces. Okay okay, I’m stretching. It helps ease my pain and disappointment. I don’t mind the all-over grey color scheme, since there’s a bit of a break with the striping and black details.

I’m glad to see some continuity with the accessories and design. He’s equipped yet again with a shemagh and helmet with night vision goggles. The cap is missing though–kind of a bummer. I love the cap and scarf look. The ammo pack, heavy machine gun and tripod also make another appearance. Back in the 80s, I wished that driver figures would come equipped with just one weapon, and got excited to see a figure like Frostbite get a machine gun. Having a fully loaded-out driver these days is wonderful, and hopefully the trend continues the next time Joe returns to retail. I know that my son gets a kick out of toys with tons of interchangeable accessories. So do I, for that matter.

Tomorrow we’ll feature the final figure in the set. In the meantime, I’m off to find some shorter grey legs to swap out for poor Night Fox. Now where did I put my precision screwdriver?