Rock Viper (Pursuit of Cobra)

by KansasBrawler

As I’ve mentioned before, my older brother was vital in tracking down the figures I wanted from the final wave of Pursuit of Cobra action figures. While not as flashy as some other later-year Cobra troopers, I’ve always really loved the Rock Viper. He was part of a very select group of figures in my collection growing up, one that both my brother and I had. When I learned that the Rock Viper was slated for inclusion in what would be the last wave of Pursuit of Cobra figures, I was very excited. While the figure could have benefitted from a few better parts choices, I find myself loving the update of one of the more popular specialty Cobras from 1990.

The parts choices for the Rock Viper (with one small exception in my opinion) work really well. His torso and upper arms originally belonged to the Jungle Viper. I’d never really thought those parts would show up again in the line because the chest is a relatively unique piece, but it really works well for a mountain trooper since they would want easy access to their gear and the original Rock Viper had smaller pouches on his chest back in the day too. That’s a pretty cool throwback in my opinion. I’m going to mention his climbing backpack here too, since his look doesn’t work without the backpack on. The straps for the backpack look really good and again reference his 1990 look. I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of this backpack. It’s a bit clunky because it’s got a built in action feature. You can get a bit of climbing action out of it. It’s not much to write home about, but I do like that the Rock Viper still has a backpack with a climbing rig built in. However, I do kind of wish Hasbro had found a way to modify the backpack that came with the Rise of Cobra Viper Commando since that look was a bit closer to what the Rock Viper used back in the day. Again, I understand the reason they did it, since the body doesn’t look right without some straps framing up his pouches, but it’s still a bit of a road not traveled issue that I wish they could have found a way to resolve. His upper legs come from Pursuit of Cobra Low Light. While they’re good legs (and originally came from Pursuit of Cobra Beachhead), I kind of wish Hasbro would have used the original Beachhead look because Low Light changed up the mold in a way that doesn’t really work well here. While Beachhead had a computer pad on his left leg, Low Light swapped it out for a holster for his rifle’s removable sight. That was a great addition…on Low Light. However, for Rock Viper, it’s a little odd because he doesn’t have anything to go there. I’d rather he’d had the computer pad just because it doesn’t leave a random holster with nothing to put in it. His lower arms and legs come from an unusual source, the action-attack laden Pursuit of Cobra Jungle Snake Eyes. While it’s an unconventional choice, it really works well here. Snake Eyes’ armor plating really looks a lot like the forearm and shin guards that the 1990 Rock Viper wore back in the day. My only nitpick here is that the Rock Viper was released as an “Arctic Assault” figure, yet he’s wearing short sleeves. That’s a little bit of an odd choice, but I’m willing to overlook it since the choice Hasbro made did a great job at referencing the original look while updating it for the modern era. Topping off the Rock Viper we get a basic balaclava-wearing head from the 25th Para-Viper. It’s a nice head and all, but first of all, I’m getting a little tired of seeing balaclavas in the modern Joe line. The Retaliation Airborne head isn’t bad because we haven’t seen it ad nauseum like the others, but it’s still pretty boring. Secondly, I think there was a missed opportunity to reference the 1990 Rock Viper by not using the 25th Tripwire head. While it wouldn’t be a perfect match, the helmet and goggles would have been close enough to pass the squint test to see the 1990 Rock Viper in the Pursuit of Cobra Rock Viper’s head.

While the parts choices may have had a few missteps, the paintjob on the Rock Viper is second to none in my opinion. Here, the Hasbro team did a great job at referencing the 1990 Rock Viper’s look. The cream base and dark brown camouflage looks just like it did back in 1990 and the maroon armor and holsters looks perfect against that backdrop. I’ll admit that a greedy part of me wishes the straps on the climbing backpack and the shoulder armor were maroon too, but the silver paint apps on the buckles is a nice surprise and really helps bring out those details on the mold. It also would have been nice had his helmet been maroon instead of the basic black, but all in all, the paint is spot on and I’m not going nitpick it to death.

Finally, we have to talk about the Rock Viper’s gear. First of all, he’s got a helmet, which makes sense for a mountain trooper. However, it feels a bit oversized to me. When it’s positioned right, it looks okay, but it can also slip down pretty easily which covers his eyes like Beetle Bailey. That’s not a good look for a trooper. The climbing rig is a nice piece and I do like that the grappling hooks look big enough to actually support the weight of a person while climbing, unlike some of the grappling hooks and strings that other climbers in the line have come with. Where Hasbro went the extra mile, though, is that they also gave him a piton for additional support while climbing. I appreciate the attention to detail that went into those choices. This is all stuff a climber would find useful while taking himself up a mountain. The Rock Viper also carries an impressive stash of weapons up the mountain with him. Starting off small, he comes with a knife (which can be carried in its sheath) and a pistol. I do wish he had a place to carry the pistol on his body…maybe with a pistol holster where the sniper scope holster is since he doesn’t have a scope to fill it with.

As a mountain trooper, the Rock Viper would be engaged in combat with targets far away and to facilitate that, he’s carrying the very nice sniper rifle that originally came with the first 25th Zartan. It’s something that hasn’t been reused a lot and while I’ll admit that I do associate it primarily with Zartan, a sniper rifle with a starlight scope would be useful to a mountain trooper as well since you probably wouldn’t be leaving your post for quite a while once you get up there. Having a long-range weapon that can function both in daylight and the dead of night would be pretty useful. In the event of an assault on his position, the Rock Viper also has a nice submachine gun. I’m not sure who this originally came with (though I know I’ve seen it before), but it’s a great mold and I like seeing it. Finally, for some reason, the Rock Viper also has a spear. I’m not quite sure why a mountain trooper would need a spear in his gear, but it’s there, it’s a decent spear and it can be carried on his backpack. Even though I don’t understand why it’s there, I won’t argue with its inclusion since he can carry it on his backpack. In fact, with a little judicious use of balance and wedging, you can have your Rock Viper carry all of its gear. While it’s clear that Hasbro didn’t plan to do this, there’s enough slack in the straps that you have places to put the weapons and equipment he’s not carrying. Though it’s not as elegant as Pursuit of Cobra Snow Job’s gear and backpack, being able to do that does make me happy. I like action figures that can stow all their additional gear on their body that they can’t hold in their hands. Here, Rock Viper also succeeds, albeit somewhat accidentally.

The Rock Viper is by no means a flashy figure, but that doesn’t mean he’s bad. Much like the 1990 Rock Viper, I think this version is going to develop a bit of a sleeper following. It’s a very good update of the original look, while adding in newer, modern elements to freshen up the design. While I wish Hasbro had made a couple different, small changes in their part choices, the Rock Viper still looks great and definitely passes the glance test for an update. If you had the original Rock Viper, you’re going to know who he’s supposed to be. If you didn’t, he’s interesting enough that you’re going to stop and check him out. Then, once you see his gear and take a closer look at the design, you’re going to be sold on him too.