Storm Shadow (2009)

The ninjas just keep on comin’. Seems like at times you just can’t swing a plastic nunchaku in a GI Joe line without hitting one of the masked marvels of PJed mayhem. The Rise of Cobra movie series was no different, as the two most prominent ninja in the storyline were released over and over. Storm Shadow in particular was subject to several revisits.

The shirtless Stormy at least represented an attempt at recreating a movie scene. In the climactic battle in the arctic, he is shorn of his shirt, conveniently allowing the filmmakers to show off his washboard abs and too-sweet pecs. Movie Stormy is definitely for the ladies. Case in point:

Back to the figure. The likeness is again a nod to the film, which is always nice to see, rather than some sort of forced alternate outfit a la the many fruit flavors of past movie Batman figures and his ilk. This figure also had a variant unmasked head, which is even closer to the film version. Pretty cool. But it wouldn’t be a movie figure without an action accessory. The usual huge missile launcher in this case gave way to a backpack. The pack mystifies me, in that I can’t tell if it’s meant to convey wings or blades. I suppose the pop-out contraptions are blades, since they’re molded in silver. Part of me however wants to believe they’re wings, as part of an homage to the CLAW glider of the 1980s. The strange, almost medieval gauntlets are another odd little bit of business, although I must confess to liking the slide-out knife feature. The gauntlets aren’t too intrusive either, as they’re easy to remove.

All told, this isn’t a bad Storm Shadow variant, if the more kid-friendly elements are removed. Heck, even if you leave them on, the toy has a little more fun factor than the usual modern GI Joe fare. Now that I think of it, the backpack reminds me of something out of Sigma 6. Hmm, maybe it’s time to break into that particular section of storage at the JAD HQ.