Zombie Initiative Repulsor

by KansasBrawler

Going into Joe Con this year, Repulsor was a pretty big surprise to some (like me) and a disappointment to others. I was extremely intrigued by the concept of a new named Cobra (and one that had an animal to boot) and though I was at first a little let down by the fact that Repulsor was a Sludge Viper—and took his name from an unused codename for the figure back in 1991—I have to say that being let down by the fact that the GIJCC didn’t create an entirely new character from whole cloth was kind of silly. Repulsor is a great modern version of the Sludge Viper and really gives me some appreciation for a figure I never had as a kid. The GIJCC did a nice job of making it clear that Repulsor is an ex-Sludge Viper and the lab manager/security officer for the Compound Z project. It makes sense for him to wear Sludge Viper gear, but he’s also a great new individual Cobra character and I like being able to flesh out my Cobra lab team a bit. After all, it’s not like Cesspool, the “Cobra Industries CEO”, is going to be in the lab all the time coming up with new deadly viruses. Repulsor makes a great second-in-command to Cesspool and works well both as a paramilitary operator and a lab manager.

While Repulsor’s design doesn’t share a lot of his details with the original Sludge Viper, there are enough sculptural ties to the classic look that I think he’s an effective update. TheSludge Viper had a pretty unique look back in the day and the GIJCC found some good parts that bring him close enough to pass the squint test while also keeping him in line with the aesthetic the GIJCC established for the other old school Eco-Warriors. His legs come from a combination of the 30th Anniversary Techno Viper and (surprisingly) Resolute Storm Shadow. Had I not checked YoJoe.com for a parts list, I would have just assumed they were straight up Techno-Viper. Honestly, making that little change does help a little. I was going to criticize Repulsor a little for being nearly a straight-up, more-colorful repaint of the 30th Anniversary Techno-Viper but that little swap addresses it for the most part. Yes, Repulsor still mostly uses Techno-Viper parts, but they’re great pieces and changing things up a little bit does mean he doesn’t look exactly the same when standing next to the Techno-Viper. His torso and arms also come from the Techno-Viper. I like the use of Techno-Viper arms here. The tech panels on his lower arms are a nice callback to the Sludge Viper’s gloves that had sensors built into them. The other arm details also look like some of the unpainted molded details the original figure had. The Techno-Viper chest piece doesn’t really look like the Sludge Viper’s chest armor at all, but I’m actually okay with that. The only other piece that could have stood in for that piece was 30th Anniversary Airtight’s and I think that’s a little too distinctive a piece for Repulsor to use. The padded Techno-Viper chest piece is actually a better stand in because it does at least feel a little bit like it’s an armored vest. The Airtight chest piece is clearly not armored while I can see Repulsor’s chest piece having a few layers of Kevlar built in even if it doesn’t have the classic Sludge Viper armored panels. I’ve mentioned it every time the Techno-Viper chest piece is used, but it bears repeating again, it does seriously bug me that the piece is so thick that it can’t close properly. I kind of wish Hasbro (or the GIJCC, since who knows how much more Joe stuff Hasbro proper will be putting out in the near future) would find a way to retool this piece and thin it down a little while maintaining its structural integrity so it doesn’t have that bulky, glaring seam sticking out like a sore thumb. Since Repulsor is a named Cobra, he’s not permanently wearing his helmet. Underneath his removable helmet (more on that in a moment), he shares his head sculpt with 25th Anniversary Red Star. That’s a great call. Since they didn’t invest money to tool up a new head, at least they picked a piece we haven’t seen a lot of and that has a lot of character in it. Repulsor looks pretty angry and looks like someone who’s seen a lot of stuff in his day. While he’s not quite as old as Cesspool, I definitely see him as someone who’s in their late 30s or early 40s as opposed to the angry young men that join Cobra as troopers. Considering he’s not only Cesspool’s head of security but also a tactical advisor, it makes sense for him to be a bit older than your average soldier. His experience in the field makes him a great asset to Cobra and his angry face shows that he’s got a pretty nasty mean streak to boot. To cover his head while he’s working in the field with dangerous chemicals, Repulsor gets a removable helmet. While I wouldn’t have thought about it, the 30th Anniversary Zombie-Viper helmet is actually a pretty great stand-in for a modern Sludge Viper helmet. I really liked this helmet when I first got it and it really helps bring the whole Sludge Viper look together on Repulsor.

The GIJCC may have had to take some artistic liberties with their choice of parts for Repulsor, but his color scheme is straight out of 1991 and I love it. Repulsor’s jumpsuit is a vibrant teal while his padding is a nice shade of yellow with some lighter purple (not lavender, but also not what I’d call a standard purple). The colors work very well together. The yellow pops nicely against the teal while not being overly bright. The purple boots are a couple of shades lighter than the original Sludge Viper’s but it actually kind of works. I’m fine with the boots being the darkest color on the Repulsor, but looking at photos of the original Sludge Viper, I think the purple was a little too dark. The rest of the figure is pretty bright so the very dark purple boots kind of doesn’t mesh with the rest of the look. The slightly lighter purple that Repulsor has keeps the Sludge Viper look intact, but it’s not eye-catchingly dark. Finally, on the center of his chest, he’s got the great Cobra biohazard logo. I’ve waxed poetic on my love of this design a few times, but what I really appreciate is that they used the right color for it. The red orange is nice and bright and it pops nicely against the yellow. This is the color I wish they would have used for Cesspool’s chest logo.

The Sludge Viper is kind of an odd duck when it comes to accessories. I think the problem I had with the Sludge Viper back in the day is that while the filecards made them different from the Toxo-Viper, their accessories were nearly identical. That’s not the case this time and though his primary accessory is the same one used with Cesspool, I think that’s okay. Much like with Cesspool, I can see Repulsor using one of the prototype toxic sprayers because he tested them out back in the day and became more comfortable with them than the production models. Repulsor’s toxic sprayer is a combination of the Pursuit of Cobra Arctic Threat Destro’s water spraying gun and 25th Anniversary Barbecue’s backpack and hose. It’s a great look and while it’s not a very strong reference to the Sludge Viper’s original gear, it’s close enough to work. I do wish the front end of the toxic blaster had gotten painted like it did for Cesspool, but that’s a pretty minor criticism. Since Repulsor is the head of security, it makes sense for him to have a weapon other than a toxic sprayer. Like any good security contractor, Repulsor carries a nice tactical shotgun. You always know that a big fight is coming in a movie when the security guys unlock the cabinets and pull out the shotguns. I can see Repulsor being just as comfortable with a shotgun as he would with his toxic blaster. To fill his holster, Repulsor also gets the pistol that the 30th Techno-Viper came with that fits into his holster perfectly. While it still looks awfully dinky, I can imagine that Repulsor could be quite effective with it if it was the only other weapon he had left.

Of course, part of what interested me with Repulsor was announced was that he had an animal as well. I was intrigued to see what a Cobra who named his dog “Dawg” would look like. While I initially didn’t think a Sludge Viper was quite the right call, it’s grown on me and the characterization they were able to give Repulsor through Dawg really makes me like the character even more. Zombie dogs have been popular since the Resident Evil franchise and I like that Repulsor cares for his dog so much that he injected it with Compound Z to save its life after it got severely injured by the Steel Brigade Commander. Unfortunately, I think a zombie dog is one of those things that looks cool in video games and movies but doesn’t quite translate as well as it could into plastic. Dawg sadly continues that tradition. I really do like the mold. It reminds me a lot of the 30th Anniversary Zombie Viper, but unfortunately, his paint work does too and that’s where it hurts him. The blue Compound Z blotches are applied rather haphazardly with little apparent care for the molded lines. Rather than make him look infected, he just looks blotchy. Dawg has definitely got a mean face but the slightly bugged left eye looks more comical than scary. I also think molding him in black was a bad call. If nothing else, his pupils don’t stand out very well against the rest of the body. Dawg definitely looks like the steroidal, mindless, undead beast that Compound Z turned him into, but I kind of wish we’d gotten an unzombified Dawg instead. Even before his life-saving dose of Compound Z, Dawg was a pretty nasty beast. The GIJCC could have made a really cool, intimidating dog, but by adding zombie into the mix it’s like putting a smaller top hat on top of a top hat. It takes it from cool and classy to bizarre and kind of silly. More effective paint work would definitely have saved the concept, but just looking at the pictures of other zombie dog action figures in a few different scales, it seems like, for whatever reason, no toymaker has really managed to crack the scary-looking zombie dog design yet.

Not remembering that Repulsor was an early codename for the Sludge Viper let my mind run wild with possibilities about what the GIJCC could do with this figure. Like many Joe fans, I was initially just a little disappointed that he turned out to be a Sludge Viper. However, that disappointment eventually gave way to excitement because he really is a great update of the Sludge Viper. Add in the fact that through the filecard and comic book the GIJCC created a great character and I’m a big fan of Repulsor. Since individual Cobras are so unusual, they need to have a good hook behind them and Repulsor’s great. His face definitely sells the idea that he’s a very twisted individual who has a soft spot for his dog. Repulsor is clearly someone you don’t want to mess with and things come together very well for this figure. I don’t know how many people that were disappointed that Repulsor turned out to be a Sludge Viper never changed their mind on him, but this is one character that needs a fair shake. The GIJCC found a great way to create a new character while tying him to the classic line. I don’t quite know why people get so bothered with the GIJCC creating new people (like General Mayhem) since bringing in new characters keeps the line fresh. However, Repulsor manages to do both and that’s great. I’m glad I have Repulsor in my collection and I’m glad I have a great modern representation of the Sludge Viper on my shelf.