by KansasBrawler If anything made the Joe line iconic to me as a kid, aside from their great articulation, it was the simple concept of the animal sidekick. I don’t know why, but for some reason, the idea of a Joe trooper working alongside an animal to accomplish their mission seemed really cool. I realize that they weren’t “pets” per
Read moreby KansasBrawler The Ninja Showdown set really typified the way figures are offered in three-packs. None of them required extensive new tooling…in fact, all three figures were just carded figures offered with different (and possibly better) accessories and in different (and definitely better) paint jobs. While none of the three figures in their carded versions appealed to me, the Snake Eyes and Red Ninja
Read moreby Twitziller The Built to Rule Rock Crusher was offered in the first series of BTR in 2003. The Rock Crusher’s primary mode is an assault quad (a one-person, four-wheel ATV) in the tradition of such vehicles as the 1988 Tiger Paw, the 2002 Assault Quad, and the Tiger Claw A.T.V. from 2011. The included figure is the Joe team’s
Read moreby KansasBrawler (Author’s Note: These Kre-O reviews are going to be a little wacky. I’ve had so much fun setting these up into fun displays and actually playing with them, I don’t want to undo all that to do the reviews with what came in the box. As such, when there are non-standard figures involved or sets are split up, I’ll make a
Read moreby KansasBrawler I managed to find the first wave of Pursuit of Cobra figures all at one time, so I can’t really give Beachhead the distinction of the first Pursuit figure I purchased, but I do know that I was so taken by his new design that he was definitely the first one I opened up when I got home
Read moreby KansasBrawler It seems like one figure in every wave manages to completely blow the doors off the hinges and showcases just what Hasbro can really do and why the Joe line is still the best 3 ¾” (okay, closer to 4” or 4 ½” these days) action figure line currently on the shelves. What makes Pursuit of Cobra Low-Light
Read moreby KansasBrawler The Slaughter’s Marauders sub-team was a big part of my childhood. Between the two of us, my brother and I had the entire group, which was pretty unusual. Plus, it allowed me to get access to some figures (like Mutt & Junkyard) who I liked from the cartoon but missed the original releases. However, the choices Hasbro made
Read moreby KansasBrawler Ultimate Cobra Commander is one of the reasons I was glad I just bought the entire Retaliation super wave online. I’m not sure what I would have thought of him the first time I saw him in person. He was a bubble figure. I wound up with a lot of versions of “classic” Cobra Commander (both helmeted and
Read moreby KansasBrawler Every time a new wave comes around, there’s a dangerous temptation to name a new figure the best version of its character ever. During the Pursuit of Cobra line, Hasbro had this tendency to make an amazing version of a figure in one wave and then just a couple waves down the line make something even more amazing.
Read moreby KansasBrawler I love seeing new characters in the Joe line. When I was growing up, I was always more excited to see new names listed on the back of the card than I was name of guys that I already had. For the most part, I liked my originals, so the newer version didn’t appeal to me (I mean,
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