By YT I’m not a fan of the GI Joe live action movie Storm Shadow costume. I just don’t care for the aesthetic and don’t even get me started on Ninjas wearing tennis shoes. That being said when Hot Toys announced their Retaliation figure line I was thrilled. For those who may not know, Hot Toys is an Asian company
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By KansasBrawler It may sometimes take a little while, but I have to commend Hasbro for its ability to get popular canceled figures released. This year we’re finally getting the much-demanded Concept Case Gung-Ho and during the Retaliation line, Data-Viper was rescued from the great parts bin in the sky and saw a retail release and I couldn’t have been
Read moreSo it’s common knowledge now that the initial figures in the Retaliation line were designed without much influence from the movie itself. While some find this frustrating, I think it’s interesting. Letting the GI Joe design team go wild on more figures without being influenced by movie costumes is a good thing. So we ended up with a few strange
Read moreSo apparently Roadblock is associated with the Arashikage ninja clan in the GI Joe sequel. I’m not sure how I feel about that, especially since we don’t know the extent to which he’s involved with them. Is he a ninja from the get-go, or does he fall in with them throughout the course of the film and becomes an honorary
Read moreSnake Eyes’ apprentice seems to be quite popular when it comes to movie lines. His Rise of Cobra figure was one of my favorites of that line, and made for an excellent substitute for the lack of a modern styled version of the character. This one, from a Retaliation three pack, is a true mash-up of parts that is only
Read moreHow the heck did Beachhead get stuck in a figure pack along with ninjas? Who knows, but with GI Joe, you learn not to ask those sorts of questions, and just go with the flow. I’m glad that this figure was included in this pack, as it gives us not only Beachhead in a color scheme other than his
Read moreAs much as I liked the Pursuit of Cobra line, I found its versions of Cobra Commander to be lacking. The Pursuit of Cobra relied too much on the movie look, which didn’t work for me; even the third wave version’s addition of the classic helmet didn’t impress. In fact, I haven’t found a Commander figure that has really struck me since
Read moreWhen I first saw pictures of the Retaliation Cobra Trooper, I thought, hey, looks like the Joe line is getting back some color, albeit electric blue. The design doesn’t follow what we’ve seen of the movie troopers in trailers and pictures. They seem to be outfitted in an urban camo and black helmets, resembling a paramilitary security force more than
Read moreWhen I covered the Renegades Storm Shadow figure, I mentioned that Ihoped to see the mold again, since the movie sequel appeared to be ninja heavy. Man, I hate love being right. This is one of two Red Ninjas in the first wave, the other obviously being the single pack. This one differs not only in paint scheme, but in accessories.
Read moreThe GI Joe Trooper appears to be a new iteration of the generic troop idea that started with the Steel Brigade. I say appears because the movie figures forego file cards, long a staple of Joe figures. I’m more than a little disappointed in this missing piece of the toyline. Those little bits of fiction included with the figures are
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