Eels (1985)
Who didn’t take their Joes into the tub or swimming pool with them? How could you resist playing with Eels, Torpedo, the Water Mocassin or the WHALE in the water? Heck, Deep Six, with his diving action (an action feature in ’84–gasp!) was made for water play.
Of course, the unfortunate side effect of throwing your Joes around in the water would show up later in the form of rusty screws. And if you were a kid who had a swimming pool, you probably had some nicely chlorine bleached paint and plastic as well. That’s what happened to my first Eels figure. I took him and the Water Mocassin into the pool so many times during summer ’85 that by August, the flesh tone around his eyes made him look like he had been living in a cave for 20 years.
There’s something fascinating to me about the figures whose only exposed facial details are eyes. Sure, all the Joes have the same kind of painted details around the eyes and eyebrows, but there’s an interesting expression going on with the Eels’ eyes. The closest comparison I can make would be the portrayal of the eye simplified into just a few strokes of a pen. It’s the sort of stark graphic that reminds me of the character eyes drawn by some of the great comic book artists of the Silver Age.
Coming from ’85, the figure is comparatively loaded with accessories. Two flippers, a two-piece backpack, breathing hose and speargun made for one of the most amazingly kitted-out figures yet when it was assembled. This embarrassment of accessory riches also made for some easily lost pieces, especially when taken into a swimming pool. I don’t know how I was able to keep mine together that first summer.
Oh, and since I can’t seem to kick my knock-off obsession lately, the Eels head design was copied by Lanard in the 90’s to create one of their new characters, Lars Lazer. The sincerest form of flattery indeed.
What’s not to like about that guy? Iconic in every way.
I hope to get my hands on at least one of these babies, and the 25th Anniversary version. I have to say, it’s one of my favorite Cobra troops.
The ’85 Eel is a true classic. The first and best of all the Cobra frogmen. ‘Nuff said.
Between the Eels, Snow Serpent and Alpine, I was a sucker for Hasbro’s most accesorized figures. Probably also why I never had Flint or Lady Jaye til the 25th anniversary.
Simply the best. The eel is the standard against which all future cobra divers were measured.
I’m a scuba diver myself so I gotta love this too. A great figure, classic military with a hint of near-future.
I never quite figured out if his backpack was a jet pack (sea AIR and land) or just propulsion underwater. As a kid, who cared? The Eels is a figure that just couldn’t be improved upon. Damn easy to lose (and important) accessories, though.
I love this figure. I have one complete vintage one and two 25th. Way better than the Hydro-Viper released a few years later.
I agree. In terms of the classic line’s Cobra frogmen, I’d rank them as such:
1985 Eel
Undertow
Hydro-Viper
1992/93 Eel
Awesomw figure!
Overall, this is a really nice figure. And as a nice touch, I really like the stern expression that comes through.