Snake Eyes (2005)
It’s been a while since I’ve covered a Snake Eyes figure. I think. It’s so hard to tell really, considering there have been a metric crapload of versions of the guy. His myriad releases don’t bother me at all, as he remains one of my favorites to come out of the 80s mythos. What’s not to like about a sometimes commando/sometimes ninja toy molded in all-black and geared up with an uzi and/or a sword? Sounds like a winner every time to me. Well, that’s not always the case, although there have been a few interesting takes on the most familiar Joe team member over the years. The Valor vs Venom era comic packs weren’t everyone’s favorites, but I found many of them to be noble, if not entirely successful, efforts at revisiting and updating older molds.
The comic pack is based on Marvel issue 21, and I don’t think I need to explain what that means. If you’re not aware, it’s the point at which the pajama-garbed crazies first made an appearance in the comic. I know this is territory that’s been covered by many smarter and more dedicated fans, but I’ll say that story-wise it’s a real turning point in the series. I know it hooked me in a major way when I found it on the rack at my local 7-11. I was already a Marvel comics fan and had bought many Joes, but this issue got me started as a regular reader of the comic.
Back to the figure–included in a three-pack that also featured Storm Shadow and a Red Ninja, Snake Eyes here retains most of his original 1982-83 body. The odd choice of the ’86 Roadblock waist is here yet again. While the belt design looks like it fits in, the waist sockets just don’t mesh well with the 82-83 thighs. The main selling point for me however is the head. It’s a nice update of the original, and brings out more detail in the goggles and the famous mask lines. If they were going for a comic book look, they succeeded. The rest of the original body just doesn’t quite match up, especially when looking at the art inside the comic. Snakes is outfitted differently than the original toy, especially the boots. I would have liked a more elaborate mixing of parts, a la the other original thirteen Joes seen in other comic packs. Someday I’ll Frankenstein my own version. That head is just too cool not to use.
This is a good Snake Eyes. Plus, I’m a sucker for any figure that includes a grappling hook. By the time this pack and the #49 pack came, I didn’t think I could ever care about another V1 Snake Eyes or V1 Firefly derivative. But, the new heads on both this Snake Eyes and the Firefly still showed the value of the molds.
The Snake Eyes that’s drawn on the cover of #21 is the figure I always wanted. The extra gear and super detailing got me interested in Snake Eyes the figure, again. Fortunately, my wants were sated in 1985 when the V2 figure was released.
I would have loved for the Club or someone else to have taken some of the new comic pack heads and really experimented with them in terms of parts. This head could have been well matched with parts from other ’83 and ’84 molds. So much potential, so little attempt to realize it.
I have the filecard, I have the gear, what I don’t have is the figure itself.
Funny how Snake eyes started out as an extra figure who was painted all black [as i’m led to beleive] to save money.
That’s what I have read over the years, fewer paint applications to trim production cost. Technically almost invisible on the cartoon compared to the other cartoon character personalities. Really built up in the comics.
Now…., the character almost dominates as the face of G.I.Joe.
“… choice of the ’86 Roadblock waist … ”
I forgot why I disliked the figure compared to other Snake Eyes figures, as well as others…, the Roadblock waist. That head is very cool, though.
I thought the ’97 version 8 was more interesting with the brown details and darker gray details set against the black…., but still that waist…., I mean, the more ’82-’83 waist appeared on other figures, didn’t it? Why not add it onto this comic pack Snake Eyes, unless the intent was to try and emulate the 1985 Snake Eyes waist on the ’83 form?
The sleeveless Storm Shadow was my favorite out of this comic pack, however, not only due to the arms, but as well as the variance of the white coloring on the lower arm and lower leg wraps.
The Red Ninja was odd, being it wasn’t the style of ninja in the comic, as well as that unique Storm Shadow mold just always saying Storm Shadow to me.