Snake Eyes (Custom Commando)
This figure was inspired by the unique looking version of the team’s popular commando seen on an early sticker set. I picked up a ton of extra comic pack sets to flesh out my original thirteen Joes in the format, so I found it easy to piece together a version of the Snake Eyes figure that never was.
The legend for years was that supposedly Snake Eyes was done in all black as a cost-saving measure. It turns out this story is true to some degree. According to volume 2 of the 3.75 Joe book series, author Dan Klingensmith got the straight scoop from design director Wayne Luther. Snakes was always meant to be outfitted in black. However the design team needed to eliminate a certain amount of paint apps among the first series of figures. Snake Eyes sacrificed his details, which would have been red and silver. Now that’s a custom someone needs to make. I wonder where the detail colors would have been placed? One would assume the chest straps, pockets and boots.
I think Snake Eyes wearing only a black mask with the usual green and camo Joe fatigues might work as something along the lines of a prequel version of the character. It could be possible this is what he wore in early missions before getting his all-black garb.
A new factory made custom along these same lines has been released by Red Lasers Army, and I’ll be covering it soon. For now, I’m happy to have a different Snake Eyes that more closely matches his teammates.
I wonder at what point they just decided “screw it, this guy’s a ninja now”.
I’m gonna say… right around March 1984.
Seems rather specific of a guess, might I inquire further regarding a theory?
Well, I was being a little glib. That’s the publish date on G.I. Joe #21, which was where Larry Hama decided on the fly to tease a link between Snake-Eyes and the newly introduced Cobra ninja character.
I have absolutely no idea why I didn’t put that together straight away. Can’t seem to brain today/yesterday, I got the dumb.
I’ll have to duplicate this at some point….
I really like the camo legs you gave him. What’s in that thigh pocket? A pistol or a Gameboy?
Pistol.
I’m guessing the often-forgotten explosives on his thigh would’ve been red or his visor. Knife and grenade silver?