Torpedo (2015)

The coverage of 2015 product continues as we focus on the second figure in the Vanishing Act set, Torpedo. When I first saw the figure was going to appear in one of the multi-packs, I thought why are we getting another modern Torpedo? Then I checked around and remembered that we really don’t have a version created using the most recent modern era parts. This Torpedo still however bears the torso of the 25th version, and the look is slightly inconsistent thanks to it.

Torpedo shares a mold with last year’s 50th anniversary Eel, which was itself a mishmash of parts. Like its predecessor, the figure suffers from an unbalanced top and bottom, thanks to bulky arms and thinner legs. This isn’t much of an issue with its donor figure, the amazing Retaliation Ninja Duel Snake Eyes. The elbows are limited in movement thanks to the earlier and comparatively bulky 25th anniversary Eel forearms. 2013 Snake Eyes looks good with upper arm armor, but one expects a diver figure like this to cut an overall slim silhouette.

Within the fiction of the three pack, a story of Hit & Run and Torpedo chasing Zartan through the swamp, I’m reminded of Marvel comic issue 25, which spotlighted Zartan and also first presented Torpedo in action. I wore my copy out, and enjoyed all the new Joes and Cobras debuting in its pages. I recall thinking it odd to see Torpedo running through the swamp in his flippers, and even the old figure looked strange walking around without his appropriate gear. This version, like last year’s Eel, blends into land-based missions a bit better. He’s not showing the full-on land functionality of an earlier o-ring version from the mid 2000s, but he’ll do in a pinch. He’s also sporting a rifle in addition to his ages old harpoon gun.

Other accessories include the same articulated fins from the Eel, as well as a mask and backpack that’s seen multiple uses in the last several years. It’s a decent update, but not all it could have been.