Review – Resolute Cobra Battle Pack
Well, it’s been quite a while since GI Joe: Resolute was released. Heck, it’s been over 8 months since the DVD was released, and well over a year since the first Resolute figures were released. Though Joe fans were blown away by Resolute and quickly demanded more figures, the Rise of Cobra movie and the success (and failure) of its toyline meant that we got precious little Resolute product. What we got was sprinkled in here and there with the RoC line…first came the TRU exclusive Firefly which was clearly based on the briefly-seen Resolute Firefly, then City Strike Snake Eyes, a thinly disguised Resolute SE, and finally Resolute Roadblock included with the Outpost Defender Wal-Mart exclusive. Well, whereas last summer we were lucky enough to get the Assault on and Defense of Cobra Island 7 packs, THIS summer we get the Resolute Joe and Cobra Battle Packs. I’ll start with the Cobra pack.
I’ll begin with Cobra’s leader, Cobra Commander. I start with him not just because he’s Cobra’s leader, but also because this is the easiest figure to review. If you have the single-carded Resolute Cobra Commander from the 25th Anniversary line, you have this figure. He’s got the same helmet, same gun, same sword, same cape, same everything. The only two differences here are a new color and a new knife. The color is a slightly lighter shade of blue than the single-card release. The knife is actually pretty darn cool. It’s decently sized, and nicely colored and detailed. The silver of the blade is pretty bright, as is the gold on the handle. The handle is a very intricately sculpted and detailed Cobra head. I think this knife fits CC perfectly. I just wish that there had been more changes to the CC figure, or that they had included a different character…or even another Alley Viper!
Next up is the new Storm Shadow. Whereas Resolute reinvented Snake Eyes and got fans excited about getting version #48 of the same character, Storm Shadow kind of stagnated. While he was still easily recognizable as Storm Shadow (a masked ninja clad in white and red) there was nothing new or interesting done with him. The figure suffers from this as well. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very nicely done figure…it’s just kind of bleh, like the character in the cartoon. Stormy does feature a removable hood and shirt, as well as a new headsculpt. The headsculpt gives him more of a “wrapped” appearance, kind of like the new Desert Battle PoC Storm Shadow. I’m not that fond of it, but at least they were trying to change the figure up as much as possible. As for the hood, it can be pressed on just enough to make it stay in place. As for the shirt, when it is removed, Storm Shadow’s upper body is pretty freaking ripped. One other nice touch is that the tattoos revealed in the cartoon when Snake Eyes cuts off Storm Shadow’s forearm wraps are there…an Arashikage symbol on one arm and a Cobra sigil on the other. However somewhat strangely, these tattoos are placed just in front of the elbows on the underside of Stormy’s arm, not on the wrists like in the cartoon. The new placement is kind of strange, and in fact I missed them during my initial once-over on the figure, but I still applaud Hasbro for the effort. Storm Shadow comes with a new backpack that holds the same traditional long and short swords, as well as the three-pronged snap-on claw whose technical name escapes me.
Next up is Firefly. Firefly’s body is the same one used with the TRU-exclusive RoC Firefly, but he has a new headsculpt, new colors, and new accessories. The headsculpt is much more cartoon accurate. The color changes are a much lighter gray on the body, brighter metallic silver on the shoulderpads & kneepads, and brown on the leggings and body armor. The body armor is a new design similar to the PIT Commando’s SWAT-style body armor, minus the shoulderpads. It covers all the vital areas, including the crotch, and has a black Cobra sigil on the right breast. As a nasty hidden surprise, there’s a removable knife in a hidden sheath on the body armor’s vest, just above his rear end. Further accessories include the same compact assault rifle included originally with the Resolute Cobra Trooper, and a missile launcher on a stand. In what I consider a nice tie-in to the 25th line, Firefly has the same triangular backpack as his original 25th Anniversary release. This is a good figure and I’m glad they changed him up from the TRU release, but I don’t like the colors as much as I like the colors on the TRU release. I also wish this Firefly came with a set of goggles, though you can easily change that by either stealing the ones from the TRU release or the comic pack version.
The next figure is the Alley Viper. These tough Cobra troopers protected the abandoned Siberian missile silo from Duke & Scarlett’s assault in the Resolute cartoon. I was afraid that Alley Viper would be a Resolute Trooper repaint, or maybe have a few new accessories, but I was pleasantly surprised. While he does share Resolute Trooper’s legs, assault rifle, and grenade launcher, the arms, head, body armor and helmet are new. The arms feature much larger shoulder pads, as well as some forearm pads. Instead of a simple mask and exposed head and hair under the helmet, the Alley Viper is wearing a full balaclava with an integral facemask that has breathing/filter holes in it. The body armor is similar to Firefly’s in that it covers the whole frontal area including the crotch, but it does not have the sculpted strap across the chest or the knife on the back. The helmet is softer and more pliable than RCT’s, and it has a slightly more angular sculpt. There are red goggles, which can either be placed up on the helmet or over the figure’s eyes, even with the helmet on. This feature is very nice, and probably took the designers quite a bit of work. The figure looks great with the goggles in either position, which is quite an accomplishment.
Up next is the Baroness. Her body is a repaint of the Baroness included in the 25th Anniversary 2009 Cobra set. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because that version of the Baroness is in my opinion the best Baroness yet. She has the addition of a long skirt and a new headsculpt. The paint apps here are very nicely done, especially the red accents around the collar and the thigh-high boots. The headsculpt is well done and makes the Baroness look pretty, but I feel the head is just a tad too large on the figure. It doesn’t look nearly as large as the initial photos, but it’s still kind of big. For accessories, the Baroness has a pair of silver Uzis and removable sunglasses. Not a lot, but she doesn’t really need a lot. In a final note, no word on if her undies are in fact plastic explosive.
We can’t have a Baroness figure without a Destro figure, can we? Destro’s dressed just as he was in the Resolute cartoon, in his midnight blue dress uniform complete with skirt, aiguillette on the right shoulder, and large ruby at his neck. Destro has green eyes and a silver painted head, not a vac-metallized one as we’ve often seen. I have two wishes here…I wish his skirt was removable so the figure could sit in vehicles and I wish the eyes were black with green pupils as in the cartoon, but eh, you can’t win em all. Destro has some GREAT accessories. His assault rifle is brand new and very nice looking. It’s got gunmetal accents that really set it off, though it is a little difficult for the figure to hold. There are also two small silver pistols that fit in holsters sculpted into the skirt, and a gray MARS briefcase. The briefcase is REALLY the highlight here. Open it up and you reveal a hidden silver submachine gun on top, and a keyboard and flip-up computer screen on bottom! Talk about a neat accessory! There’s also um…a detached BAT arm? I have NO idea why Destro has this, but it’s…an interesting, if puzzling accessory.
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Finally, we have the master of disguise himself, Zartan. This Zartan is a lot beefier than previous versions, though all the essential Zartan clues are here. Brown outfit and hood, with dark vertical stripes over the eyes…yup, it’s Zartan. Zartan comes outfitted with a black belt, some very nice angular body armor with shoulder pads, and two weapons. One weapon is the triple-barreled pistol he used in the cartoon to fire missiles at Duke and Scarlett, and the other is the sniper rifle he used to take out the Hard Master and render Snake Eyes mute. Both weapons are black with green accents, and look very nice. The sniper rifle looks like a .50 cal Barrett (the stock and muzzle brake are very similar) but it’s a lot smaller. A cut-down Barrett, perhaps? Man, I’d hate to feel that thing kick. I really, really like this Zartan figure, and for me it’s a hard toss up on whether I like this version or the Chameleon Swamp Skier version more. The only things I don’t like about this figure are that his boots seem a little big and he doesn’t come with any disguises.
Overall, this is a very good pack and a must-have for Resolute fans. For me, it would be easier to pass on this pack than on the Joe pack because of the recycled Cobra Commander, the bleh Storm Shadow, and because I have the TRU Firefly. But again, all in all this is a very nicely done set and worth the purchase.
