2005 Comic Pack Serpentor - Random Photos of the Day

Serpentor is one of those figures who only has one look.  Every one of his figures has been in his standard, regal armor design.  Sure, the colors have changed...a bit.  But, Serpentor doesn't really have a figure in a look other than one derived from his 1986 debut.  

Serpentor is also a figure, though, who doesn't really need another look.  Attempts to modernize him fall flat.  And, sometimes, the regal emperor's regalia is all a character needs to convey his purpose.  Granted, I wouldn't say no to a debut inspired, shirtless Serpentor.  He and Dr. Mindbender would be twinsies.  I actually hope Super7 gets around to a Serpentor like that.  But, I'm not going to hold my breath.

This 2005 Serpentor is probably the worst of his three o-ring versions.  But, that's a misnomer because all of Serpentor's colorings are great.  This one is just different.  The removable helmet actually works for this figure, too.  The soft pastels are a nice alternate look for Serpentor and give him a less regal and less imposing feel than the golden and black based figures that preceded this release.

I'd really love to do more with this figure.  But, I sold all my spares during my purge.  And, the lone sample I have left is starting to show fraying and wear around the arm holes on his cape.  So, I don't get this guy out much, any longer.  The biggest argument for newer Serpentor figures is that the old ones are all brittle and easy to damage.  Heck, even this figure is now 20 years old.  But, the Super7 Serpentors, so far, haven't really done much to inspire my acquisition of them.  Maybe that will change if they do something fun or interesting with the character.  Until then, I have this 2005 figure for the sparse times I may feel the need to bring the Serpentor character out for a photo shoot.

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor - Around The Web

Every now and then, I come across an incredibly popular figure.  You may not know it from the price or availability.  But, you find that figure shows up in tons of online content.  Such is the case with the 2005 Serpentor.  There is a ton of content using the figure out there.  But, this makes some sense.  The original Serpentor uses gold plastic and is now at a point where posing him takes on tons of risk of breakage.  The 2002 repaint has all but disappeared from the online community.  So, this 2005 version remains the most viable figure to use for the ever popular Serpentor character.  

I found tons of great content on this figure out there.  So, take some time and review them through to the end.  Each click will open the link in a new window to make it easy for you.

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor Profile

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by fun_time_at_serpentorslair

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Nekoman

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Outrider

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by slipstream80

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Leonardo T Dragon

2005 Serpentor by tycondrium23

2005 Serpentor by thedustinmccoy

2005 Serpentor by SilentDusty

2005 Serpentor by ToneGunsRevisited

2005 Serpentor by flatline

2005 Serpentor by Outrider

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by thedustinmccoy

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by manetoys83

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by mondotoybox

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by slipstream80

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Outrider

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by octaviopessoa

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by ToneGunsRevisited

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Swindle

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by dashiellerfairborne

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Dragonrider1227

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by sithviper

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Flint

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Slipstream80

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Leonardo T Dragon

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by silentdusty

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Lava Boss

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Outrider

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by Flint

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by corpscommandercody

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor by thedustinmccoy

2005 Comic Pack Serpentor

I've talked before about timing and how it impacted the Joe line, especially in the 2000's.  The comic pack releases remain one of the more frustrating aspects of that time period.  It was a novel concept and one that found great success in other toy lines and later incarnations of Joe.  But, the original comics packs were mostly destined for clearance racks...even if the figures in them were good.  But, I still maintain that a lot of that was due to timing.  In looking at the early comic packs, they were too similar in look and feel to establish themselves at retail to non-collector toy buyers.  By the time later offerings with more diverse figures appeared, the concept was dead and collectors had moved on.  In 2005, Hasbro released one of the best comic packs in the series: issue #49 with probably the best Firefly ever made, a pretty bad Scrap Iron and a new Serpentor.  It is Serpentor who has my attention this week as the figure is well done, features some sculpting and remains true to the character.

This Serpentor interpretation is bright.  So bright that were he a 1994 release, he would be generally hated and roundly mocked in collecting circles.  In the context of a 1980's comic book coloring palette, though, this Serpentor gets a pass.  The bright yellow and pastel greens make for a visually stimulating combination of colors.  And, as Serpentor has always been kind of out there in terms of his choice of uniform, the look also fits with the character and what we perceive his taste would be.  

This version of Serpentor includes pretty much the same accessories as both other versions of the character.  You have the Cobra hood that plugs into his back like a backpack: only in bright yellow.  There is the bright yellow cape.  The cape retains some of the metallic sheen of the 2002 entry and fits the figure very well.  You then have the Roman dagger which is unique to the character.  The fresh addition in the comic pack was that Serpentor's new head could be covered by a removable helmet.  While removable helmets were a stalwart of Hasbro vintage Joe style repaints of the early 2000's, they usually had to be large to cover a head that was properly scaled to the body.  The results are figures where the helmets just don't look right.  With Serpentor, though, the helmet really worked.  It fit tightly to the head and doesn't look out of place when on or off.

The same can't be said for the head itself, though.  While this head is probably better than most of the full faced human heads that Hasbro attempted in the mid 2000's, it still has flaws.  Serpentor's hair looks like it escaped from a bad '50's movie.  And, his face is strained into a constipated scowl that's less scary than it is just funny.  Then, you have the mouthful of teeth that show Serpentor is always mid strain.  Maybe that explains why he's generally evil.  It's nice that we have an un-cowled version of the character.  But, this head isn't the best representation of a character that is as important as Serpentor is to the Joe world.

For a character of his stature, Serpentor was certainly neglected in terms of actual figures.  The 1986 figure did see a long life as a mail away figure.  So, that may have played into Hasbro's reluctance to re-imagine the character in the vintage days.  It was not until 2002 that a new Serpentor returned.  This limited edition release with the black body may be the best Serpentor figure ever released.  This comic pack figure then appeared in 2005 and that ends the entire population of released Serpentor figures in ARAH construction.  There was, though, an alternate Asian figure of this Serpentor.  He was pretty much identical to the production figure with one major difference: the alternate figure featured green hair.  In retrospect, the look is a little too much like the Joker.  But, it also fits the oddity that is Serpentor character.  While it's now nearly impossible to find, this alternate Asian release is a fun take on the Serpentor character, even if it doesn't offer anything all that spectacular.  Serpentor had no international variants.  I'd have loved to see Funskool's interpretation of the snake suit.  But, it wasn't to be.

The comic including this Serpentor figure was dead as soon as it arrived at retail.  While it was popular for a couple of weeks and even commanded a premium for a few weeks, it quickly became clearance fodder.  Standard retailers cut the pack to 1/2 price.  Then, more and more stock showed up at discount outlets, also for the low price of $5.  Many collectors picked up a few spare sets at these low prices just to have the Cobra characters for future custom fodder or for the accessories.  But, even as the market finally absorbed the retail overstock, demand for the individual figures or carded sets remained almost non-existent for nearly a decade afterwards.

Today, you can still get carded sets including this Serpentor for around $20.  It's actually kind of a pain to find the figure loose, mint and complete.  But, considering you get a great Firefly and some Scrap Iron parts along with this Serpentor for $20, it's easier and more worthwhile to just plunk down the cash and buy the carded set.  I'm glad I was able to acquire several of these figures at retail.  As the comic packs became clearance fodder, I bought way more of them than I ever should have.  But, cheap and easy to acquire Joes are a vice of mine and it turned out to be the last time Joes were ever available at retail.  So, I have no regrets.  As for this figure, it's solid.  If you only have Serpentor, this would not be the version I'd choose.  But, as he's cheap, this guy is worth the acquisition, if only to have something different for the Serpentor character.

1986 Serpentor - Around the Web

Serpentor looms over the Joe line like the dictators from whom he was derived.  Some collectors love him.  Others hate him.  But, he is one of the most important and influential characters in the Joe mythos.  His figure is great and brought cartoonish super-villainy to the Joe line.  Here's the best content around the web for Serpentor:

Serpentor Profile

Rarities - Alternate Comic Pack Figures

The Comic Packs were a collector hit in 2004.  Unfortunately, the rest of the market didn't agree and they were clearance fodder within a year.  But, the packs endured for a while and gave collectors some really nice figures.  Like most products from that era, though, there were alternate and unproduced variants of many of the figures that were available from Asia.  Most were relatively small changes like missing production dates, or slight color differences.  Some of them, though, are awesome.  Others are mundane.  And a select few are...just...weird.

First up are some basic figures that don't have much in the way of differences.  Destro and Duke are baically the same as their production releases.

The following figures all have smaller, but still full production heads.  It seems that Hasbro had two different sized heads for their new, comic pack head sculpts.  Clutch is the most obvious as the smaller head is drastically smaller.  (There are actually three Clutch head sizes.  Here you see the smallest and the largest.  There is a third size in between these two.)  But, both the Baroness and Cobra Commander also feature different sized domes.  You will also note the different head insignia on Cobra Commander.

We now come to the very odd.  When the comic packs debuted in the summer of 2004, pack #3 was delayed.  While it ultimately pegwarmed around the country and found it's way to clearance and discount stores, this delay lead to rampant speculation on the pack when it first appeared.  A few weeks later, though, an alternate pack showed up in Asia.  Along with the small head Clutch figure, this new pack featured heads with reversed races for Stalker and General Hawk.  Unfortunately, the bodies still retained the correct skin color.  So, the figures had a mismatch.  But, the Caucasian Stalker head and African American Hawk head were an interesting release.  (I've long used the Hawk head for my Skeres figure.)

You will also see two Destro figures below.  One with a chromed head and another with a charcoal colored head.  It's possible that Hasbro planned for this Destro release to have an actual chromed head.  The figure is greatly improved with it.  The charcoal head is different and gives the figure an alternate look.  I'd have preffered either of these variants to the actual figure we saw at retail.

Finally, we see a comic pack Hawk with a green chest.  If he had green arms, too, the figure would somewhat useful, especially with a simple leg swap.  But, the production release with a brown chest was far superior.

This brings us to the final figure: a green haired Serpentor figure.  Frankly, this green hair makes no sense.  Green eyebrows and eyes are very Joker.  But, when you consider the overall oddness of the Serpentor character, the green hair actually kind of works.  I greatly wanted this figure.  But, put him off to acquire other, more desirable variants.  By the time this guy's number came up, though, the figure was sold out and I never got around to picking him up.  It's just another odd example of what collectors could find in 2003 - 2005.  But, stuff like this Serpentor was more fun than anything Hasbro was doing at the time.

1986 Serpentor

There was a time when Serpentor was the great divide in the Joe community.  Early comic devotees who collected from 1982 through 1985 wanted no part of him.  (Even though he had a good run in the comic.)  Younger cartoon fans were enthralled by the character and held him as the greatest Cobra leader.  This was the first real schism in the Joe world.  As years passed, these early groups sort of bonded together as younger still collectors came on board who were fans of the '90's Joe characters.  Now, it seems much of this animosity has passed as the community as a whole is much more mellow.  Plus, many of the modern renderings of Joe be it comics, toys or the movies have created a new divide among collectors that keep the general bickering around.

For me, Serpentor was still a line of demarcation.  After his release, the Joe line changed.  Part of that was I was older and more aware of the realism, or lack thereof in the offerings from 1986 and later.  But, the other part was that with Serpentor's release, there really was a new Cobra where the figures of Destro, Major Bludd and Cobra Commander had been left behind.  The original Cobra command cadre was a blend of military, terrorist and arms dealer that grounded the organization in reality.  It was possible to imagine that such a group could exist, though, with less military resources.  In 1986, though, the Cobra villains took a leap from their military roots and became more comic book super villains.  Dr. Mindbender, Serpentor and Zarana were the type of figures that would make for better television as over-the-top villainous archetypes.  (Don't get me wrong, all the cartoon Cobras were pretty over the top, much more so than their comic book contemporaries.)  Their more garish outfits, brighter colors and outlying specialties really made the G.I. Joe mythos more about fantasy and science fiction than true military realism.  Really, this infusion of a new direction is likely what helped Joe last so long.  The line evolved as new kids grew into the desired age range to buy the toys.  With minimal stagnation, Joe was able to outlast pretty much every action figure line that had come along to that point.

I was enthralled with the Serpentor character when he debuted.  There was enough science behind the fiction to make the backstory believable.  On top of that, the search for long dead historical icons was a touch of Indiana Jones that made the story even better.  (In fact, it was the addition of Hannibal that spurred me to read as much about the general as I could find.  Just another example of how the Joe line really affected my intellectual curiosity.)  As such, I was extremely excited to acquire a Serpentor figure.  I found my first one in the spring of 1986.  But, as I had no money, had to hide it another aisle in hopes it would be there when I came back with some cash.  I returned the next week with a fresh stack of lawn mowing money and was able to acquire my first Cobra Emperor.

Serpentor quickly became the de facto Cobra bad guy.  He lead Cobra troops into battle with great success.  But, it was his personal combat ability that was most consternating among the Joes.  The simply could not beat him.  Serpentor would match up with the best the Joes had and always come out ahead.  Whether it was evading capture in his Air Chariot or simply beating a Joe to a pulp, Serpentor was always one step ahead of the Joes.  The problem with this, though, is that the character got stale.  Having him so powerful was no fun.  Slowly, Serpentor was defeated a few times.  But, even that played itself out.  To me, Cobra was about the man who founded the organization.  His group of commanders was small, but had known motivations.  It was too much to believe that Serpentor would come into a tight knit group and completely sway the loyalty of the entire command.

So, there were few places for Serpentor to go.  Ultimately, I had to kill him off.  There was simply no way for the character to continue on.  However, the threat of Mindbender bringing Serpentor back was a good sub plot line for a while.  In time, though, I found another use for Serpentor.  I always felt that Destro and Hawk would have had a respect for each other as soldiers.  With this respect would come a moderator.  Someone who was a soldier, politician and diplomat who understood the workings of the U.S. military and Cobra.  This older outsider would possess a sagacity that made him invaluable to the two high ranking officers.  While this wasn't the Serpentor character, it was represented by the figure.  This character would welcome Destro and Hawk to secret summits where the three of them would ensure that the Joe vs. Cobra conflict would not escalate too far.  If Cobra Commander acquired nuclear weapons, Destro would inform Hawk through this character so that the Joes could intercede before the Commander could use them.  Having a conflict where men died was fine with this character since the Cobras and the Joes voluntarily signed up for the hazards.  But, if there was an escalation that threatened large swaths of civilians, this character would act.

The Serpentor mold is pretty much relegated to the character.  The snake armor motif doesn't lend itself for use with other figures or characters.  So, the look really defines Serpentor.  But, the armor is still well detailed.  The snake head helmet on the figure is not removable, but Hasbro went so far as to sculpt a face beneath it.  There are really three key details of the mold, though, that show the care the vintage designers took with the figure.  First is the snake teeth on the helmet.  These keep the snake motif, but are also a great little detail that could have been omitted to save money.  The next detail is the silver electronics on Serpentor's right arm.  I don't know what this is, but it's something that breaks up the gold and green and brings some depth to the figure.  The final detail is the snake fangs molded on Serpentor's gauntlets.  As a kid, I used these as poison filled spikes that made any punch from Serpentor lethal.  It's a small, often overlooked feature but makes the mold that much better.

Accessory wise, Serpentor was both great and weak.  The Roman inspired knife is a great homage to the character's roots.  But, as a primary weapon, it is rather limited.  The main issue with Serpentor's accessories, though, is that they are required to fully appreciate the figure.  Serpentor included a green cape and golden snake hood "backpack".  Affixed to the figure, they brought a regality to Serpentor that the base figure mold lacks.  To this day, I can only use Serpentor if he includes the cape and cowl.  Without them, the figure is too bland.  (You can see the difference in the pictures below.)  Serpentor also included a plastic Cobra.  There are some color variants of this snake in both green and gold.  It's a small detail, but worth noting for completeness sake.  The final piece of Serpentor's arsenal (and the reason he didn't have any firearms) is the Air Chariot.  This flying contraption is goofy as can be, but works with Serpentor.  It just fits him perfectly.  As a kid, it was the Air Chariot that caused the most damage to the Joes with Serpentor dismounting from it only in extreme situations.

The Serpentor mold did not see a great variety of uses, but was around for a good long while.  After the figure's retail run was complete in 1987, Hasbro still released Serpentor as a mail away for many years.  Huge quantities of Serpentor figures were offered by Hasbro Direct all the way into the 1994.  This has lead to mint in bubble Serpentor figures still being a relatively easy find today.  In 2002, Hasbro resurrected the mold for the Wave V Internet Exclusive Serpentor figure.  This is probably the best Serpentor release, but was extremely limited and remains the most difficult to find today.  In 2005, Hasbro retooled the head and released a Comic Pack Serpentor figure in very bright colors.  This isn't a terrible figure by any means and the removable helmet is a nice touch.  (If you can find one, there is a Midnight Chinese version of this figure with green hair.  It makes no sense, but is odd enough that it fits with Serpentor's character.)  After that, the mold was done.  Serpentor never appeared in any foreign countries or subsequent releases.  The general specificity of the mold did not make it conducive for use with other figures.  So, Serpentor fans are left with but three appearances of the favorite character.

Serpentor figures are notoriously brittle.  The golden plastic used to make the figure is well known in the collecting community for it's tendency to break down and degrade in short amounts of time.  This means that while there are many mint Serpentor figures out there now, it is likely that even well cared for figures will slowly break with minimal movement in time.  (As a note, I broke the crotch of one of my Serpentor figures trying to replace his O-Ring in preparation for the photos for this profile.)  So, while the figure isn't difficult to find today, time may change that.  Mint and complete Serpentor figures sell for around $30 if they have the filecard and Air Chariot.  Foregoing the Air Chariot will drop the price into the $12-$15 range.  A perfect cape specimen will sell for more.  But, frugal buyers can still find deals since the figure exists in such quantities.  For the money, I'd buy a version 2 Serpentor figure since the black is more regal and the plastic is less brittle.  But, considering Serpentor's place in the Joe mythos, it is difficult to ignore this original version.  At any rate, every collector needs a Serpentor figure in their collection.

2002 Serpentor - Cobra Emperor

Few characters in the Joe world inspire such disparate emotions than Serpentor. For every fan who considers him a favorite, there is another who despises him more than any other character who was ever immortalized in plastic. Some see Serpentor as a great idea and concept that helped to popularize Joe at a time when it's impact was waning. Others see Serpentor as the harbinger of the later "atrocities" that were made part of the line. Few collectors, though, have no opinion on the character. Most have strong feelings either way. For that reason alone, Serpentor must be considered among the most important pieces of Joe history.

Back in 1986, I was at my Joe peak. I was old enough to appreciate just about all elements of Joe. I was mowing lawns to earn the money I needed to buy all the Joe figures I wanted. But, I still wasn't so old as to have lost the innocence of childhood. As such, when the character of Serpentor, and his origin, was revealed, I thought he was really cool. His creation, as the DNA composite of the greatest military leaders in history, was just realistic enough where I could accept it. In fact, that sci-fi origin was the impetus for many of the later Joe adventures that I conjured. It really opened me up to the possibilities scientific breakthroughs could allow.

I first found the original Serpentor figure in a Target store in late spring of 1986. I didn't have any money with me, so, I hid one a couple of aisles over. A week or so later, I returned to the store and claimed my hidden prize. From that point, he played a vital role in my collection. He was quickly elevated above Cobra Commander (mostly due to the fact that my figure was worn out!) and became the de facto Cobra leader. However, after a few months, something interesting happened. Serpentor got played out. Having him be this uber leader and soldier was just too much and made the character uninteresting. As such, when I acquired the battle armour Cobra Commander right before Christmas of '86, I killed Serpentor off. He just wasn't the type of character who had any long term potential. I think this was played out in the comic in later years. Cobra Commander was just a more interesting leader for Cobra since he had more depth. Serpentor was a perfect side diversion, but might have been better suited as the super-soldier the Commander originally intended.

Today, Serpentor sees little use in my collection. Frankly, he just does not fit into the Cobra hierarchy I have created. As a figure, though, he is still one of the most visually appealing figures to ever be released. This version, with the black background accentuated by the regal golds and greens is even more striking than the original. (Also, his black cape is highlighted in a way that makes it actually appear to be metallic. The effect is that Serpentor is wearing a chain mail cape and is a very nice touch.) He just creates an aesthetic visage of royalty befitting an Emperor. In that sense, this figure is one that I would consider essential to any collection. It offers a version of the Serpentor character that is a little more menacing than the original version but still fits with most fans' ideas of who Serpentor should be.

As Serpentor was a major player in the cartoon at a time when it had many viewers, though, Serpentor's legacy in the Joe world is among the top. As such, there are many fans who want to see the character return in the new Joe line. Done differently, I think that Serpentor could be made into an interesting character who wouldn't fizzle out after a few months. However, making him be the Cobra leader is probably not the way to go. Perhaps bringing him back as a genetic experiment, but having him fill the role originally envisioned for Overlord might be a way to extend the conflict and allow Serpentor time to develop some characterization.
The Serpentor mold hasn't seen much use. After the original run was complete in 1987, the figure did not appear again in any form until this 2002 release. After that, we had to wait until 2005 before the body mold with a new head and well done snake cowl helmet appeared in a comic pack. The mold was never used by any foreign company, but there is an alternative pre production version of the 2005 figure that features green hair instead of the standard black. While it sounds odd, it works for the Serpentor character. If you collect the new sculpt or anniversary figures, there are many alternatives to acquire a Serpentor. But, in the ARAH style realm, we have but these three distinct releases to represent the character.

Based on the research I have done, it appears that the Wave V figure assortment had a production run of between 3,000 and 5,000 of each figure. With numbers that low, the 8 unique figures in that wave are among the rarest Joe figures ever produced. In fact, that number is even lower than many of the variant figures out there that collectors are now paying big bucks to acquire. Right now, you can still get a MOC Serpentor/Shock Viper pack for around $25. Based on the production numbers, my feeling is that these figures are currently under-priced. Face it, in one MOC pack, you get a well done Cobra army builder as well as a true fan favorite figure who has only this one repaint. As many people like me opened their extra packs for the Shock Viper, you can be sure that there are substantially less than the original production run of figures still left MOC. Going forward, this is the type of thing I would look for were I looking for any recently produced Joes who will develop strong future trade value. As the Joe collecting world expands, there simply won't be enough of these figures to go around. When that happens, I think you will see the price for this figure soar. Even now, a little over a year removed from this figure's release, the number of them available on the second hand market has dropped significantly. It was possible to sell this figure for a substantial profit only months after his release. That helped redistribute the secondary market supply and there probably aren't a whole lot of dealers out there who are sitting on more than a case or two of Wave V. As such, if you don't have this figure, want him, and find him for a decent price now, I would certainly take advantage. Serpentor is one of those characters that will always have a loyal following in the collecting world. As this is one of only two versions of him available, this figure will always have a demand. Personally, I'm glad I had the chance to get this guy when he was first available. Otherwise, I probably would not have him in my collection.

I'm well set on this version of Serpentor. I could, though, use a cape from the '86 version. Also, I have a spare of this version that I might be willing to trade. If you are interested, email me.