2004 Comic Pack Snake Eyes - Arctic Gear

I was never a fan of the Anniversary style G.I. Joe figures.  I always thought the chest joint was stupid and ruined the aesthetic of the toy.  There were two times, though, where I was tempted to start collecting the line.  The first was on a random trip to Target.  My local store happened to have both a brand new Hiss Tank and a couple of Python Troopers available.  I thought about how cool it would be to walk into a store and find a vintage combo like this.  (Hasbro never got close in the repaint era.)  So, I thought about getting some.  But, cooler heads prevailed.  And, I then went home and bought a nice vintage Hiss Tank and 3 vintage Python Officers and had them all delivered to my house for under $50...only about $10 more than what the Anniversary toys would have cost me.  (Man, those were the days when it came to vintage pricing.)  The second time was when Hasbro released an arctic version of Snake Eyes based on his appearance in the second issue of the Marvel comic.  The figure looked spectacular.  Everything from the card art to the actual gear included was just perfect.  It was a figure that I had always wanted.  I held him in my hands a couple of times.  But, eventually, passed him and the rest of the Anniversary series by.  Besides, technically, I already had a figure of Snake Eyes in that look from a Comic Pack that had been released in 2004.

The first wave of Comic Packs were highly anticipated by collectors.  Hasbro had a publicity date on the photos.  So, many dealers (who, back then, were also active forum members) had access to them before collectors did.  They tantalized the figures with slavish praise.  When the images were released, the reaction was pretty much in line with the early rumors.  Collectors were in love with the looks and figures selections.  Shortly after the images appeared, the first packs were found in the summer of 2004.  Collectors quickly scooped up the packs at retail.  And, were disappointed a bit.  Many of the figures had quality issues with poor paint, loose joints and the plastic ties used to hold the gear in place in the packaging would mangle hands and strip paint.  On top of that, figures that looked great in the photos weren't quite as good when inspected up close.  In short order, what had been the most anticipated collector themed product since the advent of the Toys R Us multi-figure sets quickly turned into another problematic release that left collectors with something far less than their expectations.

The line, though, had other problems.  Wal Mart didn't buy the initial wave.  The Hasbro brand manager went so far as to warn collectors that they weren't buying them in enough quantity to keep the line afloat.  Despite that, though, Comic Packs continued on at retail through 2005 and were a staple of the DTC offerings.  (The Hasbro guy went so far as to introduce Comic Packs to the Star Wars line where they were much more successful.  Though, they were also much better than the Joe offerings.)   For $10, the three figures and a comic were a retail steal.  But, parents didn't really find them compelling.  I suspect a big part of that was that the toys weren't as visually appealing as other retail offerings of the era.  And, the comic definitely dated the look of the packs at retail.  The upside, though, is that pretty much every Comic Pack outside of the Oktober Guard wave ended up at clearance and discount sellers.  So, it was even easy to get this Snake Eyes and his packmates for $5.  It's a shame cheap toys don't really exist like that any more.

The selling point of the 2nd Comic Pack was the debut of Kwinn.  Kwinn had never been released in the Joe line.  So, collectors were mad to finally acquire one.  The Scarlett in the pack was also a selling point.  She featured a new, more feminine head that featured a sculpted pony tail.  She was given Jinx's body and was the second most desirable figure in the pack.  That left this Snake Eyes as the odd man out.  What's odd to me, though, is that this Snake Eyes is the 3rd best figure of the original 9 Comic Pack figures.  He was just included in a pack with the other two who ranked above him.  As collectors had Snake Eyes fatigue and it was already known there would be yet another Snake Eyes (YASE as it was known at the time.) in the next wave of Comic Packs, they left this figure as the unsung release o his era.  You'd often see him posed with Kwinn, just to make up a comic homage.  But, even in those cases, Kwinn was always the focal point of the photo.  Snake Eyes just didn't resonate with collectors and also didn't seem to have an impact upon casual buyers at retail.

The colors on this Snake Eyes are very well done.  While I'm not sold on their applicability in the arctic, they are visually appealing.  The pea green on the figure's pants is a dead ringer for the colors used in the vintage Night Force and Tiger Force subsets.  You can see how similar it is in one of the photos below.  Seeing this figure as a Night Force Snake Eyes kind of works.  Except, of course, for the fact that no other Night Force figures use the old swivel head molds.  So, it's not a perfect match.  But, it does allow for this figure to be used in different settings than just the snow and ice.  There's still enough black to ensure everyone knows this is Snake Eyes.  And, the parts choices are good enough to establish this as a figure who is supposed to be specific to an environment.

One of the aspects of Snake Eyes character that I like to explore these days is that of the absolute crazed psychopath.  Snake Eyes is a guy who, without the benefits of his ninja training, would have absolutely shot up a crowded parking lot at a football game in his post military life.  Without the theatre of war, his killing instincts would have consumed him.  But, the ninja training helped to temper his psychotic and violent tendencies.  But, even with those safeguards in place, the completely unhinged Snake Eyes can come out at times.  Someone who kills as indiscriminately as Snake Eyes has will, in time, be unable to value human life.  In his mind, he'll know that someone under his control is still a person.  But, the impulses can overtake him and he'll just kill someone who didn't really need, or even deserve, to be killed.  It makes him an effective special operative.  But, also someone who can't really be unleashed into normal society.  So, Snake Eyes stays on the G.I. Joe payroll so that he doesn't harm civilians who might cut him off in traffic.  Here, he gets enough action to keep his deep psychosis buried.  But, it will come out at times when he's dealing with Cobras.  

That's not a take on Snake Eyes that fits with his movie-hero portrayal that Hasbro wants to push.  But, it's a more realistic view of who Snake Eyes would actually be had he gone through all those traumas in his life.  Larry Hama alluded to the very dark side of Snake Eyes at times in the comic.  And, even when  Snake Eyes was being "heroic", he was doing things that, with a slightly different context, would have him a most wanted criminal.  It also adds a new dynamic to the Joe team.  Because, this Snake Eyes isn't someone the Joes want to befriend.  They keep him at a distance because they realize that people close to him could be the victim of one of his rages should he snap outside of the battlefield.  This brings a level of suspicion to the team as once you question the stability of one operative, you start to have doubts about all of them.  

Snake Eyes gear is fine.  He includes the standard Uzi as well as a black backpack from a mold that originated with the 1991 Dusty.  By 2004, this pack was passe and had been included with many figures.  But, it actually worked in the context of this figure.  He also included the cartoon standard XMLR rifle.  This was always a welcome inclusion.  Thought the rifle was now more common than it had been just a couple of years before, they were still relatively sought after.  So, getting extras was nice.  The figure didn't include the weasel skull necklace.  This was a key selling point of the 2008 Anniversary figure.  But, the Kwinn figure in the pack was wearing the necklace.  It would have been a bit weird to have 2 figures in the same pack wearing the same necklace.  So, you can give Kwinn's necklace to Snake Eyes to complete the look.

Snake Eyes' body construction was pretty basic.   It features the classic 1982 Snake Eyes head on a repainted 1983 Snow Job body...mostly.  The Snow Job body had been used a few times by 2004.  But, it was about the only swivel headed body wearing winter gear that Hasbro ever made.  I've have loved it if Hasbro had attempted something different like the 1989 head on an Iceberg body or something.  But, the fact that Hasbro was willing to release a Snake Eyes that wasn't mostly all black was pretty revolutionary...even as late as 2004.  One little oddity on the mold is that it uses the upper arms from the 1986 BAT.  Despite collector calls for it, Hasbro never released a 1986 style BAT in the repaint era.  Supposedly, the mold was damaged.  However, the figure's waist and legs were used on every Viper repaint that occurred between 1997 and 2005.  And, now, the upper arms appeared on this Snake Eyes.  So, what, exactly, was damaged?  And, with Hasbro very willing to resculpt Scrap Iron, Mutt, Lady Jaye and others, why didn't they just fix the damaged BAT parts and release a figure that would have sold in any incarnation they attempted?  The mismanagement of the Joe line by the early 2000's Hasbro team is so remarkable that it should be studied.

One of the main reasons I wanted to look at this figure is because he is such a perfect candidate for the Super7 ReAction+ line.  Here, a figure could be created in the vein of the anniversary figure where it's an all new sculpt that is, actually, comic accurate.  And, that would be spectacular.  Super7 has stated they plan to mine the obscure for figure releases.  They seem equally likely to look at the cartoon and comic.  The promise that the ReAction+ line gives is that we might see figures like this Snake Eyes.  But, this time, done up properly.  I like to think of an accurate Oktober Guard or weird outfits that Joes wore in specific issues or scenes.  (After Dr. Venom and a real Kwinn, though!)  And, while these could be releases that are considered, we're not going to see them offered in a 3 pack for the cost of a lunch out.  It will suck to acquire a real Oktober Guard over 4 years.  But, at least we'd have them.  The upside to a figure like this Snake Eyes is that it is Snake Eyes.  And, despite best collector efforts, any line is going to need major characters in order to sell well enough to continue for years.  So, we'll see what happens.  No matter how long the ReAction+ line runs, collector desires will never be 100% sated.  But, it would be nice to have one last shot at a few of the also-rans that didn't get the best effort during the repaint era.

While Comic Pack figures did see a significant increase in value during the Joe price upswing between 2018 and 2022, they have come down a bit.  Dealers will still try to get $30 for this Snake Eyes figure...thinking that the pandemic highs are still feasible.  But, you can buy all three of the figures for less than that.  Left to his own devices, this Snake Eyes is, at best, a $10 figure.  Considering it's 20 years old, now, that's probably a relatively fair cost.  At, at the price, I'd get one if I wanted him.  But, I paid $10 for the whole set back in 2004 and thought it was fair then, too.  Right now, I'm pretty much out of the vintage Joe market.  I haven't bought any figures in nearly a year.  I don't miss it, either.  But, that's what happens when you have a large collection focused on the things you like.  Eventually, you run out of new stuff to buy unless you find it stupidly cheap.  

1992 Eco Warriors Deep Six - Around The Web

The 1992 Deep Six is a figure that, once in hand, tends to captivate people.  Those who don't have one are not likely to be actively seeking him out.  But, those who do have one really like him.  And, because of that, you see more content on the figure that you do of many other of his contemporaries.  So, check out the content below to see more of the figure.

1992 Deep Six Profile

1992 Deep Six by evilface

1992 Deep Six by python.patrol_benny

1992 Deep Six by ptytoys2021

1992 Deep Six by thedustinmccoy

1992 Deep Six by g.i.joe_manila_ph

1992 Deep Six by joerizzo2025

1992 Deep Six by ptytoys2021

1992 Deep Six by gijoe_c4_panama

1992 Deep Six by elevatemetoahigherhumanform

1993 Edmond Honda (Street Fighter)

I've told the story of the peg-warming Street Fighter figures, before.  It is the legend that defines the entire slate of figures, for me.  But, I'm an anomaly in that regard.  I was never a fan of Street Fighter in general.  It came out during a time when I didn't much care for video games.  So, I'm mostly left with just some oddball figures that are part of the G.I. Joe line as their legacy.  But, in recent years, I've come to appreciate the figures for the designs they are.  And, Edmond Honda may be the most unique figure released in the entire Joe line's history.  

I'm not really sure what to do with Edmond Honda. The uniqueness of his mold makes him an anomaly among the Joe line.  And, that's what works for him.  He's supposed to be a Sumo wrestler.  And, he has the physique to prove it.  Hasbro went all out and created a deluxe level figure to match the character.  There was no one-size-fits-all that kept Roadblock the same height as Scarlett.  Edmond Honda was massive.  He features oversized arms, tree-trunk legs and a torso that is so heavy that it destabilizes his lower legs.  He is a singular piece of design that was made to create the visage of a popular character that kids of the day could instantly recognize.  In that regard, he might be the most successful of the Street Fighter figures.  You know who he is.  And he has the heft to allow kids to act out their favorite video game battles.

For someone who doesn't have the connection to the game, though, Edmond Honda is a weird figure to have around.  He looks cool.  But, his construction has a flaw that I'll discuss later.  More importantly, he doesn't really have much of a purpose.  To be fair, though, he really isn't wearing much less clothing than Quick Kick.  And, if you're going to have a samurai in the Joe line, why not a Sumo wrestler, too?  As martial artists were always my least favorite characters, though, Edmond Honda's appeal to me is also limited.  Aside from a weird battle scene, there's not much use for him.

I've also told the story of the "battle arena" scenario I used to play out in my friends' basement.  They had figures from an array of toy lines.  (Though, oddly, not much G.I. Joe....)  And, here, I'd pluck out two random figures and stage a battle to the death.  The figures rarely had accessories.  The notable exception was the M.A.S.K. figures.  But, they needed the weaponry in the masks to compensate for their small size.  Even with weapons, they always lost.  Masters of the Universe figures always did well.  Usually, just because they were bigger and could punch other guys to death.  I do wonder how I'd have evolved these battles had the Street Fighter figures been available in the mid 1980's.  Edmond Honda would have done well due to his size.  And, when looking at the figure today, that's really the only thought I have about him.

Edmond Honda features a fatal flaw.  Now, it's not the thong diaper that he wears under his skirt.  Nor is it the massive physique of the figure.  It is the action feature.  Most action features are annoying.  But, they rarely ruin the entire figure.  Edmond Honda's, though, does.  His left leg is supposed to kick.  And, due to this feature, it will not stay under his body.  So, it's basically impossible to actually pose the figure.  For years, you'd see occasional photos of E. Honda.  And, he'd always be in awkward poses.  It was only upon my acquisition of the figure that I learned this was a design feature of the figure's selling point.  So, even in my photos, you see Honda posed very carefully or just sitting.  Because, this is pretty much all he can do.  His leg will kick out and the figure will topple: making him not overly useful for a modern collector.

Edmond Honda features amazing sculpting for his release year.  His head is well detailed and his hair is remarkably intricate...a necessary element given his larger head size.  Hasbro went all out on the Street Fighter line.  They made all new parts and put forth some of their best efforts on some of the characters.  (They did kind of phone it in on a few others.)  So, the Street Fighter subset had substantial budget spent to make it appealing to kids.  And, while the survivor bias of seeing them on the pegs in 1995 and 1996 shapes my feelings on the figures, the reality is that they seem to exist in ample quantities.  Suggesting that Hasbro sold quite a lot of them during 1993 and 1994.  I'd love to find actual sales or production numbers on some of the later year waves.  I suspect many of them had massive production runs while others got just a fraction of the resources.  But, it's unlikely we'll be privy to that info any time soon.  

Edmond Honda features a large array of weapons.  Like most figures from 1993, he included a weapon tree.  His tree, though, was large and included an impressive 7 weapons.  When you add in the figure stand and the cloth skirt, Honda was among the better accessorized figures of his era.  His weapons are 2 swords, 3 knives an axe and a sickle: all cast in dark blue plastic.  The swords and axe are pretty well done and look nice with the figure.  The sickle is a personal favorite of mine.  But, that's mostly because it has a hook to which a rope can be tied: making it a much more fun accessory to use.  In total, though, Honda's gear is useful to the figure and also gives you some extras to hand out to other martial arts themed figures should you not have their gear handy.

E. Honda was used twice.  This blue skirted figure features red face paint and was available as part of the G.I. Joe line in 1993.  There is a much rarer version that debuted in 1994 as part of the Street Fighter Movie Line.  This figure features a white loincloth and blue facepaint.  As most of the figure is just a naked torso and legs, though, the two figures don't have massive visual distinction.  But, the Movie Edmond Honda is among the easier figures from that line to track down and isn't nearly the pricey acquisition that many of the other 1993 repaints who appeared in that line tend to be.  As the body mold is completely unique, there wasn't much to do with Edmond Honda outside of his character.  So, the parts never appeared again.

E. Honda figures are not as ubiquitous as they once were.  Long a staple of the $5 carded figures bins you'd find at toy shows and comic shops, E. Honda has risen past that.  Today, mint and complete figures will run you $30.  Carded versions will cost you $50 or more.  But, as is the norm in today's Joe market, the price is heavily dictated by the slow supply of quality figures in the market at any moment.  Honda is a likely candidate for price reductions during the next supply boom.  Until then, you can can incomplete figures for cheap.  Though, the giant, fat guy in a diaper only has so much appeal.  I passed on this guy for a long time.  Now, I have one.  And, aside from taking him, specifically, out for photos, I have no real need to own him.  For cheap, he's a fun conversation piece.  But, at today's prices, the figure is an easy skip for me.  But, if you have an attachment to the Street Fighter game, the figure may hold a great deal more appeal to you.

1992 T'Jbang - Around the Web

T'Jbang's one of those figures that no one really remembers.  You probably know there is a character named T'Jbang.  And, you know he was a member of Ninja Force.  But, you probably need a reference photo to remember what he looks like.  Despite this, there's a nice batch of content on him out there.  So, check out the various photos and write ups.

1992 T'Jbang Profile

1992 T'Jbang by thedustinmccoy

1992 T'Jbang by atticagazette

1992 T'Jbang custom by jogunwarrior

1992 T'Jbang by gen_liederkranz

1992 T'Jbang custom by sintechness

1992 T'Jbang by thedustinmccoy

1992 T'Jbang by mrmikevinthepit

1992 T'Jbang by viper_space

1992 T'Jbang by thedustinmccoy

1992 T'Jbang by viper_space

1992 T'Jbang by gen_liederkranz

2021 Black Major Cobalt Guard (Gold Trim)

Back in the early 2000's, I was vocal that Hasbro should release a repaint of their updated Crimson Guard mold in Cobra blue.  I was hassled for this by collectors hung up on the "Crimson" part of their name.  When the Shadow Guard were released in mid 2005, I was adamant that the set should have included at least one Cobra blue figure to lead the new legions of black clad Siegies.  More people came around on the idea.  But, Hasbro was done and new repaints of their Crimson Guard mold were not to be.  In the early 2010's, though, Black Major released his first Crimson Guards.  These figures, though, were not as ubiquitous as the Cobra Troopers and Invasors had been.  The cheap lots of 4 to 6 figures were no more.  And, when he released a Cobra blue version, I was pretty much out of the Joe world.  Around 2016, I managed to get one of the blue Black Major figures off of Ebay for a few bucks.  In short order, the figures would get very expensive: too expensive for army building.  But, in 2021, Black Major brought back the Crimson Guards with a new mold.  This time, the figure included additional heads and a Viper rifle.  Among his color offerings were a few takes on Cobra blue.  Sold under the Cobalt Guard header, these blue Crimson Guards finally gave me a chance to build a blue Siegie army that I had wanted for a decade and a half.

The Crimson Guard was one of the most requested army builders from the early 2000's.  He was the third or fourth most requested figure behind the Viper, BAT and Cobra Trooper.  Eventually, Hasbro relented and resculpted a new Crimson Guard figure.  The figure wasn't bad.  But, it reused some existing parts, didn't have the classic gear and only included heads with removable helmets.  In short, they were fine.  But, they didn't really scratch the itch for collectors who loved the original mold.  In the early 2010's, though, Black Major made his first round of Crimson Guard figures.  These featured a multitude of color options and included the original gear.  But, these figures were made in lower quantities than the Cobra Troopers of that era.  And, while plenty of guys did army build a few flavors, they really didn't permeate the collecting community to the degree that some of the other factory customs from those early days had done.  Finally, about a decade later, Black Major's second run of Crimson Guard figures were released.  Done up in even more colors, these figures were well received by the dwindling collector base of the time.  Since there isn't much content being created these days, the figures don't appear with the frequency that you'd expect.  But, that's more about the dwindling creative collector and less about the figures themselves.

For me, as a kid, the Crimson Guards really were Cobra's elite troopers.  To me, the red uniform was combat ready.  The Siegies were just so good that they could wear red into battle with little concern.  The best of the best would then become Eels (I still swear that, somewhere, I read that CG's became Eels.  But, this appears to be youthful exaggeration on my part rather than any official canon.)  who could then become Snow Serpents.  (Who were the pinnacle of the Cobra army and equal to most Joes.)  But, as I got older, I saw this as a less likely use for the character.  Instead, they slowly became guards for Cobra Commander and other Cobra hierarchy.  They were still elite fighters.  But, they were reserved for protecting Cobra's top leaders.  The dressy uniform was still cool.  But, I didn't see it as combat ready...especially now that I had far more army builders available to me.

It is from this protector role that the CG's evolved.  One of the main events in my Joe world was the Crimson Guard Rebellion.  The group tried to take over Cobra in the mid 2000's.  The end result was that the elite unit was mostly broken up.  Those who remained are still entrenched in Cobra leadership: a powder keg of potential unrest just waiting to be lit.  But, mostly, they keep their heads down after they saw so many of their brethren be unceremoniously executed by Cobra Commander when he defeated them.  

One of the humiliations that the Commander bestowed upon the Crimson Guardsmen was that he allowed for their uniform to be worn in different colors.  Most of the younger elites choose blue to show their loyalty to the Commander.  Elders often wear black to denote their status.  But, some choose to wear red.  Mostly, it's done as a troll to the remaining rabble of rebellious guardsmen who see the youngers wearing red as an insult.  But, the Commander prefers blue and his personal guards always wear the blue uniforms as a means of confirming their loyalty to him.  The golden trim, though, is reserved for the officers among the Commander's entourage.  A special notation fitting of their status.  And, the blue and gold motif matches the Commander's dress uniform: implying the leaders have access to the Commander when he's at his least guarded moments.

My main draw to the gold trimmed figure is just how exquisite it looks.  For some reason, the color combo of the lighter blue and bright gold really clicked.  Not so much in that I wanted a dozen of them.  But, it worked as the leader of a large unit of figures.  As you can see in the photos below,  the blue is a bit lighter than standard Cobra blue.  But, it's not quite the Soldado blue.  It works for me.  Especially now that there are several other figures that have similar hues that are available from factory custom makers.  For this figure, the paint masks are tight and  the figure quality is really nice.  The golden paint really makes the fine details on the CG mold pop.  It's great to get Crimson Guard rifles.  And, you get an extra Viper rifle with every figure.  (Which is kind of handy when you have a couple dozen 2006 Viper Pit figures sitting around.)  Even now, where I'm in a phase of hyper-criticality on anything Joe, I still find this figure aesthetically pleasing.  Which keeps it relevant to me.

It is likely that this gold trimmed figure exists in smaller numbers than the other blue Crimson Guard flavors that were made.  For those who pre-ordered a set, a single gold trim figure was included along with nine of the silver trim figures.  (You could choose red Cobra logos or silver Cobra logos for the 9 other figures.  I went with silver.)  What this means is anyone's guess.  On the one hand, lower run figures tend to do well if people can't get them.  But, at the same time, the obscure nature of their differences combined with the massive amount of new figures released all at once tends to leave the figures the odd men out.  We'll see how it plays out with this figure.  But, I'm glad I have one as he's a visual treat that really helps provide more depth to the Crimson Guard brigades.

You can get the gold trimmed Cobalt Guardsman for about $22.  This is a far cry from the pre-order pricing.  But, in line with the retail cost when single figures were made available.  In general, Crimson Guard flavors from that era sell in the $15-$20 range.  So, the gold figure has a slight premium.  But, that's also likely due to reduced options for acquisition.  In the end, the gold and blue is a striking combination that makes for a visually pleasing figure.  But, you have lots of options for visually pleasing figures these days.  I go with what speaks, specifically, to me.  This golden trimmed Guardsman did just that.  So, he's a fun addition to my collection.  I just need to use him a bit more often.