In 2018, it was amazing to see the 1985 Snake Eyes mold resurrected and repainted into some new and interesting characters. In 2019, a new set of Snake Eyes repaints started to feel a bit repetitive. So, when it was announced that there would be 9 more new Snake Eyes figures in 2020, I didn't hold out hope for anything that would really interest. Boy, was I wrong. Among the series released included a solid desert Snake Eyes, an Action Force green Snake Eyes, an all grey Snake Eyes and one special figure that I hold as the single best release in all of 2020: Bonecrusher.
Red Laser has attempted skull face paint applications on figures. And, they turned out remarkably well. Black Major upped the ante on this idea and churned out a Snake Eyes decked out in solid skeleton print. The reality is that the figure is far less recognizable as Snake Eyes in this configuration and the mold works well as a new character. The paint applications are a step up from what's been previously done with factory customs and show that there is still much untapped potential for even molds that have been exhausted.
Like most kids who played with Joe figures in the 1980's, I kitbashed new characters together out of parts of older, broken or damaged figures. With these characters, I expanded my Joe world in many new directions. As my time playing with toys came to end, though, I felt a need to also end the stories of many of my childhood favorites. Some died. But, most got to go on one last epic adventure before they disappeared into boxes in the closet for the next 5 to 7 years. Most of these stories are lost to time. But, a few remain with me. One that does is an adventure that was close to the last chapter of my childhood playtime. Here, three of my most favored characters came together for one last mission before the youngest was sent off to near certain death as he faced one of the most dangerous adversaries the world had ever seen.
My youngest brother was friends with a family that lived around the block from us. Their boys were all younger than I was. But, our parents became friends and we spent a lot of time at their house. They had tons and tons of toys. But, they didn't really care for them. Each time we'd go over, I'd find new figures and vehicles in their basement. While others played Nintendo, I'd dig out a pile of accessory less figures and have a battle royale among them. While I always wanted a Joe to win, it didn't make much sense when Duke had to battle He Man. So, I created a tournament where a winner fought until he either died or all the available opponents had been killed. Sometimes, there would be a weapon for two lying around. But, in these fights, characters met terrible demises as they were tossed off buildings, chopped to pieces or fried to a crisp. These little asides, though, lead to a deeper idea in my Joe world.
Cobra had used assassins since Stormshadow. But, hiring in outside killers meant that they could have ties to Joes that would render those contractors corruptible. Cobra needed to develop their own cadre of murderers. So, they built an assassins school in the mountains of Europe. Here, young men were trained in the arts of infiltration, stealth and murder. As the cadets neared graduation, they would join into underground killing tournaments held in basements of ancient European cities. Here, fighters from around the world would test their mettle in various combat tournaments. Most of these fights were done to appease gamblers. But, for the fighters, it was a way to prove their worth. The fights were regulated to a degree. But, once fighters reached a certain level, the only way to make real money was to start participating in death matches. Here, the best of the best would rise out and find riches as governments and terrorists vied for their services. And, it was here that Cobra's initial trainees began to establish themselves as a force.
But, just as Cobra Commander was starting to count his riches for contracting these men out to the highest bidder, something went wrong. Cobra lost all communication with their assassin school. When they finally arrived to see what was wrong, they found all the trainees and instructors dead...save one. This assassin, who was the prodigy among his peers, had killed them all and disappeared. Cobra, of course, figured they could contain this. But, they were unable to track the assassin down. They didn't worry too much...until a few minor world governmental officials started being killed. The assassin even managed to kill a couple of high ranking Cobras. These assassinations attracted the attention of the world's various security agencies. But, the Joes were not involved. At least, they weren't until Destro contacted the Joe leader and asked for a favor.
Cobra needed the assassin killed so that he didn't turn their customers against them. The Joe team agreed, though, because the assassin had managed to even kill multiple congresspeople. The Joe's needed the assassin stopped at all costs. The logical choice for the mission was Snake Eyes. But, Snake Eyes also could not be used. The American government couldn't take the hit if one of their top operatives failed. They needed deniability. So, the Joe team looked to one of my factions of characters that I had designed in my childhood: Mongoose.
Mongoose is a cliched name. But, for a time, he was a central character to my Joe world. I created a team of 4 characters who were a nearly invincible strike team. They took on all the hairiest missions. But, finally, their elder leader died during a mission. Two members of the team, Mongoose and Blaster, felt that his death was the result of poor leadership decisions. They became disillusioned and slowly drifted from the team and the Joes in general. At the time of the assassin's rise, Mongoose and Blaster were shells of their former selves who roamed various trouble spots in the world, hoping to lend a hand. The third member of their team, who had risen to be one of the highest ranking Joes, went in search of them to ask a favor in bringing in the assassin. He found them. But, they had no interest in rejoining the team. And, Mongoose understood that it was a suicide mission and he was chosen because he was expendable. They asked their former friend to help in a mission in their current land. He agreed to do so. For a brief moment, their original chemistry reformed and they forgot some of the baggage that now stood between them. Upon successful completion, Mongoose agreed to go after the assassin...with the caveat that if he was successful, no other favors would ever be asked of him again. This was agreed and Mongoose went off in search of the killer.
Soon enough, Mongoose crossed paths with the assassin. At this point, he learned his name: Nimrod. Nimrod was chosen as I read something at the time that associated the name with a great warrior. (The real legend is, of course, more complicated.) The two fought, but left in a draw. Mongoose then began his hunt for Nimrod's home in the Rocky Mountains. During his search, Nimrod killed more politicians, wealthy industrialists and global activists. A worldwide hunt was set for Nimrod and intelligence agencies around the globe set rewards for his death.
Finally, Mongoose and Nimrod met at his mountain lair. They ate a meal together and then decided they would fight to the death with only their swords. Mongoose attempted to negotiate that if Nimrod won, he would give up his assassinations of world figures and retire to the backwoods wars of out of the way nations to sate his bloodlust. Nimrod took this as a sign of weakness and refused. The two then fought for three days. They could clash, rest, hide, ambush and fight again. Twice, Nimrod thought he had killed Mongoose. And, on the second occasion, he had even confirmed the blood on his sword from a successful stabbing. Mongoose, though, was only superficially wounded. He used this, though, to lure Nimrod into a small indent in the rocks. Here, there would be no escape as long as both men were alive.
Nimrod fought calmly at first. But, the tight space hindered his movement. Slowly, he began to lose control...especially as Mongoose fought overly well for a man who was as gravely wounded as Nimrod thought him to be. In a moment, Nimrod's sword hit a rock wall, leaving a second of exposure. And, in this instant, Mongoose stabbed him through the heart. Nimrod fell without a word and simply died. Mongoose beheaded the body, buried it on the rocks and left it on the mountain. He returned to the Joe team, told them the deed was done and then left to return to his life in the shadows. He would never again appear for the Joes.
This Bonecrusher figure finally, after many years, fills in the gap for Nimrod. As a kid, I played out the scenario using a crappy kitbash figure that had a Stormshadow sword. The Mongoose figure, though, was always a Snake Eyes head and chest. (I actually created him because my 1985 Snake Eyes's thumb broke and once I changed the all black arms, the figure could no longer be Snake Eyes. When I replaced the Snake Eyes, though, I was so afraid I'd break him that I rarely used him and Mongoose remained my de facto version of the character for a while.) Over the years, he had some other parts. But, the final figure used Beach Head legs and a right arm from Thunder and left arm from Beach Head. I know this because you can see the actual figure from my childhood below. He wears a Jedi cloak from the 1999 Episode I accessory set. But, that was a later addition to hide his mismatched arms. Now, with Bonecrusher, he finally has a worthy figure to represent his final adversary.
Sadly, though, Bonecrusher figures have an issue. The swivels are pretty loose on them. So, they are tough to pose and, as you'll see in the photos below, the arms tend to bend out without any provocation at all. Other than that, though, these figures are excellent quality. The paints masks are tight, they can hold their weapons and the rest of the construction is fine. It seems the arms for all Snake Eyes in this final series have this issue with looseness. It was not a problem on the earlier series of Snake Eyes repaints, though. For display, you can get around the issue for sure. But, photos take a bit more time to set up.
Gearwise, Bonecrusher includes remakes of all of the 1985 Snake Eyes gear. The Uzi and sword, though, are a creamy white that looks like bone. Having a sword made of bone or ivory, though, is foolhardy. But, the color fits well with the figure. It's easy enough to swap out his gear for black versions available with other Snake Eyes repaints from this series, too. There is a wolf that also has bones painted onto the body. As with all the Black Major remakes of the 1985 Snake Eyes backpack, the sword does not fit into the slots. They are just too small. You can hang the sword into them in various ways. But, they are all precarious. Again, for display, it's fine. But, it makes it hard to move the figure around with the sword affixed to his pack.
Bonecrusher's are available right now. You'll pay about $24 for one. But, you can get them cheaper in various promotional sales or buying them as part of a set. Supposedly, the series of figures that included Bonecrusher marked the retirement of the 1985 Snake Eyes mold. With at least 30 repaints, that's probably good. But, I stand by my statement that this Bonecrusher was the best figure released in 2020 and is a design that's going to hold up well in the future. Getting a figure that could represent a character from the final days of my childhood play is important to me. And, it fills out the last real gap to bring my childhood imagination to life. I'd have paid a premium for that. But, this Bonecrusher holds up under scrutiny from all collectors. It's just a good figure and is a design that shows modern ideas can work quite well on vintage Joe molds.
