By Loran
The Renegades keep marching in now, with another constant of the G.I. Joe Universe: Snake-Eyes! Yeah, I figured I should just get the “big three” out of the way first, or else I’d probably never buy them. I always like to focus on the side-characters first and make up my own backstories for them and whatnot, then add all the “big names” later on. I mean, there are always gonna be Snake-Eyes and Duke figures, but how often do we get, say, a new Low-Light, Airtight, or Sci-Fi? Not often enough, I would say… and I still need to find a Low-Light…
Renegades Snake-Eyes borrows heavily from Resolute Snake-Eyes. Actually, that’s a lie… pretty much his entire mold is Resolute Snake-Eyes. That’s not a bad thing, mind you; Resolute Snake-Eyes is a great mold! I remember searching high and low for him back during the first movie and the total elation I experienced when I finally did find him. Admitted, I already had the mold from that Target-exclusive four pack, but I still wanted the full experience. For awhile he was my default Snake-Eyes, up until the Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3 one came out. Come on, we all KNOW you can’t top that one.
…and, that’s really the main problem with this figure. Until Hasbro (somehow) tops it, Wave 3 Snake-Eyes will remain the DEFINITIVE version of the character, and all other versions will just be living in its shadow. Sure, you can do some gimmicky figures like Temple Guardian, but no matter what, they won’t beat the real thing.
In fact, the only NEW parts to this figure are the arms. The head is the same as the alternate one we saw in the Wave 3 version. A nice head for sure, though I would’ve liked to see something new. Personally, the visor look never did much for me. I always preferred goggles, and one of my favorite molds for the character is the 1991 “Hockey Mask” version. I don’t know why, but I always dug it.
The new arms work well enough, avoiding the wrist problem Duke had. I don’t see the point of giving someone like Snakes the dual-joint system, since it’s not like he has any rifles to hold. The hands themselves are nice and tight, and Hasbro was smart enough to NOT band the gun to his hand itself in the package. I hate it when they do that.
Unlike Duke, Snakes got off with a pretty good assortment of weapons. He comes with two swords, a knife, a sai, a backpack, and some kind of phase machine gun? It’s odd, but it suits Snakes. Not only does he come with a lot of weapons, but he can actually store them all! Wooo! The sai and knife store in his backpack, the gun on a new-sculpt holster, and his swords in… some kind of pouch thing? Whatever, I’ll run with it.
If you already own Resolute Snake-Eyes in some form, you’re really not getting much new here aside from a pair of new arms and gear. Between him and the Wave 3 Snake-Eyes, the choice is obvious, but if you can’t find that fantastic figure or if you like Renegades, he’s good enough. Snag them from FPNYC before they disappear just like the show did!
