Cobra Commander (Renegades)

I’ve always kind of felt bad for Cobra Commander. He never gets any respect and somebody thought he’d look cool in stirrup pants. But that was the 80’s. In the GI Joe Renegades animated series, we got a pretty good update of the commander. And with that, a new action figure.

Appearance:

You know most leaders these days won’t be found out on a battlefield. So I’m kind of  pleased they went this direction with CC. Yeah, he could hold his own in a fight, but still this is how you would expect a leader to look. You wouldn’t expect the Emperor to be walking around the Death Star in battle armor would you.

I will say that he probably leans a little more animated in style compared to Duke. I’m okay with it. The thing that I think pushes him that way the most is the lack of texture on the coat. If that bother you, try and think of it as smooth leather.

I’m also a bit torn on the high collar. The more I look at, the more I like it thought. It adds a bit of flair to him. It also gives him a bit of a Napoleon look. Which for a guy bent on world domination, isn’t a bad thing.

The coat does give his torso an odd elongated look though. There are two things that don’t help with that. The chest joint is really low and the belt seems more on his hips than his waist. I think the joint is the bigger contributor, as it gives him an un-natural second waist.

The legs and arms here are fairly plain. Not that you would expect anything elaborate. The hands are gloved and he has high boots.

The one somewhat oddity is there appears to be a sheath molded to his left leg. It’s molded shut. I have to ask why have it all?

Now, on to the controversial part. His head. Fanboys were on both sides of the fence over the split mask. Some liked it. Some hated it. Some said he shouldn’t be shown cause he shouldn’t be human.

I kind of like it in a Darth Vader Mediation Chamber kind of way. In scenes with him in the animation he’s shown in his office and very rarely is shown with more than two other people. And those are mostly his inner circle. So why where a hood or full helmet that you will roast in?

I was a bit put off by the stark white head. I actually passed him by a few time before finally picking him up. Yes, it is very pale. It’s also very smooth. I guess it is okay. In hand, I actually like it better than I thought it would. I think maybe it looks better at angles other than the straight on view you get from in the blister.

Fun:

In the pack is an alternate head. This is the fully closed front helmet. What surprised me a bit when I got it out of the package was it is open in the back, meaning it shows his noggin. The helmet is a bit different than the classic mirror faceplate we are use to seeing. Honestly, I think it works. I like this head just a tad bit better than the half reveal one. I really like the fact it isn’t vac metal.

The Commander gets a couple of accessories, as well.  All are repacks, I believe. The first being a Cobra that has been used before. Yes, it’s a nice enough piece. There’s even a splash of paint on it’s head. I have no clue how I would use this in a display.

The second item is a pistol he shares with the Black Dragon Pilot. I wasn’t very impressed then or now. It’s a generic ray gun.

Last is a Cobra staff. In the animation, CC used a Cobra styled cane. I really wish they had went that way. It just seems way more practical in this day and age. I’m tempted to cut the staff down to cane length to use that way.

 Overall:

Like I said above, I wasn’t going to get him initially. But much like Duke I’m glad I did. Yes, he’s a bit light on accessories. But, I’ve always thought of Cobra Commander more as a thinker than an action person. Overall, not a bad figure. I will say he might not be everybody’s taste in a dictator, though.

Engineernerd Score: 87/100

 

 

 

Tags: Cobra, Cobra Commander, GI Joe, Hasbro, Renegades

Category: Featured, GI Joe, Toy Reviews