Review – G.I. Joe Cobra Viper Commando with Serpent Armor

Line: G.I. Joe * Manufacturer: Hasbro * Year: 2009 * Ages: 4+

I may not have been a fan of the 2009 G.I. Joe movie (my thoughts posted here), but I can admit that there was a flood of toys on the shelf after the movie was released and it was cool of Hasbro to produce this Serpent Armor* set. A rerelease of the classic S.N.A.K.E. armor (see yojoe.com)? Sold!

Viper Commando

The action figure included with the armor is a fairly generic movie-style Cobra Viper that, because of its relation to the movie, doesn’t excite me all that much. I’m just not a fan of the look of these soldiers and plan to toss the figure in a box and forget that it exists.

And even though it may make me a “bad” toy reviewer I just can’t bring myself to spend a lot of words on the action figure that’s packed in the set. It’s a standard G.I. Joe action figure and if you want to know more see this review at Infinite Hollywood and this review at OAFE. But notice that even those reviews don’t spend a lot of time on the Viper Commando. Face facts, none of us bought this set for the Viper Commando.

Serpent Armor

Here’s what we were all after! And from what I can tell (I don’t own an original S.N.A.K.E.) this is the same as the toy that I played with in 1983, expect that this armor is black where the older toy what white. And I’m okay with that, since from the moment this was announced all I was looking for was my own classic armor for the shelf. What makes the Serpent Armor so much fun? Well, in the classic comic it was both a battlesuit and a mind control device, and to be fair it just looks great.

You’ll have to apply various stickers to the Serpent Armor, but there are fewer stickers than we’ve seen on several toys and it seems like these are actually going to stay in place (the 2009 Insecticons set came with stickers that just will not stick and that’s still bugging me). In the photos here you can see where I misapplied the stickers and have them just a bit crooked here and there; just one more reason why I dislike stickers and wish companies would just paint or tampo designs on toys at the factory and not leave it to us to apply stickers.

Fun!

As you can see in the packaging photos I paid $2.50 for this Serpent Armor set when it was on clearance at Target, but I didn’t wait for the toy to go on clearance and actually have a second set that I paid full price for. The Serpent Armor feels a little flimsy when you play with it — the internal stand that holds the suit together is fairly weak — but it looks fantastic and I can overlook the rattle. And if you use the armor as it’s intended — the suit snaps apart and action figures fit inside — it’s a bit less flimsy. But even then it’s not the most durable or stable toy you’ll find, but that’s a small price to pay for such a great-looking suit of armor.

Closing Thoughts

The Serpent Armor* may not be the most advanced toy produced in the G.I. Joe series over the last few years, but since it’s basically just a re-colored release of an almost thirty year old toy I got exactly what I wanted: An old toy back on my shelves. The Viper Commando is nothing more than spare parts for me, but the armor is appreciated and I can say that if Hasbro decided to release a Crimson Guard version in red I would want that set as well.

There’s not a lot more for me to say since this review is more about the photos than it is giving you guys a detailed overview of an old toy. If I was looking at the toy closely I think I’d call it just okay and not worth tracking down, but since I’m looking through the eyes of a sixth grade me I’ll close with: It’s perfect!

Philip Reed now owes every a good review since this one was nothing more than an excuse to take pictures of the armor.