SNAKE EYES with NINJA ARMOR

G.I. JOE: SIGMA 6 (HASBRO)

“Snake Eyes uses customized weapons to give him a powerful advantage over Cobra ninjas.  Whether riding his Ninja Hovercycle or battling enemies in hand-to-hand combat, Snake Eyes defeats his opponents with agility and the element of surprise.  During a mission to recover technological data stolen by Cobra, Snake Eyes had to get in and out within 90 seconds then escape from Storm Shadow and his team of ninjas.  He and StormShadow battled each other at high speed on their cycles.  Just when his enemies thought they had him, Snake Eyes suddenly deployed air-brake wings hidden in his backpack, leaped from his bike and knocked them all from their cycles with his tri-blade sword.  He was back on his bike and gone before they knew what hit them.”

I’ve touched only very briefly on Sigma 6, the early ’00s incarnation of the G.I. Joe franchise, here on the site.  And you know what?  That’s just not right.  Because Sigma 6 is pretty awesome.  And more people should appreciate it.  At its outset, Sigma 6 took more of a focus on a core cast of characters, though that expanded a fair bit as the line progressed.  I’ve focused a lot on the expanded roster, but not yet any time with that core team.  So, hey, let’s look at a Snake Eyes.  That’s always pretty fun.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Snake Eyes with Ninja Armor was released as part of the first Commando wave of the 2006 Sigma 6 line-up.  In an assortment that saw figure debuts for both Cobra Commander and Long Range, Snake Eyes was the one variant.  He was technically Snake Eyes’ second variant for the line, following up on the weird two-pack re-deco.  This one was actually different, what with the Ninja Armor and all.  The figure stands 8 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  In terms of structure, this figure’s core figure is the same as the prior Commando release Snake Eyes.  The base Snake Eyes sculpt was definitely one of the most stylized of the original figures for the line, being quite spindly and lanky.  His masked head actually has eye holes, giving us a rare glimpse at a portion of his face.  It’s a really cool touch, and I really dig the little bit of scarring visible under the eyes.  Snake Eyes has the standard Sigma 6 suit under everything, much like the rest of the team, which gives the sculpt an opportunity to showcase a larger variety of detailing, including the little flip-up console on the arm, which remains one of my favorite features on these guys.  To fully ninja armor up this guy, he gets a removable visor, chest armor, shoulder pads, and shin guards, as well as the standard dog tag.  The visor is a much more armored piece, fully wrapping around the head, and also further down the sides of the face.  It’s more patterned after his V2 visor than the standard version had been, which I really quite like.  It really pushes that classic Snake Eyes vibe.  The body armor is decidedly not as Snake Eyes-y, but its a cool armor design in its own right, fitting well with the look of the visor.  It’s got a bit of a knight’s armor look about it, which definitely fits well with that V2 style visor.  The shin guards both have fold-out blades, because what is Snake Eyes without some extra blades?  Snake Eyes’ color scheme is generally pretty similar to the standard Snake Eyes fare, being black and grey.  He does get some extra details in bright green, which is certainly a lot of fun.  Snake Eyes is armed with a silenced assault rifle, a sword with three blades (which can fold in and out), a sort of a spear thing in two parts, a wing pack, and a cool case to carry everything in.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve touched on before, Sigma 6 figures weren’t the easiest things to track down back when they were new.  I wanted *a* Snake Eyes at the time, with this one being the front runner on the list.  I never saw him, so I never got one, but he’s remained at the back of my mind since.  We actually managed to get a pretty cool Sigma 6 collection in at All Time, and this guy was included in it, complete even, so at last I have him.  I’m honestly pretty psyched about it.  He’s just so much fun, much like the rest of the line, and I’m all about it.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.