Cobra Commander is the next figure up for review in the newly released GI Joe Resolute banner form Hasbro. He's the big bad of the Cobra forces and the man behind every evil plan they have. This figure is another solid entry into the annals of GI Joe lore, as well as a solid starting point for the Resolute banner, but he's missing a certain something to make him a top notch figure.
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Cobra Commander's sculpt is great in theory, though is practice it comes off a little weird. The first apparent oddity is the distance between his legs; it's hard to get his stance to look normal because his legs are so separated at the hips, which is helped a little by his skirt, but still looks funny. The rest of his proportions and shapes look good despite this problem. He has a lot of nice details with accurately wrinkled and bunched clothes in realistic areas, some accessories and pouches sculpted right in, a nice shirt flap with buttons, and kneepads with tooling. I really like the way his boots bunch at the ankles and small things like that really improve his overall appearance. There's not face sculpt to speak of but his helmet and mask look evil like they're supposed to. His accessories are also sculpted well, just not amazingly. A holster for his gun would be nice, but the sword sheath works well and looks okay so that's a bonus.
Sculpt Score: 8 / 10 - Sculpt looks good, has a nice profile, lots of details for a small figure, leg split is wild.
This figure's paint is a little more muted than the standard GI Joe hues and it still looks good and plenty colorful. The two blue shades work well together, although only the lighter blue matches the Trooper figure. The black and red accents really help bring out his evil side while the metallic gray at his belt, mask and kneepads give him that tough look. There isn't a lot of slop on the figure, but applications are pretty poor across the board. You'll notice significant overlap on the silver "mohawk" on his helmet, poorly painted red gloves lines that wobble back and forth like it was free vodka day at the tailor. The blue border around his coat/skirt is also poorly done and the Cobra symbol on his shoulder is very messy. I might be a little picky here, since a lot of these things aren't distracting to a standard look and only show up with closer inspection, but they're still there. I'd like to see just a little better work, although this is really a pretty good attempt on a mass market figure of this size.
Paint Score: 6 / 10 - The colors are great together, there's no slop, some problematic application issues.
The good commander has a lot of articulation for a figure this size as it's the standard model for modern Joe figures. The problem here is that a lot of the available points are actually limited his his clothing. His hips have little to no range of movement because of the stiff skirt/coat-tail while his shoulders can only move a little because of his ..."shawl" I guess you'd call it. Even though every other point has a full range of motion, it's hard to get him into any dynamic poses because of the limits imposed on the most important areas. Thankfully his articulation all works smoothly, no broken or stuck joints here (are you listening Mattel?) and it blends in amazingly well with his sculpt. It's hard to tell he has any articulation at all because the ball joints are covered by costume while other points are worked in seemlessly. One annoying aspect of Cobra Commander's articulation is the swivel at his wrist which is very close to the elbow swivel, as it's hard to turn one without the other. A cut at his actual wrist instead of the top of his glove might've worked better.
Articulation Score: 7 / 10 - Good articulation model that's way too limited by costume, joints work well, a couple annoying aspects, meshes perfectly with sculpt.
Hasbro has nailed the fun factor with this figure. He's got a cool evil design that's very reminiscient of nazi era bad guys that kids and collectors alike can find enjoyable in a battle setting. Couple that with his pretty solid articulation and accessories and you're dealing with a figure that's a blast to handle. You can also find some pretty interesting poses even if his articulation is pretty limited so collectors can have fun there too. Just his cardback alone is fun with an interesting biography and great comic-style color artwork. Much like the Cobra Trooper, I was pleasently surprised at just how much enjoyment I've found in this figure.
Fun Score: 10 / 10 - Great accessories, fun articulation model for posing and play, exaggerated design that evokes perceived wickedness.
Cobra Commander wouldn't be worth the money if the production value weren't so high. He's small and doesn't seem like a lot of plastic when you're looking at him, but when you consider that he includes two accessories, a great customized stand, and a good sculpt and better than average paint job, you start to realize it wasn't a bad $7 spent. The presentation on GI Joes is so much better than their "The Corps" "equivalent" that it feels worth it to buy better. It doesn't hurt that he's the leader of the bad guys, which is the most important piece to have in any display or mock war. I think this figure would last many an hour on the floor beating up Joes and still be just as fun as the day you opened him. That's what value is all about, and this figure pulls it off.
Value Score: 10 / 10 - Great accessories, stand, and cardback that represent great production values, durable and enjoyable for hours.
Summary
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Overall Score: 82 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
Cobra Commander isn't painted perfectly and suffers from limited articulation, but he's got a great design, with a fun factor and value that can't be beat.
P.S. This could be the figure I'm giving away this month, just leave a comment for a chance to win (if he's the one).
-The Articulated One
