440-2
Hasbro- Gi Joe Renegades: Cobra Trooper
Ep09
I’m continuing to review each episode of the short lived G.I. Joe Renegades show; see review 275-2, 302-2, 330-2, 357-2, 384-2, 398-2 & 425-2 for previous thoughts.
EP09: The Enemy of My Enemy
Basic Premise (from Wikipedia): Adam DeCobray, head of Cobra Industries, hires James McCullen of M.A.R.S. Industries to work on a project to combine Dr. Mindbender's Bio-Vipers with his failed exo-armor suits. Meanwhile, the Joes infiltrate a Cobra stronghold after receiving information of DeCobray's plans from someone they thought was Breaker's masked whistleblower. During the attempt, Mindbender reveals a deadly secret, leading DeCobray to reveal himself as Cobra Commander. James McCullen becomes a "Destro" (estranged/alienated one) as he is forced to wear an iron mask as a symbol of his attempted betrayal and a mark of his servitude to Cobra.
Thoughts: This could possibly be the most action packed 22 minute cartoon that I have ever seen; there is so much going on. It’s a return to the primary story which is cool, it introduces a number of main characters including masked Destro, Iron Grenadiers and even Serpentor, who incidentally is now a gigantic Snake. Easily the worst part of this series and this episode is Dr. Mindbender; I pretty well hate everything about his character.
Pros: Seems funny to me after all the craziness that is surrounding the current classified frenzy of the cobra Island Cobra Soldiers that I was able to pick up this arm builder without issue, but I suppose that was a while ago and people are a bit nuts when it comes to new stuff, especially with an existing line of new figures. In any case, I was really happy that I was able to pick up one of these figures to have in my collection. Overall captures the look from right out of the cartoon, has a good amount of accessories including 2 heads for those aforementioned army builders and enough articulation for multiple poses.
Cons: This may sound a bit crass, but in truth I don't care. The overall look of this guy gives me some pretty facist vibes that are somewhat similar to the protests that we have seen throughout this summer. I guess this is both good and bad. Good because these are Cobra troopers and Cobra is a bad guy, but bad because it maybe just feels too real at this point. I mean, If this is what the current police look like in some areas, it really makes you wonder who the bad guys are...
