G.I. Joe Retaliation-Ultimate Storm Shadow

When I walked into Five Below the other day, on a tip from John over at the Clawful , I didn’t expect there to be many Joes. Maybe a couple Retaliation peg warmers, like the green suited Duke or the Roadblock with the unsightly deformity. I certainly did not expect the Ultimate line of Joes to be freshly stocked the way they were, and for the low price of 5 dollars to boot! These guys were going for big bucks on the bay and that’s not even factoring in the shipping costs. O.K. so they had Roadblock, Budo, Flint and most of the others from the line, big I knew for sure Storm Shadow wouldn’t be there. Stormie was going for bucu dollars online and I had already come to terms with the fact that I would probably never own one. If  I could pretend that  I was O.K. with not owning a Renegades Storm Shadow then I could do the same for the Ultimate version. BOP! Why did I walk into Five Below and find two Ultimate Storm Shadows hanging stealthily behind a Roadblock and Joe Colton figure! After the initial shock finally wore off, I chest bumped an old lady  standing next to me.I finally had an Ultimate Storm Shadow figure in my hands, and he was coming home with me.

G.I. Joe Retaliation- Ninja Duel Snake Eyes (Revisited)

This was the version of Snake Eyes I had waited for since the first mentioning and trailers of the Retaliation film. I loved the look they chose to go with here and the figure is pretty much spot on. I will say ,however, that this figure was a bit overrated. Even I made more of it than I probably should have when I first posted about it a while back. Alot of people who’ve reviewed this Ninja Duel Snake Eyes fail to point out the odd looking long hands and under detailed leg sculpts. I like a booted Snake Eyes and this version seems to be sporting some low top cross trainers. Overall a great figure and fresh take on such an iconic character, but far from a perfect rendition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G.I. Joe Retaliation Ultimate-Cobra Commander

I wasn’t planning on adding this one to the collection but did anyways and C.C. has grown on me.I needed a hooded version anyways so what the heck.Oddly,though,this particular figure has a troublesome right arm joint that hinders full 360 degree movement,a problem I’ve never encountered before with any other action figure.

G.I. Joe Retaliation – Roadblock (Ultimate)

This is all the Roadblock i’ll ever need people.No gripes here,just all around badassery.

G.I. Joe Retaliation-Cobra Commander(blue)

I’ve really wanted this figure for some time now and I was finally able to track one down.I love this version of Cobra Commander,primarily because of the head sculpt.I also dig the fact that this version of C.C. sports boots as opposed to the  wingtips of previous versions.This Cobra Commander is combat ready and the blue uni really pops.While not movie accurate,this is still a solid C.C.!

G.I. Joe Retaliation-Firefly

This is IMO one of the most underrated figures in the Retaliation line of Joes.This figure captures the essence of “Firefly” in many ways.He just looks rugged.The shots of the figures on the card backs don’t do them any justice.Once I got the “Ray Stevenson” rendition of Firefly out of it’s package and posed,it instantly rocketed up to “Top 10  Favorite Figures” status. The inclusion of the Blast Board is a huge plus because it is essentially a vehicle,a throwback to 1984 when Hasbro  packaged(although in a box) Zartan with his Customized Chameleon Swamp Skier!My only issue is the inclusion of the second head sculpt.Funny thing is I love them both so I don’t know which one to sport first.

G.I. Joe Retaliation-Kwinn(loose)

Very cool figure.The Kwinn character screams bad ass and the correlation between he and  Snake Eyes  is a huge plus.The sculpt and color scheme effectively capture the essence and likeness of everybody’s(well..not so much mine as I only have dated memories of Kwinn from issue 2) favorite  mercenary for hire and the accessories rock.But there’s a problem.He’s dead!I know it’s only an action figure but the fact that Kwinn dies in a later issue of G.I. Joe bugs the crap out of me!Think of the missions he and Snake Eyes could have gone on!Kwinn has to make a movie appearance and if he dies in it,then they have to do something to bring him back.Ala Captain America,in the form of a spirit,cyborg,i don’t know.JUST BRING HIM BACK!iT BUGS ME TO HAVE SUCH A COOL FIGURE OF A CHARACTER THAT’S DEAD!Now that I got that off my chest,enjoy the pics!

G.I. Joe Retaliation-Kwinn

Budo!

Finally got mah Budo!Gonna crack this sucka open soon!

G.I. Joe Retaliation (Ultimate) Wave 3.5

Finally this much anticipated wave of Joes is  hitting Ebay and other online toy stores everywhere,available for purchase!I’m not sure when they will be hitting store shelves so i opted to snag one up online and wait until the others arrive locally.I’m a little bummed about the Snake Eyes figure as i’ve seen in-hand reviews of him sporting the Retaliation Ninja Duel head sculpt instead of a more cartoon accurate version.As much as i love SE I might pass on this figure.Lovin’ the other figures,though.