New York's American International Toy Fair February 11, 2012
Yo Joe! Somehow, Hasbro always managed to make G.I. Joe movie years really fun, despite the movie-ness of it rarely being the exciting part. This year? The movie is cool. G.I. Joe Retaliation is your basic revenge movie, where only a few Joes are left alive to combat the massive Cobra forces. Cobra Commander is there, Snake Eyes is there, Duke is there, Roadblock is there, and most of the people are dead. Think of it like a Jedi purge with more ninjas. The vehicles are a mix of new and retooled, and while the bulk of the figures look great-- including RZA with an amazing bladed hat weapon, which Hasbro says he specifically asked for when it came to the Blind Master action figure-- this figure may be one of the most crossoveringest figures ever. You got your Kung Fu tribute, your music fans, your Joe fans, your movie fans, and of course your killer hat crowd. This is awesome. Bruce Willis is coming too, so yeah, this is going to be a fantastic line.
Vehicles look good, although it's worth noting many of the vehicles will have drivers which feature reduced articulation for cost-cutting measures. While understandable, it's kind of annoying. It's important for kids to get a driver with a vehicle, although I'm sure many collectors would rather have no figure than one lacking knee joints. Still. The vehicles look really cool, it's going to be a nice line.
The big deal for toy fans out there is probably the Shockwave HISS Tank, which is indeed modeled after the Decepticon. The set includes a purple suited Destro, a BAT in Devastator colors, Soundwave-esque accessories scaled to Joe figures, and of course will be another hard-to-get San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. But it's cool, dammit.
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