Evil Flunkies!

That's what these guys are! Nevertheless, along with Duke, these bozos are 4 figures out of the 5-pack "Infiltrator" set Toy's R US exclusive.

But before I continue with this review, I'd just like to wish evryone who's reading a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to come.  Sorry I've been away feasting and making merry with family and friends these past 10 days (or preparing for it--you wouldn't believe the queues at places like TRU pre-Christmas.  All the way to the back of the store. Jeebus.)

I'd also like to add that I already had a room full of toys yet to be opened and reviewed, and now I have more.  It's not that everyone I knew got me toys, it's just that while shopping for others I happened to spot great deals.  For example, a S$5 Abomination from the 2008 Hulk movie (the dude's got 7 points of articulation in his arm alone!), a S$3, 3.75" scale Green Goblin on a Goblin Cycle that has really great articulation, and things like S15 dollar Hulkbuster Hummers from the movie line and S$10 Indiana Jones Jungle Cutters. Oh yeah, and also a couple of movie Wolverines for 3 bucks, cuz the packaging was damaged. So a great Christmas hunt all-in-all, but I digress...

Let's get on to the Infiltrator 5 pack review of these 4 Joe baddies!

Elite-Viper

Well let's start with the best!

Like: The black wash on his silver armour and gauntlets and the COBRA insignia on his chest. It makes this guy look dark and dangerous, like he could actually hurt some Joes.  He should, since he's supposed to be elite. ;)

Like: The colour scheme. with two weapons in his hand he kinda looks like Jango Fett, but cooler!  Ok, ok, all you Jango fans out there.  But you gott admit, Jango dies rather easily after fighting really stupid against Mace Windu. Lol.

Like: Working holster! It's looks better with his sonic pistol in it though he comes packages with the shotgun holstered. Yup, that fits in there as well. But it looks awkward because the gun's too long. Also, his shotgun fits securely in his backpack, allowing him to holster al his weapons and tend to...

Like: ...His dog!  It's almost one more action figure on its own.  Almost. ;) One day I'll have to put all the pets from Joes together. Timber, Cobra Commander's snake, Croc Master's crocodile, etc, and do a P.E.T.S. comic. :)

Dislike: Well, only one thing, and it's minor-his visor. I wish it wasn't the same black as they rest of his helmet. It kinda makes his head look really featureless. Another, perhaps better, alternative would be to leave the visor black but make his helmet blue. I think he would look even greater then.



M.A.R.S. Officer

From Jango fett to The Shredder! The way his helmet is shaped and the silver braces and greaves just remind me so much of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles favourite arch enemy.

Like: His colour scheeme is also awesome! The black makes him look fearsome and the silver is just enough to add that touch to his uniform and make him look more important than the other M.A.R.S. grunts. 

Like: His working holster under his front left chest and the removeable helmet!

Dislike: His webbing/harness comes tends to slip off his left shoulder when you pose him. It's only connected by the bottom belt piece of the harness but this also means you can tuck his assault rifle in there.  Also, he's got no place to put his knife when he ain't usin' it to threaten M.A.R.S. grunts.

Neo-Viper

Like: That even in this five-pack, he comes with 2 rifles and a pistol. He even has places on his backpack to peg his 2 rifles. See? That's the difference between working for COBRA and working for M.A.R.S. You accept some nanomite injections to trade a small amount of sanity for places to store your guns when you don't wanna use them. Good deal! :P

Like: The wash they used on his armour--mask, gauntlets, body armour, and the metal clasps of his boots.

Dislike: The look in general.  I'm not a fan of the head design and I'm even less of a fan of his clunky-looking body armour.  The high collar of the armour also restricts his head movement.  The whole look is just too alien-like for my taste.

Dislike: That his guns aren't painted/aren't black.  Those guns magnified to life-size would still look like toy rifles. Even his backpack is black. Maybe HAsbro thought the colour variation would suit him more. Go figure.





M.A.R.S. Trooper

Now this guy's a riot. The two most crucial things on him are red-his face mask and the grenades next to his face.  Well, we all know this guy wasn't made to last against the Joes. On the off chance that he did, he'd deserve his promotion.  Then, and only then, would James McCullen award you with all the trappings of the M.A.R.S.officer above.


Like: His combat webbing/harness. More sturdy than the officer's but defeinitely more basic with only two grenades and compartments for extra magazines. I actually have this exact same skeleton battle order (since all Singaporean males are conscripted for 2 years service and continue to return to serve every year till they're 40) and mine has more features like a pouch at the back for a poncho and two water bottles.  What does this mean? Well, the M.A.R.S. Trooper is more expendable than I am. Yo Joe! :P

Like: Removeable mask.  His head is exactly the same as the M.A.R.S. officer's.  Then again, he's  a repaint of the exact same mold. Lol.

Dislike: The colour! Red and black and grey. Seriously! The grey base torso they use for him is the same for all four baddies in this set, except that his is the only one that's grey and it make him look like some part-time bank robber. Add the red and the cheap plastic look of his assault rifle and presto! Bank Robber! But then again that's what M.A.R.S. does. They chaeat and rob countries by selling to both sides. Heh.


Dislike: That he's got no backpack and no place to store his rifle and pistol.

Ratings

Aesthetics

Elite-Viper: 9/10 - Love the armour, love the look. loses points for a dull, shiny (oxymoronic) head.

M.A.R.S. Officer: 9/10 - I actually think he looks the best among the four! His removeable helmet is what gets him a slightly higher grade.  That and not haveing a dull, shiny head.

Neo-Viper: 7/10 - He looks top heavy, both in equipment/amrour and paint apps. The weird blockish backpack doesn't help much either.

M.A.R.S. Trooper: 6.5/10 - This guy jst looks silly. Joes can spot him for miles or in our case, he's probably the first guy one the shelf. Yet, many of him could strangely make a pretty striking army.

Poseability

They've all got the standard Joe 22 points of articulation and don't really have parts that get in the way (except slightly for the Neo-Viper's head). I think they look great as a group, but individually they don;t look as good as the named character. Of course not. They aren't meant to. :P

A Group score of 9/10

Fun (Group Score): 9/10 - They're awesome since they'll make a nice squad of dudes that your Joes can take out before facing the "names" of COBRA.  They'll also look great accompanying the COBRA big guns.

Value (Group Score): 10/10 - I paid S$34.90 for these four guys plus Duke, that's just under S$7 (US$5) per figure.  I know the single carded Joes are clearing for that amount in the States, but here you'll never find them that cheap beacuse of shipping charges etc.  Their so value for money that all the TRUs here have been cleared of them.  I couldn't find the Zartan with Joes 5-pack nor this one only after they hit the shelves about a month ago here.

Overall:

Elite-Viper: 9.2/10

M.A.R.S. Officer: 9.2/10

Neo-Viper: 9/10

M.A.R.S. Trooper: 8.8/10

These guys all scored pretty high because it was mainly due to the great group scores.  A singel carded Neo-Viper, for example, would definitely not score a 10 in the Value category.  This means while I feel he's not worth getting at retail on card, he's more than worth it in this 5-pack.  And so are the others--if you see 'em at TRU, grab them. Now. ;)