My 10 Favorite Cobra Figures

A few days ago, I listed my ten favorite figures from the G.I. Joe team, now it’s time for Cobra to shine…

H.E.A.T. Viper (1989)

High Explosive Anti-Tank Viper! Great description of this guy “Cobra Bazooka Man”. This figure, which came along during one the last few glory years, definitely has some wear and tear in my collection. All the accessories are gone, the crotch is broken the legs and arms are extremely loose and the o-ring is hanging by a thread, but that just goes to show how much I loved this figure and played with it back in the day. All of my action figures also doubled as wrestlers and for some reason, I dubbed this guy “The Terminator”, for his wrestling name.

Alley Viper (1989)

Part of what appealed to me about this figure was the bright orange & blue camoflauge. In ’89, he really stood out in the Joe line (the early 90s produced all kinds of ugly neon figures). I lost this figure years ago, but scored one (and the almost-as-cool 1990 version as well) on eBay. According to the filecard, Alley Vipers were the Cobra equivalent of a S.W.A.T. team.

Iron Grenadiers (1988)

Once I started looking into bidding for Joes online, I was surprised by how popular this figure is. Pretty pricey if you want one of these. The o-ring broke on mine, so I only have one from the torso up. When I would play with my Joes, I used this figure as Cobra Commander (hey, he changed his look every year, so why not?).

B.A.T. (1986)

A B.A.T. is just about THE coolest Joe figure ever made. I’m a sucker for a hologram torso! Plus, swapping out accessories on the arms was really cool too. Of course, the more accessories you have, the more you’re going to lose…

Crystal Ball (1987)

A very gimmicky figure with a goofy look and a goofy name but I still loved the guy. Must’ve been that hologram shield that did it for me. He looks kinda like Ra’s al Ghul and was Cobra’s hypnotist. Ooookay.

Croc Master (1987)

I didn’t own Croc Master (I do now though), but this guy was AWESOME! Just look at him! He looks like some psycho from a slasher movie (and the Batman villain Bane) and he had the ultimate accessory — a CROCODILE!!!

Big Boa (1987)

It took me 22 years, but I finally own Big Boa! Just got him in a few weeks ago from a winning bid. I don’t know why, but I loved the fact that this guy had boxing gloves and a punching bag. Really cool helmet too. He looks like an extra from Mad Max.

Flak-Viper (1992)

One of my top guys when the Joes wrestled! He had a backpack for the accessory that fired missiles. Flak-Viper got a really cool repaint for 1993: orange, gray and green (trust me, it works).

Storm Shadow (1984)

I was never into the whole Snake-Eyes/Storm Shadow thing. I get it, they’re ninjas, but I don’t go ga-ga over them like so many Joe fans do. In fact, I always like thought the Spirit/Storm Shadow feud from the cartoon was much more interesting. Nonetheless, ninjas are pretty cool, especially white ninjas.

Tomax/Xamot (1985)

I loved to hate these guys in the cartoon and never thought they were used enough. Great design. Half ballerina, half football player.

Thanks to YoJoe.com for the images.

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Tags: 1980s, Action Figures, Cobra, G.I. Joe, Toys