G.I. Joe Classified Series Snake Eyes: GI Joe origins Snake Eyes Figure

G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe Classified Series Snake Eyes: GI Joe origins Snake Eyes Figure
By Hervé St-Louis
September 5, 2021 - 23:39

Cover Artist(s): John Guydo
$19.99 USD, $32.99 CAD

As a youth, he witnessed the assignation of this father by Cobra agents. He swore that he would seek revenge on the men that killed his dad. Offered a chance to exact his vengeance by the yakuza, Snake Eyes decides to infiltrate the Arashikage ninja clan in Japan and betray the trust of his spiritual brother, Tomisaburo S. Arashikage, to find his father’s killers. Will Snake Eyes redeem himself?

This action figure is based in the likeness of actor Henry Golding who played Snake Eyes in the recent Snake Eyes G.I. Joe Origins movie. This is the suit he wore in the final act while the classic Snake Eyes helmet is something he wore in one of the very last scenes of this movie. While there are other Snake Eye Origins action figure, this is the one meant for collectors. The other ones, even the 5 and a half inch one is for kids. Of course, this is not the first G.I Joe Classified action figure released.

Likeness

While the Snake Eyes’ maskless face is based on actor Henry Golding, it is not the best take from him. Golding has softer and rounder features which are not seen in this action figure. I wonder is his face was based on a skinnier version of the actor who was training for the role, as opposed to the more fully figured face. The face does do justice to Golding’s natural beauty, unfortunately.

The body armour looks sweet and has the Snake Eye generic look we’ve grown used to. The bodysuit was used in the last act of the film while the helmet in one shot. I don’t like the helmeted head not because the sculpt is bad but because it is too angular. This is not a problem with the sculpt of the head as it is a representation of the movie’s sculpt.

Sculpt

There are shiny parts on Snake Eyes’s suit and more matte parts. The front torso does have a glued-on chest plate that’s made of rubbery plastic. Similar pads on each side of the thighs. It seems that they were designed to allow the knives to be inserted there but were scrapped in the tooling of the final action figure mould.

Snake Eyes is slenderer than the regular Classified version who is bulkier and muscular. Each part of Snake Eyes’s body hides a sculpted in texture that mimics the various fabrics comprising his suit. It is excellent work done by Hasbro’s designers that is well beyond the work done for other action figure lines in the same price and quality range.

The Snake Eyes helmet/mask is more angular than the regular Classified design. As for the Henry Golding head, it does not capture the boyish look of the actor and makes him look sterner, and much older. I find that the Henry Golding head is great of a custom Tunnel Rat, if you were looking for a good head sculpt for that character. The body of the figure, however, is not suitable for Tunnel Rat.

Paint

There is almost no paint on this action figure with the basic black plastic being the default colour except for the maskless head, and a bit of styling throughout the figure. For example, there are tiny red accents on his boots and the Arashikage logo on his left arm. The belt has silver paint, but it does not feel thick enough and will rub off easily.

The Henry Golding face is where you can see the five o’clock beard and details for his eyes and eyebrows. You can still see the pixels of the 3D paint, which is not desirable. The hair is painted black as it is not a separate piece from the head. The eyes and eyebrows are not dark enough and thus lack some contrast.

Scale

This Snake Eyes is about the same height as the original Classified Snake Eyes and a bit taller than the Storm Shadow of the same wave. He looks great next to other G.I. Joe Classified action figures and of course, Marvel Legends.

Stability

Snake Eyes is not the most stable. In my figure, his ankles are loose and so he falls often easily. If you adjust the ankles too high, he will fall forward; too low, he will fall backward. However, I found that the figure looks great on a 1:12 motorcycle, like that of the Baroness or Breaker’s.

Articulations

Snake Eyes has less articulations than other G.I. Joe Classified action figures because he lacks shin curls. However, his neck and heads have ball joints giving them a good range of motion and expressions. He has working butterfly joints. The shoulders can bend up to 75 degrees and can rotate. He has bicep curls and double elbow articulations. This figure does not have pinless joints, unfortunately.

Both wrists have the right bent for holding guns and bladed weapons. The wrists also rotate. The fingers have trigger indexes even though Snake Eyes comes without any guns. There is abdominal crunch, and the waist can twist and rotate from a ball joint. However, the top of the waist is moulded in softer plastic and forms a pocket around the abdomen. It looks and is odd when you twist the waist. It feels as if the abdominal was about to eject from the base of the waist. I don’t like that.

Like all Classified action figures, Snake Eyes comes with the dropdown hip articulations that allows him to do a full split and to raise his thigh up at 90 degrees. He also thigh curls, and double knee articulations that are very stiff. His ankles can bend up and down bit also rotate from a hidden ball joint.

Plastic

There seems to be some PVC and stronger hollow plastic underneath the torso plate of the figure.

Props

Snake Eyes comes with two huge knives with nice dirty silver paint. However, the knives were not directly featured in the movie, unless you count the knives, he used in the fish market. He also comes with his sword and the sheath that attaches to his back. The sheath has to be plugged in through his straps, but they will fall off easily. You may want to remove the straps and use it on another action figure instead. The painting on the sword and the sheath are very good with gold and silver accents.

Packaging

The packaging for the Snake Eyes Origin movie toys is different than the regular line. Snake Eyes’s Arashikage logo is featured inside. Instead of a group shot of G.I. Joe and Cobra characters in the back, or the Cobra Island, there is a picture of Snake Eyes from the movie. The side of the box also has a painting of Snake Eyes.

Cost

Snake Eyes and the other action figures in this wave were released just before Hasbro increased the price by a few dollars. You can find Snake Eyes in some places that have not adjusted their prices for $19.99 USD or $32.99 CAD if you are lucky.

Availability

Some online stores have not received their shipments of the first batch of Snake Eyes movie action figures. I got mine, as well as Storm Shadow and the Baroness at EB Games (now GameStop Canada). I have not seen many of these toys in stores and wonder if orders will pull through or if Hasbro will reduce its numbers.

The movie did not do well at all and surely, less collectors are interested in these toys. I wonder how characters like Akiko will do when released. Shang-Chi’s Kathy who was a peg warmer all summer but became a hot commodity in days after the movie came out because she was a breakthrough character. Akiko was not a breakthrough character in the Snake Eyes movie.

As for Snake Eyes, there are many Snake Eyes action figures which I find better, even in the Classified line. The original Classified Snake Eyes is great, and the new commando fills a gap for many collectors. The Henry Golding version feels like a lighter and less impressive version of the character.

I cannot predict if this figure will be very popular and thus difficult to find in a few months. My bet is that it will quickly become a peg warmer but will be bought off by Christmas. With such a figure, it is also important to remember that Hasbro will probably not release secondary batches in the future as the film failed. If you want this character, get him now.