Action Figure Review: Scarlett & T'jbang from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   Who's on the review schedule for today? How about some more Ninja Force? Target's exclusive sub-team this year is Ninja Force and their first exclusive, Zartan, was quickly followed by a two-pack with Scarlett and She Bangs T'jbang. Similar to last year's 2-pack of Slice & Dice, this set takes two vintage Ninja Force figures and tweaks them just enough to really make them work in the Classified Series, improving most faults from the vintage toys. Oh, and they also threw in some new alternate heads wearing crazy masks that just make these two must haves. I never owned the vintage versions of these two as a kid and while I liked the 1993 Street Fighter figures and the Hasbro produced Street Fighter movie line, I didn't really have many Ninja Force figures; just the Shadow Ninjas Bushido and Night Creeper. The Ninja Force line is really cooking, though, and I'm excited to check these two out. This set was kind of a pain to find and it's the only newly released set that I picked up on eBay this year. Ready to check out Scarlett and Teabag T'jbang? Then stealthily join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: David "Red Dog" Taputapu & Varujan "Taurus" Ayvazyan from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   I love Sgt. Slaughter's Renegades and I'm really excited to have this set which completes the trio first introduced in the 1987 G.I. Joe animated movie. Rather than release all three of the Renegades in one set, Hasbro released them in two sets with a Sgt. Slaughter variant. Sgt. Slaughter & Felix "Mercer" Stratton came out as a 2-pack in 2025 and 2026 has delivered us David "Red Dog" Taputapu & Varujan "Taurus" Ayvazyan as a 2-pack. Who are the Renegades? They're a motley crew of unconventional soldiers (an ex- Cobra Viper, a volatile former football player and stuntman, and a former circus strongman who worked undercover with INTERPOL) that perform missions "off the record." I love the lore that these guys are funded by a budget line item for "Pentagon Pest Control" and do stuff that's completely off the books with limited oversight. G.I. Joe is already a top secret special forces unit but the Renegades? They're something else entirely. Both figures in this set are extremely well done and come with a nice assortment of weapons. Ready to hang with the Renegades? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Hydro-Viper from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   Can you believe I basically knocked out a full series of G.I. Joe: Classified Series reviews in one week? I can't, either! Today I'm checking out the Hydro-Viper, the final figure in the summer 2026 single boxed series which also included Airtight, Sundown, Overkill, and Dawn Moreno/ Snake Eyes III. So... what exactly is a Hydro-Viper? I'm glad you asked. We've already had the Cobra Eel in the Classified Series along with the standard Cobra Diver (from the 2-pack with a Joe diver) but now we have the Hydro-Viper who is billed as an Elite Cobra Underwater Driver. What makes them so elite? Well, the Hydro-Vipers are Cobra Eels who have volunteered to a variety of surgical alterations that make them better equipped for underwater combat. Lung alterations, injections that give them more fat insulation, and the addition of webbed hands means that these guys are capable of feats that even your best trained diver can't achieve. Also known as the Demons of the Deep, the Hydro-Vipers were part of trend of augmented Cobra soldiers that would get more and more extreme over the years. The Hydro-Viper was part of the 1988 series, which I believe is the first year of the three best years of figure design in the vintage line (while not all of the characters are most memorable/ best written, 1988-1990 are peak in terms of accessories, designs, etc.). I had him as a kid and I always loved the spooky mask and the weird red duck fins. Oh, and he came with a Stingray. So does the Classified Series version and he's not even a deluxe figure! That's a relief. Hold your nose and jump in as we check out the Hydro-Viper after the break...

Action Figure Review: Snake Eyes (Dawn Moreno) from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   Today I'm checking out a newer take on an old classic: Snake Eyes, AKA Dawn Moreno. OK, so yes, this is definitely not the Snake Eyes who you probably remember most fondly. Instead, this is Dawn Moreno, a former student at Springfield High School (the town founded by Cobra) who caught the attention of Cobra Commander and the Baroness because of her athleticism. The brainwave scanner was used on her and Moreno was accidently implanted with the stored memories of the deceased Snake Eyes (he was dead in the comics at the time), causing her to end up with the memories, training, and experience of the ninja and commando and eventually leading to her having a part on the G.I. Joe team. Dawn Moreno was created by Larry Hama in the continuation of his Marvel comics G.I. Joe run during the IDW era and she is still part of the story in the current Skybound era. I'm not terribly familiar with most of the Larry Hama run post the #180s or so but I'm hoping that we start getting some more collected editions of the IDW and Skybound eras. I'm familiar with the character, though, as her introduction was a pretty big deal in comics and Joe lore, and I'm glad that Hasbro continues to both create new characters and draw on post vintage characters for the Classified Series rather than just sticking to the same roster from the 1980s and early 1990s. Ready to check out Snake Eyes/ Dawn Moreno? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Cobra Overkill from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   I'm moving through the summer series of single boxed G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures. I've now covered Airtight and Sundown so it's time to turn our attention to a Cobra: Overkill! Who is Overkill exactly? Well, there are a couple answers. The original 1989 figure (who was released as part of the Talking Battle Commanders subset) was an advanced prototype B.A.T. who was placed in charge of the other B.A.T.s. During the relaunch of the line (Generation 2), Overkill was now called Over Kill (with a space) in 2003 and was more of a cyborg with a human looking face. Well, a humanoid face, anyway. He was a popular character with six different releases between the G.I. Joe vs. Cobra and DTC eras. He even appeared in the cartoon and comics for G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 but never received an action figure in the line (though a prototype was developed). The most interesting thing that happened to Overkill, however, was in the pages of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic by Devil's Due Publishing. In that series in the early to mid 2000s, Overkill was revealed to be the code name of Robert Skelton, the SAW Viper who infamously gunned down Doc, Crankcase, Thunder, and Heavy Metal in issue #109 of Larry Hama's original Marvel run. Eventually, he was experimented on and turned into the cyborg we're most familiar with. 

   The vintage figure was rather bright and had one of the large talking backpacks. This time around, we've got a figure that largely adheres to the design of the vintage 1989 figure but with at least one nod to the cyborg nature of the second generation of A Real American Hero and some of the comic lore. Ready to check out Overkill? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Alejandro Balam "Sundown" Lunda Mendoza from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   In November I often play catch-up and try to review groups of figures from the same lines in a row. I'm starting off with the G.I. Joe: Classified Series because it's both my favorite ongoing action figure line and I've got a ton of them sitting on my desk waiting to be reviewed. It's entirely possible I might be reviewing G.I. Joe figures all November, so maybe I should just go ahead and call this Joe-vember, huh? Yesterday I reviewed Airtight from this same series of figures that released this oast summer and today I'm checking out Sundown, full name "Alejandro Balam "Sundown" Lunda Mendoza. Sundown is a new character created for the Classified Series and he's an absolute masterpiece. Interestingly, he does reuse a codename (Sundown) from Hasbro's vintage C.O.P.S. & Crooks line, though that seems to be the only connection. I loved  Long Range in G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 as he had something of a Western/ cowboy aesthetic, too, but this guy is on a whole 'nother level of coolness. Sundown is a bounty hunter and tracker from Xalapa, Mexico who works with G.I. Joe and is currently tracking down his twin brother, Salvador Ramon, who has been taken by Headman and the Lords of the Underworld. Yes, Headman, the enemy of the vintage D.E.F. Drug Elimination Force faction of G.I. Joe. Incredible! This guy is just amazing and I could easily see him being the Joe of the year. Let's take a look at Sundown after the break...

Action Figure Review: Airtight from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   
 Ready for another G.I. Joe: Classified Series review? Today I'm checking out Airtight, the last of the vintage single-carded 1985 G.I. Joe figures to be released in the Classified Series. Airtight was released during the height of the line's vintage popularity and so he appeared in the animated series and on lots of merchandise. Character-wise, though, he's not one of the most well known and well developed characters from that era. He does have a pretty useful function as a Chemical, Biological, and Radiological (CBR) warfare specialist. You've got to have someone willing to don a hazmat suit, right? Airtight may not be appropriate for every mission but he's absolutely someone you need to have on call. Ready to check out Airtight, real name Kurt Schnurr? Then join me after the break...