Well, I did a bad thing. I saw Eric of Toys and Tomfoolery’s Instagram post about the Super7 ReAction BAT and I instantly wanted one. And then I needed a few more to even out shipping costs. And then I saw Sunbow Snake Eyes on sale somewhere else and bought him because I wanted his laser pistol.

So here we are.

If you’ll remember, I wrote a post about these things when Super7 announced the line. My take wasn’t all negative, but I did question why they exist. And I still kind of do. After all, they’re the same size as the classic GI Joe figures we all love, but have greatly reduced articulation and a miniscule amount of accessories. Plus, they’re $20 each. But I did it anyway.

I also bucked the trend by opening these figures, playing with them, and trying to find a spot for them within a larger GI Joe collection.

Here are my thoughts.

Before we get into the individual figures I bought, some observations.

Remember several years ago when you’d see a ReAction Terminator Endoskeleton already broken within its packaging? Well, don’t worry. They’ve stepped up their game quite a bit here. The figures are all sturdy, well made, and very nice for what they are. The fit and finish (especially the colors and paint) get high marks. The accessories are mostly good, too.

They all have five points of articulation, in theory. One has more, one has less. They all stand up perfectly well and hold their weapons just fine.

Let’s start out with everyone’s favorite crossdressing ninja super commando, Snake Eyes.

2022 Super7 GI Joe ReAction Snake Eyes Review

First, let’s talk about the Super7 GI Joe ReAction packaging. Most people who buy these toys keep them carded, so Super7 tends to do a very nice job on the packaging.

I feel like the presentation for these GI Joe figures is “just okay” instead of “stellar,” though.

For instance, here’s the packaging for the ReAction MOTU Shadow Weaver. The card art itself is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and the entire package just looks sophisticated and brilliant.

On the other hand, here’s the card for Snake Eyes:

The artist did a good job. That is, if nothing else, a very well-rendered image of Snake Eyes dressed in blue. But the packaging just tries so hard to fit in with the early 80s GI Joe motif that there’s nothing special about it. We’ve seen so much of this from so many brands that it’s just background noise. The character art itself is good, but the rest is just uninspiring. It’s all just beige-flavored nostalgia.

Here’s the back of the card:

Hey, at least you get a file card with these. That’s more than Hasbro does at this point, so Super7 should get some credit for that. The rest of the card back is competent but boring.

I’m not a carded collector, though, so I ripped this thing open right away.

Here’s the figure:

Now I did technically buy this figure for the laser pistol. But I also love Snake Eyes’ Sunbow look, especially once he switched to the 1985 costume. It streamlines the design, gets rid of the unsightly lips, and renders the whole thing in a lovely purplish-blue. I wish this figure was a bit more purple and a lot more vibrant, but this still looks good to me. The paint is sharp and it looks exactly how a Sunbow Snake Eyes should.

As I’ve always said, I love a purple or blue Snake Eyes. And this one is especially welcome since my Black Major Purple Haze Invasor crumbled to dust (which was my fault).

The right side of the figure has some cool sculpted elements, like a holstered pistol and the character’s trademark wrist-mounted dart gun, which I don’t think he ever used once in the cartoon or comic.

The left side of the figure features some pouches and a knife. It’s not bad, but it’s not remarkable.

The back of the figure looks good and I like the sheathed sword. It makes the toy’s silhouette more interesting and is generally well done.

But it also brings us to our first real problem with one of these figures.

This is how the figure was marketed:

As you can see, the promo images show the figure coming with both a sword and a laser pistol. Now, look at the packaged photos above. The sword is in the sheath when you open the figure. And, as hard as I’ve tried, the sword does not come out of the sheath.

So, this figure effectively only has one accessory instead of the promised two accessories. I get that shit happens, but it’s probably something Super7 needs to address or make a statement about.

A couple of people on social media did tell me the sword is technically removeable, but it’s best to leave it where it is. The sword is a separate piece, but the plastic feels like it’s going to tear if you remove the sword from its holder. The pieces were either sealed together with paint or heat, making it nearly impossible to remove. And, if you do remove it, you’re left with a wavy, bendy mess that can’t be sheathed again.

So yeah, that’s disappointing. It doesn’t make the figure useless or whatever– it’s not like you’re going to get it into any dynamic sword-wielding poses, after all. But it’s still a let down and very misleading on Super7’s part.

The laser pistol is beautiful though, and is the Sunbow-style laser gun I’ve always wanted. Here is the figure, all geared up.

To my knowledge, no prior Hasbro or Super7 figure has included this exact laser pistol design and I love that it finally exists.

I strongly associate this gun with Snake Eyes, Shipwreck and Flint. And since Shipwreck has never had a good weapon and this Snake Eyes figure isn’t making it into my normal GI Joe roster, I immediately gave the pistol to Shipwreck.

And it rules. This is the weapon he will keep for the rest of my life.

Anyway, here’s the Super7 ReAction Snake Eyes compared to a Black Major version of the 85 mold in somewhat similar colors. It was the best comparison I could make.

I think the Super7 figure looks better in every way. But it’s underarticulated and can’t even use its attached sword. I hope Hasbro redoes Snake Eyes v2 in its current Retro Collection with Sunbow colors and a new, lipless head sculpt. Until then, this is the figure that represents Sunbow Snake Eyes in my collection.

Verdict: Great design, paint, and colors. The whole sword thing is disappointing. The laser pistol is fantastic. At the very low end of Mildly Recommended.

2022 Super7 GI Joe ReAction Shipwreck Review

We were just talking about Shipwreck, so why not tackle the ReAction version next?

I love Shipwreck and he is one of the best characters in the old Sunbow cartoon. In that way, I’m never opposed to having another version of the character, especially one explicitly based on the cartoon. But, honestly, this is another figure I mostly bought for the accessories.

Here’s the packaging:

Again, the character illustration is quite nice. I have no complaints there. My comments about the overall presentation being kind of boring goes for all of these, though.

It’s nice to have a file card, but it would be cool if Super7’s copywriters made these more specific to the cartoon versions of the characters rather than just taking the old Hasbro file card text. Still, the file card lets you know who the character is, which is something missing from most modern toy lines.

Here’s the figure:

It looks like a classic Shipwreck to me! There’s even a bit of the character’s cantankerous swagger sculpted into the face– it has a bit more personality than the average ReAction figure. The yellow strap on the waist also gives the toy a very welcome pop of color.

On the right side of the figure, you’ll see a holstered pistol that’s painted pretty nicely.

On the left side of the figure, you’ll see Shipwreck’s forearm tattoo, which is some sort of stylized grappling hook anchor, along with his rank chevrons. It’s all clean and crisp and looks just fine.

There’s nothing exciting on the back of the figure, but did we expect there to be?

Now, for the accessories. Super7 ReAction Shipwreck comes with a percussion cap  pistol, Polly, and a grappling hook with attached rope.

I don’t love the percussion pistol. The sculpt is fine, but I’m not sure why they included it. 1985’s Shipwreck also came with a percussion cap pistol, and it’s one of the dumbest accessories in the entire vintage GI Joe toy line. I get that the sculptors and designers were having a bit of fun with it, but it makes absolutely no sense within the context of GI Joe. I’m bummed they didn’t just give Shipwreck the same laser pistol as Snake Eyes, or even the Snow Job-style Sunbow laser rifle.

Polly is nicely painted. There’s a peg on his foot that fits into a hole on Shipwreck’s shoulder, and he stays there quite well. It’s nice to have a Shipwreck toy with a bird friend that can actually perch on his shoulder. No complaints there.

The rope and hook is also pretty good. The rope itself feels nice and sturdy, and I’m surprised they didn’t just mold a coiled rope out of plastic. ReAction Shipwreck does have a little hook for the rope on his right hip, but I cannot get it to work with the accessory at all. You could maybe wrap the rope around his chest and then secure the grapple on the hip hook, but I didn’t try.

Here he is, all geared up:

I did find a great use for the rope and hook, though. My 85 Shipwreck only has half of his rope accessory, so I was hoping to use this one with him. And, luckily, the little loop on the bottom of the grapple fits perfectly onto Shipwreck’s waist-hook– all you have to do is wrap the rope around the grapple, and it looks great! I am thrilled with how this turned out.

I guess these Super7 purchases kind of ended up being a paid DLC for Hasbro’s 1985 Shipwreck, didn’t they? What can I say, I love that figure.

Here’s a comparison with the original:

I ended up liking this figure pretty well. I’m sure we’ll see a Sunbow version in Super7’s Ultimates line, but it’s pretty rare to just get a straight up “classic” version of the character these days. I also found a good use for the figure, too– he’s manning my Devilfish for the foreseeable future, which frees ARAH Shipwreck up for all sorts of activities.

Verdict: A nicely done figure with two great accessories and one bunk accessory. He makes a good vehicle driver, and he’s a pretty decent purchase for anyone who likes the character. Mildly Recommended.

2022 Super7 GI Joe ReAction Female Cobra Trooper Review

One thing Super7 does very well with its GI Joe ReAction line is releasing toys that Hasbro would never bother with. These are usually deep cuts like Joes disguised as Snakelings, Sentry Robots, and villain-of-the-week henchmen from the old cartoon. They also release army builders Hasbro might never bother with, too. They’ve done Snakelings, Greenshirts, Sailors, Female Combat Engineers, and a few other groups.

And Super7 also understands that armies aren’t made up of clones, so they make sure to release army builders with different skin tones, hair colors, and hair styles. That way you can make your army a little more interesting and realistic.

I decided to test out that theory with their female Cobra Troopers, which are part of the same wave as Shipwreck, the BAT, and Cover Girl.

We’ll go in-depth with the first one I opened, which is a white woman with medium length red hair. You’ll also see a black woman with short hair and a white woman with long blonde hair, but the bodies and heads are all the same here– only the hair and skin tones are different. So we’ll do a deep dive with Redhead Trooper here and then show you the other two last.

Here’s the packaging:

The character art is good, but I wanted the file card to be a bit more interesting. Oh well!

Here’s the figure:

Overall, the colors and paint are fantastic. And while the sculpt is a bit simplistic, it gets the point across just fine. This figure looks exactly like a Sunbow Cobra Trooper. The shade of blue they chose is basically perfect.

I only photographed the figure’s right side, as it has as empty knife sheath or pistol holster sculpted on it. I’m not sure why it’s empty, but whatever. There’s nothing of interest sculpted on the figure’s left side.

The back of the figure looks like you’d expect it to, but it is nice to see the hair peeking out of the helmet. That’s a nice touch.

The female Cobra Trooper army builders come with different weapons. There are three types– Sunbow laser rifle, Sunbow laser pistol, and… M-16. I got two with laser rifles and one with an M-16. I wish I’d gotten a laser pistol instead.

I like the classic Sunbow laser rifle this figure comes with. It’s an iconic weapon and she holds it perfectly. The sculpt is softer than what we saw with the Hasbro 25th Anniversary version, but it still looks great.

As you can see, it even looks decent with an ARAH Cobra Trooper (this is the new Retro Collection version). It should be easily useable by any Cobra Trooper or Viper with softer plastic hands.

Now, onto the black woman with short hair.

The package art is slightly different, but is just a palette swap. The back of the card is identical for all of these troopers.

I really like the look of this figure, again. She uses the same sculpt as the other two troopers, but her eyes and skin tone look great.

Here she is:

The M-16 is bad. It’s awkwardly sculpted and probably a bit too large, plus it came warped right out of the packaging. Since the weapon is made of hard plastic, straightening it out won’t be easy, either. I might not even try, as the weapon doesn’t even look good enough to be worth the effort.

Here you can see this figure’s short hair. I wanted one figure with each hair length and color, as I think that was the best way to experience the full breadth of Super7’s army builders without buying all 9 of them or whatever.

Here’s blondie’s card:

Again, I think the figure looks nice. The bright yellow hair really pops against the blue uniform. She also holds her cool laser rifle without any issues.

She does have some imperfections with the paint on her mask, which I feel is almost unforgivable for a $20 figure with very few paint apps. I ordered these online, so it’s a bummer to know that you might still get some QC issues on figures that are as simple as this.

Here you can see the “long hair” sculpt, which is very striking in this bright yellow color.

Okay, let’s move onto some comparisons. Here’s Medium Red with a convention exclusive Cobra Trooper (v54, according to YoJoe), released in 2007. These troops are commonly known as “Night Stalkers.”

The Supper7 Cobra Troopers look better in every single way. If you disagree with me, you’re wrong. The Night Stalkers have weird proportions, a terrible o-ring pull that makes them hard to pose, ill-fitting helmets, and that honestly fucking ridiculous corset that leaves their upper backs bare. Who thought that was a good idea? Bonk. One million years horny jail.

The Super7 troopers don’t have good articulation and they are not o-ring figures, but they look a hell of a lot better than whatever the Collectors Club was doing in 2007.

They also look great as a group.

I find that they look good in photos (probably mostly in background roles) and fit in well enough with ARAH-style Joes, if you can overlook the difference in design. Here’s a comparison with a 2022 Retro Collection Cobra Trooper.

The female Super7 GI Joe ReAction figures are a bit shorter than their male counterparts, so they aren’t taller than ARAH figures. That helps them fit in more nicely. I think these two look good together, and I thought the short haired trooper looked good with Retro Collection Cobra Commander in the photo at the beginning of this section.

Also, they make a pretty good HISS crew. I’m finding more and more that these ReAction figures make pretty good vehicle operators.

Verdict: These turned out pretty good, especially for what they are. They blow the previous 2007 3.75″ female troopers out of the water in every category except articulation. I’d say be wary of the M-16, but the laser rifle is great. These figures are, again, Mildly Recommended.

2022 Super7 GI Joe ReAction BAT Review

Now onto the figure that started it all and made me write this in the first place– the 2022 Super7 GI Joe ReAction BAT!

Here’s the card:

The card art on this one is probably my favorite of the batch, but my earlier thoughts on the overall design still apply. Very cool illustration, though.

Here’s the figure:

Just look at him! Super7 went above and beyond in terms of sculpting and paint on this one. Clearly, someone at S7 is very passionate about BATs, because this one received a ton of attention.

I love the red visor and head shape. I also adore the sculpted interior details, which are covered with a bit of clear plastic for added depth. If you’re not going to go with a lenticular hologram sticker, this is the way to do it. The yellows really pop and the silvers are very shiny. There are plenty of details to be found, including grenades, belt loops, and mechanical detailing.

There’s not much more to see on the right side of the figure, other than the great sculpting of the exposed robot arms and a little pouch on the leg.

The left side is a bit more interesting, as it has an empty holster and a great looking Cobra emblem inside a yellow circle.

The back looks good, but mostly just continues the sculpted elements from the front.

This figure’s accessory count makes it even more stacked. It includes a rifle, a pistol, a claw attachment, a flamethrower attachment, a laser attachment, a backpack to hold all of the attachments, and two removeable hands. That’s a lot!

Here it is equipped with everything:

I’m not sure what the rifle is referencing. It does look like a simplified Viper rifle, but I mostly remember the BATs using the laser rifle weapon we saw above with the Cobra Troopers in the Sunbow cartoon. I like Sunbow a lot (it was my first exposure to GI Joe, as far as media goes) and I’ve seen every episode, but I’m not an expert. I don’t really tend to re-watch many things, though, and this rifle could be an obvious thing I’ve forgotten.

The pistol can be held nicely in either hand, too.

But it can also slide right into that empty holster without an issue! I was very surprised by that, and it’s an example of Super7 really going the extra mile with this figure.

Here’s the backpack, which easily and securely holds all of the attachments. It can’t store the hands you’re not using, which is a bummer, but all of the weapons fit in nicely.

Now, onto the attachments. Both of the BAT’s hands are removeable, and you can use the three attachments with either arm. Both the hands and weapons are easy to both attach and remove, and everything stays in place securely.

The clamp!

Fire bad! Fire bad!

Pew pew!

DUAL WIELDING

My only real problem with these attachments is that they look a bit too small on the arms. They did need to fit inside the figure’s backpack, though, so I understand why they were designed this way. Regardless of any nitpicks, they work well and the play value is off the charts.

Here’s the Super7 ReAction BAT compared to the 1986 Hasbro BAT:

The Super7 figure is a bit larger, but they do look good together. I think these figures would look fantastic placed in the background of ARAH-focused photos, and you could probably find a ton of foreground uses for them, as well. I also love that the red visor gives them a different look than the original BATs, so you could make up a reason why both of them exist in your little GI Joe world, too.

Overall, I am extremely impressed with this figure. It’s a great representation of a Cobra BAT, despite the limited articulation. But I did mention above that one of these figures has more than 5 POA, and this is the one. The wrists swivel! That’s not a world changing point of articulation, but every bit helps.

Verdict: Even if you can’t find a way to work this into your ARAH collection, it’s an excellent BAT. And beyond that, it’s just an excellent toy. The numerous accessories, well-executed play features, and beautiful design really make this figure feel like it’s worth $20. This is just a great toy in so many ways, and it’s Highly Recommended to fans of BATs and killer androids in general.

2022 Super7 GI Joe ReAction Cover Girl Review

This Cover Girl figure is another example of Super7 doing something that Hasbro hasn’t done. And something they probably never will do. This figure depicts Cover Girl as she appeared in the Sunbow MASS Device miniseries, which presented a wildly different look than her 1983 action figure from Hasbro.

If Super7 does something new and interesting like this, the high price tag and reduced articulation start to bother me a lot less.

Here’s the card:

You know the drill– nice illustration, boring packaging.

The figure:

Cover Girl is pretty much the spitting image of her early Sunbow self. She has long, blonde hair, a brown shirt, green pants, and a green jacket. It’s not a very exciting color scheme, but that pretty much lines up with early GI Joe characters and how they were depicted in cartoons and comics. Except Snake Eyes, who got to be purple, which is pretty rad.

The face sculpt is softer than I’d like, but it still looks good. Her blue eyes are vibrant and she sort of has an anime character look about her, albeit in a subtle way.

On the figure’s right side, we see some straps that don’t seem to attach to anything. Hmm.

On the figure’s left side, we see a molded pouch and some sort of gizmo strapped to her leg, both in grey. Paint is good.

From the back, you can see Cover Girl’s long, luscious locks. The hair sculpt is good, but it renders her head articulation completely useless. It’s a little disappointing, but that’s pretty common with toys like this who have long hair.

Cover Girl only comes with one accessory, which is Super7’s rendition of Stalker’s M-32 Pulverizer SMG. I’m sure she was depicted with this weapon multiple times over the years, though I don’t recall exactly where. But it looks good and she holds it well.

Here you can see the Habsro version (top) compared to the Super7 version (bottom):

I would have preferred Cover Girl to come with the classic Sunbow laser rifle, but this is something different and Super7 did a pretty nice job without just outright stealing Hasbro’s gun mold.

Here’s Super7 Cover Girl compared to the 1983 Hasbro version:

Honestly, I like both figures. GI Joe collectors have been crowing about Cover Girl being “too ugly” ever since I discovered the internet, but I don’t think that’s fair. I think Hasbro’s Cover Girl looks like a real person, which I consider a huge plus. Regardless, it’s not Hasbro’s fault that you didn’t find their early 80s army doll fuckable enough. It was a toy made for small children, not an object of lust made for lonely adult nerds.

Super7 Cover Girl has a great look, though, which is more in line with her various media appearances. This figure makes a fantastic vehicle driver for that reason. I don’t have a Wolverine, but she fits into the Sonic Boom Tank (see above) perfectly. So, if you want a different version of Cover Girl to drive your Wolverine, this one should work out nicely.

Verdict: This is a nice looking figure that represents something new, but it’s not all that exciting on its own. If you’re willing to use it as a vehicle driver and integrate it into your larger ARAH collection, though, it is Recommended.

Closing Thoughts on these Super7 GI Joe ReAction Figures

So, yeah. I didn’t really expect to ever buy these, but I’m not mad that I did. Objectively, these probably aren’t even meant to be opened, let alone photographed or played with. But, in hand, I found them fairly fun to mess around with. And they were easier to integrate into my GI Joe collection that I thought they would be.

I think if Super7 ever does some more interesting things, like say a Hector Ramirez or Cold Slither (with instruments they can actually hold), I’ll be there to buy them. I’ll probably get at least one more BAT, too.

But these are still overpriced and don’t really hold a candle to classic ARAH figures. Still, I appreciate that Super7 has such clear passion for GI Joe, and they’re willing to experiment and innovate, even within the confines of $20 5 POA figures.

I was talking to my pal RTG from Attica Gazette the other night, and we both determined that these figures sting a lot less when you can easily buy perfectly good new o-ring GI Joe figures right from Hasbro. They’re basically the same price as these, too, and come with way more accessories. That new Cobra Commander is very nice.

So really, now everyone can be happy– people who want to display unopened toys on their walls, people who love the realism and and incredible articulation of the 6″ figures, people who want their perfect cartoon representations with Super7’s Ultimates, and people who just want to mess around with the ARAH-style, o-ring figures they’ve loved for years.

For the first time in a long time, it really feels like a good time to be a GI Joe fan. And, really, it wouldn’t hurt if we all branched out a bit and tried something outside of our wheelhouse.

 

So, what do you think of these ReAction figures now? Did this article change your mind one way or another? Let me know in the comments!