Last week, I promised you more GI Joe and today I am making good on that promise. Today we’re looking at a figure that has absolutely nothing to do with the 1990s, but it’s a figure I have a lot to say about anyway.

I’ve been mostly pretty excited about Super7’s recent foray into ARAH-style o-ring GI Joe figures. None of them have been perfect, but most of them have at least been pretty fun and interesting. Super7 is a company I have mixed feelings about, but each wave of their GI Joe ReAction+ line seems to be getting better. They’re at least taking fan feedback into account and learning from some of their mistakes.

Super7 is leaning way too heavily on Cobra Commander and Snake Eyes so far. We learned over the course of the entire 00s that making the same character again and again gets tedious and kills fan interest. In this case, though, I didn’t mind Super7 releasing a second Snake Eyes only three waves into the toy line.

You see, a proper purple Sunbow Snake Eyes is something of a dream figure for me. We’ve come close with a few releases in the past, but this one is actually the real deal– it was built from the ground up to represent the brand mascot’s cartoon appearance.

I was very excited to buy this figure and mess around with it. And, now that some months have passed since its release, I think I’ve finally gathered all of my thoughts.

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty on Super7’s 2025 GI Joe ReAction+ Snake Eyes figure.

2025 GI Joe ReAction+ Snake Eyes: A Dream Come True?

Even though it doesn’t really seem that way, we’re really in a golden age of 3 ¾” o-ring style figures. You don’t see many of them at retail and the collector community is both scattered all over the place and generally unpleasant, but the toys are there. We have more options for ARAH–style military/sci-fi action dolls than we have in more than a decade.

Hasbro’s “retro” o-ring and Transformers crossover lines have fizzled out, but you can still find some of those at various online retailers. Super7 is making o-ring Joes and Micronauts. They’ll be releasing Back to the Future and Universal Monsters in the o-ring style soon, too. Hasbro is also making some sporadic o-ring figures of other varieties, too, including the recent (and excellent) Ghostbusters Plasma Pack.

And that’s just the big dogs.

In the factory custom realm, The Black Major is venturing into weird territory he’s never approached before. He’s even making some figures to directly compete with Super7’s output. LadyJaye Toys is absolutely killing it with cool molds in fun color schemes that no one else has attempted. They’re a factory custom producer that I’m definitely keeping my eye on.

Then there’s the above-board indie toymakers, too. I’m very pleased with the two Delta-17 figures I’ve purchased so far– they’re the closest things to vintage 82-94 ARAH Gi Joe I’ve ever experienced. I also backed the Legends of the Hidden Force Kickstarter campaign, and I’ll be very pleased when (please be “when” and not “if”) those finally arrive. I’m also looking forward to both Operation Recall and Callsign Longbow, though I didn’t directly back either one.

And those are only some of your options.

So, it stands to reason that with such a bounty of Joe-related options, someone would finally release some figures I’ve been wanting for years. In 2025, three of my long-awaited dream figures have made their way into my hands.

Those three figures are LadyJaye Toys’ yellow Jinx (styled after Game of Death, Kill Bill, and possibly, if you squint, GI Joe: Retaliation), an unmasked Jinx from Super7, and the ReAction+ Sunbow Snake Eyes we’re looking at today.

So, about this Snake Eyes figure: I’ll try to keep this part brief because I’ve harped on about this before.

The old Sunbow cartoon was my first exposure to any GI Joe media. I had the figures before I ever saw either of the cartoon series or read the old Marvel comic. The Sunbow show was before my time, but I was occasionally able to catch reruns or rent episodes on VHS.

Snake Eyes was pretty much a non-entity in the cartoon past the first few miniseries. I never had a 3 ¾” Snake Eyes figure for most of my childhood and didn’t earnestly read the comic until much later, so I didn’t have much attachment to the character as a kid.

He did leave something of an impression on me, though. I thought he looked extremely cool in 1987’s GI Joe: The Movie, especially in the bombastic intro sequence. I loved his look with the grenades, sword, and knight-like visor. I also liked his purplish/bluish/greyish color scheme. There’s a reason why any version of Snake Eyes captures the imagination of young GI Joe fans.

Ever since I was a kid, that exact version of Snake Eyes was the one I always wanted.

The trouble is, it never really existed.

This rendition of Sunbow Snake Eyes is based off the second version of the figure, which was released in 1985. Snake Eyes v2 is probably the most iconic GI Joe figure of all time and fetches insane prices. It’s super popular and highly regarded.

It’s valid to love that figure. I totally get why it’s so universally heralded, but I’ve just always personally thought it was dorky as hell. Now that I actually own one, I still think that way (though I don’t actually hate it by any means).

I’ve written about this before, so I’ll keep it brief: I just don’t like the sculpted lips on the figure’s face or the slightly chubby torso (I’m not body shaming, as I also have a slightly chubby torso). That figure just does not live up to what I saw on the Sunbow cartoon, in the Marvel Comics, or even on the 85 figure’s own card art.

In the article I linked above, you’ll also see The Black Major’s original Purple Haze Invasor, which was his somewhat-convoluted first attempt at homaging Sunbow Snake Eyes. I had that figure and it met a tragic end.

There were many attempts to replicate the 85 design in the new sculpt and modern eras, and some of them were good. They just weren’t ARAH-style o-ring figures. Classified has done a few versions, as well, but I don’t collect that line so they don’t matter much to me.

But, this 2025 GI Joe ReAction+ Snake Eyes is an honest-to-god ARAH-style o-ring Sunbow Snake Eyes. The colors are great. The look is spot on. I could not buy it soon enough.

It is a Super7 figure, though, which comes with its own set of worries and expectations. Super7 is not known for consistency and is not always known for quality, either.

So let’s take a look at ReAction+ Sunbow Snake Eyes and see how the dice fall.

2025 GI Joe ReAction+ Snake Eyes Review

This 2025 Snake Eyes was part of wave 3 of Super7’s GI Joe ReAction+ action figure line. In contrast to their regular ReAction figure assortment, each ReAction+ figure features o-ring construction and is articulated like a classic ARAH figure. Whereas ReAction figures are meant as either nostalgia bait for people who loved their Walrusmen and Blue Snaggleteeth, as art toys, or as hunks of plastic to never be removed from their packaging, the ReAction+ figures are meant to compliment your old GI Joe collection.

Though I imagine some people still might never open them and simply see them as a way to gain social media clout or as an investment. Turbobarf.gif

Anyway, here’s the packaging, which I promptly ripped open:

In the past, I’ve said some good things about Super7’s packaging art. I don’t know if I can still stand by those niceties. Wild Bill, who was released in the same wave as Snake Eyes, had cart art that featured a six-fingered hand. That’s a tell-tale sign of AI generated “artwork” and I cannot abide by companies using AI trash for a commercial product. That’s especially true when Super7 has been laying off real, flesh and blood human employees (and talented ones at that). I have no way to prove whether this card art is AI generated or not, but the packaging is nothing special either way.

There’s the file card if you want to read it. It’s nothing new– basically just a condensed pastiche of older Hasbro Snake Eyes file cards. It could just be a ChatGPT summary, too, for all we know.

You’re also invited to build your own “mobile strike force,” which could feasibly consist of Cover Girl, Duke, and two different versions of Snake Eyes. The sheer variety is stunning!

With that out of the way here’s the figure, which I assume is not AI generated at all. We’re knee deep into a dystopian techno-feudalist hell, but once we start getting AI-made action figures, we’ll be up to our necks in nightmarish blockchain hellfire slop.

As far as I can tell, 2025 GI Joe ReAction+ Snake Eyes features a whole new sculpt. We’ll look at a comparison later, but I don’t think he shares a single part with the earlier wave 1 Snake Eyes, which is honestly a nice surprise. Though Super7 does their share of straight up repaints, they also tend to bring out fully new sculpts when they don’t absolutely have to. And that’s something I respect.

I think Super7 is still kind of breaking the chains of their earlier 5-POA ReAction format, but they’re getting closer and closer to approximating the magic of vintage ARAH GI Joe. The sculpting of the figure is a little bit too soft in some areas, especially on the lower arms and upper legs.

The full package still works really well, though. The head sculpt is spot-on to the Sunbow look and features some great sculpting and paintwork. The coloration is just about exactly where I want it to be– it’s more on the purple side of things, while still being pretty dark and muted. While I like a more vibrant purple, Snake Eyes usually appeared as a sort of purple-grey in the cartoon, and sometimes even looked a little bit more blue than purple. This is a nice compromise and it’s instantly recognizable.

ReAction+ Sunbow Snake Eyes has some other nice details, too. The grenades on the chest look great. On his right side, he has his wrist-mounted dart gun (which looks like a tiny arrow here, something I kind of like), a really nicely painted pistol and holster, some painted pouches, belts, straps, and boot covers. There’s not a huge amount of color variety, but everything is separated nicely and the colors were smartly chosen.

The left side features more pouches, straps, and a knife and sheath, which is another well-painted detail.

The back of the figure doesn’t feature any new details, but at least the belts and straps are painted the whole way around. Mine has a little pink scuff on his upper back. I don’t really mind that since it’s not too noticeable and I’m not even sure where it came from. Maybe the figure was cast in pink plastic and painted over? Or maybe he stopped off at the My Little Pony factory on his way to my house. If Snake Eyes could talk, he’d surely have some stories to tell me.

(Sorry for the blurry photo but this crappy sword doesn’t deserve a retake)

I’ve already done my share of grousing in this review, but now I’m about to shift my complaining into overdrive. The accessory loadout for the figure is absolutely pathetic. He comes with one single stubby, underwhelming sword. The blade is at least painted silver (it’s flimsy paint, though, as mine already has a scratch), but it just isn’t enough for a $20-24 figure.

If the sword was nicer and actually had a sheath, that would probably be good enough. But it’s not and it doesn’t. Snake Eyes never really used his sword in the Sunbow cartoon. Except maybe to cut some evil vines and/or tentacles in The Movie. With that in mind, Super7 could have at least sculpted a sheath backpack (something I think they’re more than capable of), since the sheathed sword gives Snake Eyes his iconic Sunbow silhouette.

For what it’s worth, he does hold the sword just fine in his right hand.

Super7 is notoriously stingy with accessories for its ReAction and ReAction+ figures. Both the ReAction and ReAction+ BATs have a ton of great stuff, but no one else has. At least figures like Duke, Cover Girl, and Wild Bill all got weapons that were “good enough.” I don’t think anything about this Snake Eyes’ accessory allotment is anywhere close to good enough.

In the cartoon, Snake Eyes mostly used the standard issue laser rifle and pistol. Super7 already has those sculpted, so there’s really no excuse to not include at least one of them with this figure. I’m still pretty unhappy about it.

To that end, I bought a $7 ReAction Snake Eyes from the original Sunbow miniseries as a weapons pack DLC for this figure.

This commando-style ReAction figure came with the typical Sunbow laser pistol and the laser pistol Snake Eyes used in the first cartoon miniseries. Though I’d prefer the later laser pistol (as seen in later Sunbow seasons and GI Joe: The Movie), these accessories were better than just a crappy sword. $7 isn’t cheap for a couple of small plastic weapons, but I feel this proper o-ring Sunbow Snake Eyes deserves better than he got.

The laser rifle looks great and fits perfectly in the figure’s right hand. It’s also a sturdy, high-quality accessory. I have no worries about it warping or breaking.

The pistol looks more like a raygun than what I typically associate with most of Sunbow’s run, but it is a fun design and the figure can hold it somewhat-loosely in his right hand or firmly in his left hand.

I also tried a few other accessory combos with 2025 GI Joe ReAction+ Snake Eyes. First up, I tried the sword and uzi from the wave 1 Snake Eyes. He holds them both pretty well. These are cool accessories and I think he looks pretty good with them. Wave 1 Snake Eyes’ blue backpack clashes with this figure, though, which doesn’t matter because it can’t really sheath the sword anyway.

I also tried the original 1985 Snake Eyes’ backpack, sword, and uzi. ReAction+ Snake Eyes cannot grip the sword at all, grasps the uzi loosely, and the backpack needs some poster tack to stay plugged into his back. These didn’t work out super well, though they do look pretty good with him.

With the (lack of) accessories out of the way, let’s get into some comparisons.

Here he is with the ReAction+ wave 1 Snake Eyes from 2024. That figure was billed as a “comic book version” of the character, but features blue highlights that make him resemble the original Joe Vs. Cobra Snake Eyes.

As I said above, I was surprised that the 2025 figure is an all new sculpt, but I’m glad he is. The newer Snake Eyes features sharper sculpting and better proportions. The torso shape on the wave 1 figure is a bit strange, and you really notice it when you have the two figures side by side.

The two figures largely hit all of the same details, at least in broad strokes.

They both feature the wrist dart, pistol, and knife. They both have the chest bandolier with grenades. And, most importantly, they both feature the cool knight-style visor. They each accomplish the look in very different ways, though.

I like the wave 1 Snake Eyes pretty well, all things considered, but this Sunbow version from wave 3 is better in every single way except accessory loadout.

Here’s the figure with Super7’s ReAction Sunbow Snake Eyes from 2022. I obviously prefer the more articulated o-ring version, but the 5 POA one looked pretty good, too. I think the new one gets the color a little bit better, though.

Just for fun, here’s the figure with The Black Major’s original miniseries Sunbow Snake Eyes from sometime earlier on this decade. If you know the exact release year, please feel free to tell me.

And, finally, here’s ReAction+ cartoon Snake Eyes along with the original 1985 Snake Eyes v2 figure from Hasbro. You can see where all of the details for the Sunbow design come from. The sculpting on the old Hasbro toy is clearly superior in most every way, but I like the overall look of the Super7 version much, much more. The lack of pervert Power Ranger lips does wonders for this new figure.

2025 GI Joe ReAction+ Snake Eyes is a very solid figure overall. The plastic is good and the build quality is excellent. There are no loose joints, there’s no o-ring pull, and the figure easily takes any pose I want to put him into. The purple coloration also gives this toy a great sense of whimsy, which I find quite valuable when it comes to my silent, unkillable ninja commando murder machines.

I have my gripes when it comes to this figure’s lack of good accessories and I think the sculpt could be sharper, but I found myself posing and playing with the figure often over the past couple of months. That means I’m pretty dang happy with it.

In my review of the 2000 Real American Hero Collection Snake Eyes, I gave my take on the character’s role and personality. In short, he’s a haunted and traumatized man who is married to his job. He throws himself fully into his work and lets his role as GI Joe’s deadliest member define him. He loves the praise and accolades that come along with his accomplishments, but doesn’t let himself get close to many other people, including his teammates. He sometimes exhibits a mischievous sense of humor, but is mostly a guarded, distant person who only thinks about his job.

The Sunbow version of the character is decidedly different. Snake Eyes never took on much of a starring role in the old cartoon, which is understandable because Snake Eyes can’t speak, and also because his particularly violent talents don’t really sync up with a 30 minute toy commercial meant for young children.

I tend to like his characterization in the show, though. The most action he ever got was fighting a polar bear, meeting an old man of the forest, and trying to heroically sacrifice himself to get rid of some radioactive material a la Spock in The Wrath of Khan. He also had a crossdressing Boy George/Cyndi Lauper adventure with Shipwreck, which was a total delight.

Sunbow Snake Eyes seemed happy to play second fiddle. He was a go with the flow type of guy, happy to play along with an unserious person like Shipwreck’s ill-advised antics. He was happy to lend his considerable talents to whatever strange caper was at hand. He was never the main character, but he was a guy you always wanted at your back when you were facing Lovecraftian Horrors, time traveling to ancient Egypt, or trying to stop Cobra from rigging the Columbus, Ohio scratch-off ticket lottery.

Snake Eyes’ Sunbow portrayal omits all of the character’s considerable trauma and his deep backstory. On one hand, that is an injustice to the character. On the other hand, though, most of those things would not be appropriate for a kids’ cartoon, especially one as silly as the old Sunbow show.

To me, this figure doesn’t necessarily only represent the Sunbow cartoon. I’m glad it has that look, as it’s one I’ve always wanted in an action figure. I just see this figure as just a fun, cool-looking version of the Snake Eyes character. The coloration and design steer it towards the whimsical side of things, but it’s also realistic and subdued enough that I can just use it as a general purpose Snake Eyes that really pops in photos.

Though it will never replace 1991 Snake Eyes as my absolute favorite, this is the one I’ll use when I want to fight various aliens, robots, or Cobra-La weirdos.

To that end, I finally have one of my dream GI Joe figures. Though it has some shortcomings and Super7 could be doing better in general, I am not at all disappointed. Lack of accessories aside, this is what I’ve always wanted.

Overall: Though I did complain about some of Super7’s business practices, price points, lack of consistency, and stinginess when it comes to accessories, I’m very happy with the 2025 ReAcrtion+ Snake eyes figure itself. The design and colors are top notch. It’s basically a perfect representation of the Sunbow version of the character. The build quality is great, too. If you like the look and are willing to find the figure some better accessories, it’s Recommended.

Closing Thoughts on 2025 GI Joe ReAction+ Snake Eyes

Super7 just released wave 4 of their ReAction+ line, and they’ve finally switched to ball jointed heads for their figures. The first three waves all featured swivel heads, which do seem to be largely compatible with most 82-85 (and later repaint era) Joe figures. From what I’ve tried, Super7 ball joint heads will work on 85-94 Joe figures, but the Hasbro ball joint heads won’t fit in Super7 bodies without some serious modification.

Do with that info whatever you will.

Super7 is sometimes a tough one for me. For everything about them I really like, there’s also something I find either puzzling or aggravating. For now, though, I’m all in on their ReAction+ GI Joe line, minus some hard-to-get exclusives.

They did, after all, make this beautiful purple Snake Eyes figure in o-ring form, which is something I’ve wanted for nearly my entire life.

Anyway, have you dipped into the ReAction+ line? If so, what are your thoughts? What was Snake Eyes’ best moment in the old Sunbow cartoon? Let me know in the comments!