I have to follow up 1987's GIJOE team with the 1987 Cobra group.
I must say there is a lot of purple. And brown. The only guy in the mix that really blends with say, a 1986 Viper, is Big Boa. But that's just me. And it's still all good, but when thinking about how I always wanted a Cobra "blue" army... well, was there really that much "blue" to choose from? Battle armor Cobra Commander isn't here, either, I have a 2000 release of that figure, though.
I included the "sub-group" figure of Nemesis Enforcer in this picture (taken in 2009). That's the only "sub-group" figure I have for Cobra, and the figure doesn't do the GIJOE cartoon movie's Nemesis Enforcer justice. This is a figure I would like to get the 25th anniversary version of. A taller and more disproportionate (to the old-style toys) would make this character stand out. As is, he kind of feels like Serpentor's butler hanging in the background up there.
Of everybody else up there, I would say it's a toss up between Croc Master and the Techno-vipers for any use of Cobra's from 1987, or re-appearances, or discussions online. The Techno-vipers are pretty decent army builders and have a nice selection of wild accessories. These guys have become the techie-troopers of Cobra in some ways and seem to have a good acceptance by fans, myself included.
Croc Master reappeared, and that's why I think he comes to close to rivaling the Techno-vipers in popularity. The 1987 style mold isn't bad, it's a tough looking figure, he even made comic appearances. The 2005 Croc Master made it sound like their was a rivalry to be the number one Croc Master among many...something I didn't by into.
1987 had a good number of single named Cobras, but they don't really get much attention. They are fairly out-there characters. But I think they all have potential. Big Boa is the guy I think has the most potential. It's like Dress Blues Gung-ho (forgot about him...), this is Big Boa in training mode only. Look at the difference in Sgt. Slaughter from 1985's drill wrestler to the combat marine in 1988; much more useful. I have an earlier post elaborating on Big Boa and also on Raptor. Raptor, well, I'll say this figure is one that really needs an update.
Crystal Ball is near the bottom in most respects, too, all around. After playing the Command and Conquer Red Alert II/ Yuri's revenge, the character of Crystal Ball came alive inspired by that games's Yuri character. Yuri is a very bizarre guy, but mind controlling battlefield units or hypnotizing an opponent over the phone are some crazy feats. So, I've injected some of that games character into how I view Crystal Ball, but Crystal Ball is another guy that could use an update to reflect this more sinister angle of mind control/ hypnotism. I'm surprised that with the Zombie craze that Crystal Ball didn't pop up in at least a comic somewhere, experimenting with some black magic crazy powder from Haiti (see movie: "Serpent and the Rainbow"). Either way, as is, a fairly weak figure with a hologram shield = not very exciting.
I've mentioned the Techno-vipers, now for the rest of the new Viper-corps recruits in 1987.
In my collection, one can see the Sea Slugs taking up most of the back row. I'm still surprised I have this many of these guys myself. These were actually close to my most numerous army builder Vipers for years. Originally I had one Sea Ray, but the tabs that joined the two sections together snapped, now it became two vehicles permanently. And the canopy's hinges snapped so this is a vehicle that disappeared from my collection. And it seems a good buddy's Sea ray went the same way, but I inherited his Sea Slug figure. Past that, I have to do some personal research, but I really can't remember how I acquired the rest. Without the Sea Ray, these guys became deckhands on one of the Hydrofoils that I've had, or the Cobra Piranha operator. With one pistol and mostly a shade of red-purple, these guys only really had big biceps going for them. While I haven't been a huge fan of them, they really have something that appeals to me in hand that I can't explain. They are up-trained Eels, too... I think I used that info and battle-pack accessories to make them more diver-like to take on '86 Wet Suit back in the day....
I have found Gyro Vipers very useful for manning my Cobra FANG and Fang II's. I had one MAMBA for awhile, but the rotors were somewhat flimsy feeling and it had a snapped elevator, and it was big. With the open cockpit Fangs, these guys seem a natural fit and fairly well-suited for that open-air operation. I like the removable helmets quite a bit and their tan suits are fairly color neutral so it doesn't become an issue.
Of removable helmets, the Ice Vipers have this, too, and I think it is more interesting than their two ice picks. I guess this is a army builder that could be pretty close to being popular next to the Techno-vipers, but the Snow Serpent seems to reign more favored in snow-collections. A very environment specific Viper, much like snow Joes, only really fits in so many imaginative play-battle scenarios, where cool as they and Wolf vehicles are, kind of all end up sitting on a shelf more often than not. Still a nice figure, but with out my Wolf's, they have to go on foot for the time being and without any snow-shoes or skis they don't seem as action-oriented as either of the Snow Serpent versions.
That's leave's the WORMS. I had one very nice MAGGOT for a short time, I don't think I even got it in a picture, and one very nice WORMS (the one with the antenna in picture). I just didn't feel the need for a big artillery piece and another color scheme (light blue and yellow) to add to my non-uniform Cobra army. The WORMS was pretty cool, I thought he would be good to go with my HISS tanks, as they only had one Track Viper. With vehicles sold for cash, I bought two more WORMS with some of it, but I've been mostly on the fence with whether or not they look more higher ranking, more officer-looking than simply tank crew members. I very much like the removable helmets, a very tank-feeling feature on them, but, perhaps I can use them as the commander of a two-man tank? Do I need a commander in a two-man tank? So, where I thought I would get much more use out of these guys, it just hasn't happened..., yet.
1987 as a stand-alone Cobra year? It really seems like a specialty-heavy group to me, nothing that says huge force of something. IN many respects, this was almost more a vehicle year for Cobra with 4 Viper-corps "drivers."
Think Cobra had the upper hand over the Joes in 1987?