GI Joe 30th Anniversary: Cobra Trooper

With the 25th Anniversary of G.I. Joe, Hasbro gave collectors a very nice Cobra figure to army build - a new Cobra Trooper.  You see in the ranks of Cobra, you start off as a blue shirt grunt.  Then as you prove your mettle to the top ranks, the next rung on the ladder is that of a Viper.  While the Vipers look cool, it makes more sense that an army be built upon the backs of the grunts.  It makes sense that a lot of collectors I imagine gravitated to building their Cobra army with the various Cobra Troopers and Officers so I doubt there was any complaining when Hasbro released yet another Trooper under the 30th Anniversary banner.  Originally released under the Pursuit of Cobra banner, the figure was repackaged for the first wave of the 30th Anniversary series.

This Trooper retains the classic look with the Cobra blue and black.  I've never been into army building myself, but I didn't hesitate picking up this figure...when I could find it hanging on retail store pegs.

The faceless grunts seem to have a little more personality with the ability to remove their helmets.  If I were into doing dioramas this would be cool as you could have your Troopers chilling in the R&R hall inside the Technodrome.

I don't think of the blue shirts being that heavily armed, but the 30th anniversary figure comes loaded.  So much that I even misplaced a few of his weapons!  In addition to his rifle, RPG launcher and two suppressors, he also came w/ two pistols, a knife and a smaller brown & black rifle.

Hasbro really churned out some great figures during the Pursuit of Cobra / 30th Anniversary time frame.  It's a shame that there hasn't been any really good Joe figures available at retail for the last few years.  I wonder if we'll have to wait until the 35th Anniversary before we get anything non-movie related?