Review by Fred Meyer & Chris Chung
Pics by Fred Meyer
 

 

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

The early days of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero era were strongly influenced by the Cold War that dominated the political landscape of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.  Cobra was the stand-in for the Communist bloc nations whose nuclear arsenal all-but-ensured that an actual shooting war would be a circumstance of last resort, both for the parties involved and for the entire world.  It was an era in which both sides maintained large military forces “just in case” and when pride in our armed forces ran high.  However, in the 90’s the vast Soviet Union began to weaken and the once-powerful “enemy” became a bit more fallible.  Well, Putin seems to be intent on fixing that…   Yet, G.I. Joe needed a foe which justified its existence and so Cobra took tasks that were more topical to the times.  As such, a period was born in which Cobra was less concerned with ruling the world through brute force and instead focused on damaging the world through excessive pollution.  Such was the era of  Cesspool and the Cobra Toxo-Vipers.  While the former was released as part of FSS 2.0 the latter group remained decidedly absent-- until the Zombie Initiative reared its undead head at the 2014 G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention.  Were these Cobra HAZMAT operatives worth the wait or were they just a return to the heady environmentalist sentimentalities of the 90’s?  “Of the 90’s”, we’re still being told that every day now, after all, environmental alarmism is a very lucrative lobby group.  Read on and find out the opinions of two Joe fans-- if you dare!

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-ViperG.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

The Cobra Toxo-Vipers originally came in two distinctly different flavors:  1988 and  1991.  Both of these hit stores by the time I had “grown out of G.I. Joe” as a young Joe fan and so neither one holds any special nostalgia to this day.  And Freddie, that’s why you are still 9 credits short for getting your Master’s Degree as a certified G.I. Joe Uberfan.  With that in mind, I was happy to see that the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club opted to utilize the 1991 version in the convention set as opposed to the earlier release.  Of the two, the ‘91 design was sleeker and easier to recreate and it also shared design elements with the  Toxo-Zombie which debuted the following year.  Opting for this design meant that GIJCC could recoup some tooling budgets by the shared parts used by the two figures.

Likewise.  While the V-1 Toxo-Viper was interesting, the V-2 was far superior.  When I was younger, I even thought his helmet looks sort’a cat-like, so that made me like him even more. And here you thought I was a dork in my middle age!  Ha!     

To build a proper Toxo-Viper, the GIJCC combined the torso and waist of the  Pursuit of Cobra Arctic Destro, what appear to be the arms and upper legs of the  Slaughter’s Marauders Barbecue, and the lower legs and feet of the  PoC Techno-Viper. The resulting parts combination works so well to recreate the look of the vintage Toxo-Viper v2 that it’s hard to believe that these parts weren’t designed exclusively for this figure in the first place.  Honestly-- it’s enough to make a Toxo-Viper fan out of this curmudgeonly 80’s Joe fan.  The body offers a great range of motion throughout all of the articulation available and the combination of the sculpted armored torso and the simulated fabric folds on the limbs produce a plausible next generation HAZMAT suit.  I even like the color scheme used on this figure-- right down to the slightly more subdued hue of green used on the torso armor.  A figure that was initially a “throw-away” in my book has become one of my favorite pieces in the entire set the longer I own him.  Who knew? 

Indeed, the planning and construction of this figure was well done, and he very much harkens back to the original.  Now, I’ll be honest, I prefer the aesthetic look of the vintage one because I prefer the sleeker design of the original uniform offset by the bulk of his armored padding.  While this new incarnation comes close, it does not have the sleekness.  And when dealing with grabbing undead, you probably don’t want a loose garment they can grasp onto.  But in the Totality of the Circumstances, it’s a small gripe.

As for coloration, purple and green are colors that complement each other, so that doesn’t bother me.  But what does, is the inexplicable choice the Club made by painting the butt of his suit green, while keeping the crotch purple.  I don’t know if they were trying to mimic the armored padding on the original, but since they didn’t follow through, it looks awkward, especially when they ignored this odd coloration choice on the Toxo-Zombies.

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

Normally this is the portion of the review where I wax philosophical on the figure’s head sculpt.   However, the head (a reuse of the noggin that debuted on the  Rise of Cobra Sgt. Flash) isn’t the real star here. Instead, that honor goes to the newly sculpted removable helmet that was produced by the talented sculptors of  Boss Fight Studio.  Yes, that was a cool bonus touch---and one that didn’t have to happen to make this a successful figure.  These former Hasbro employees have a real passion for the G.I. Joe brand and it shows in every piece of their work including the Toxo-Viper helmet.  It’s a perfect recreation/update of the vintage design and it fits the figure’s head perfectly.  (That’s why it stings when Flint and Ozone’s helmets don’t fit.) The colors are a perfect match for those used to mold the figure’s body and the design conveys the impression of a sealed HAZMAT suit far better than the helmets for either Eco-Force Ozone or Flint.  I enjoy this helmet so much on the figure that it occurred to me that I actually needed to remove it to get a few unmasked pictures for this review.  Otherwise, it stays firmly in place and helps to redeem a vintage design that I once wrote off as nothing more than an Ant Man rip-off! Them’s fightin’ words, brah! 

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

The Toxo-Vipers are hazardous materials specialists.  As such, they’re not really the troopers you’d expect to see on the front lines and yet the included kit for these troopers is surprisingly aggressive.  Included with each Toxo-Viper are the following: 

  • Spring-loaded FANG launcher
  • Kriss Vector submachine gun
  • Pistol
  • Helmet
  • Air tank (originally released with the 30th Anniversary Airtight)
  • Figure stand
  • File card

If you’re one of the five people that actually reads the reviews at JBL then you’ll know that I’m not a fan of spring-loaded weapons.  I think it’s more like three people.  You’re including both of us in the number count.   They were fun when I was a kid but as an adult I find them to be a bit tedious.  Considering that these figures are intended for adult collectors, the spring-loaded launcher (with its blue Compound Z-hued projectile) is a bit gimmicky for my tastes. (And how ironic that they take the time to tool this as a spring-fired weapon, but then Hasbro doesn’t use it for the 50th HEAT-Viper; whose missile launcher this is taken from.  I guess they wanted to keep the HEAT-Viper’s ridiculous “missile anklet” design intact.)  The SMG and the side arm make sense although who in their right mind is going to get into a firefight around Compound Z-filled canisters? (Aside from the Dreadnoks…)  I’m glad that the GIJCC included the air tank from Airtight for the simple reason that these figures would otherwise have no apparent air supply.  The air supply containers are a perfect color match for the figure too which just adds to the overall appear of this trooper.  So, aside from a matter of pure personal preference, I can find no fault with this kit at all.

I would have preferred the V-1 backpack retooled for this figure, as that was a very unique piece of equipment not duplicated since.  I would have also have preferred the water cannon to the Fang launcher for aesthetic purposes, but I get what they were trying to do.  And it’s not like vintage water cannons are hard or expensive to find on eBay.

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

Wow-- I never thought I’d find myself saying this regarding any Cobra soldier with the designation of “Toxo” as part of its title but I really like this figure.  In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this could possibly be my favorite Joe Con trooper of the Generation 3 construction!  From a solid parts combination to a perfect color scheme to a practical kit, there’s really no bad to the Toxo-Viper at all!  Seriously-- I’m shocked that I’m writing this but I’ve had a hard time putting these figures down in the months that I’ve owned them.  The crazy part is-- the Zombie Initiative set is still in stock at the Club Store!  I recognize the fact that zombies aren’t everyone’s “cup-of-Joe” and that they’ve been a bit over-exposed in the media the past few years, but the Toxo-Vipers can appeal to even the most hard-nosed of anti-zombie Joe fans!  Seriously-- if you skip all of the other troopers in this set, snag a few Toxo-Vipers!  They’re definitely a solid addition to any collection.

I like this figure, but he’s very niche.  Unless someone incorporates HAZMAT scenarios in their Joeverses, I don’t really see a need to buy him.

The Bottom Line: A shocking good update to one of the more specialized Cobra troopers of the late vintage ARAH era.  Solid parts, solid design, and solid accessories!

 

The Toxo-Viper is indeed a relatively faithful modern incarnation of the original, and a removable helmet and a matching color scheme with the Toxo-Zombie really helps solidify these guys in a credible theme.  His gear is forgettable, but who really cares about that since he has a very narrow battlefield purpose and presence.  As far as the figure and construction is concerned, everything flows well to form the base of a great troop builder---but whether this particular trooper fits in with the differing Cobra armies is solely dependent on each reader’s sensibilities. 

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Cobra Forces

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Toxo-Viper

 

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