GI Joe review: Cobra B.A.T.



This is my most anticipated figure from the latest wave (wave 9 or wave 5, depending on your count) of GI Joe. I'm glad to say, it lived up to my expectations.

I had the original BAT, back in 1987. Of course, as I was wont to do, I lost all the arm attachments and even the hologram sticker on my figure before he disappeared entirely. I never did get another one, and when I started buying vintage Joes in 2000 (funny how thriteen years will allow you to call something 'vintage') the BAT was one of the first figures I looked for. Alas, to this day, I have not replaced it, since the samples I've seen go for too much money for my blood. The modern updated BATs that Hasbro had in the GI Joe vs Cobra lines left a lot to be desired, so I just about did a backflip when I saw images of this new, updated, yet curiously vintage-looking BAT.

This figure features everything that made the original so damn endearing, with some modern flairs that Hasbro wasn't capable of doing twenty years ago. Gone is the hologram sticker on the chest, replaced with sculpted elements and a clear plastic cover over it, making the BAT look more robotic. The arm attachments, while inspired by the original design, a bigger, better painted, and looking far more lethal. The head is smaller on this new figure, and I think that gives it more of a grim-reaper-like appearance. The backpack is bigger to accomodate the bigger accessories, though only two of them fit in it. In addition, the left arm can be swapped with one of the attachments this time, or you can put the new pistol in the hand so he can do serious damage double-time.

Yes, toy fans, this is exactly the kind of work that makes this new line so enjoyable. If you can forget the impossible-to-obtain con exclusives, the non-existant vehicles, or the fact that your fellow fans wipe these out within minutes of them hitting shelves, you find that this line is what you still buy toys for in your twenties and thirties. I find no reason that Hasbro can't do this stellar of work on every figure, except that it doesn't cost out or they don't have a mold already for it.

This figure was everything I hoped the Viper would be. At least they got this guy right. Since they spent a pretty good chunk of change on this mold, I'll gamble they'll make as many as they can. I do hope for a 5-pack of these to show up at TRU at some point, much like the Crimson Guards are now. But don't let that stop you from buying one or two now. It's great fun, and a good foil for the Hawk, Bazooka, and Barbecue in this same wave.

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